proverb · Legacy record
Do not try to teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla.
Do not try to teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Teaching forest paths to an old gorilla imagines instruction offered to someone already familiar with the setting. The saying questions advice that ignores experience.
What the words are saying
The precise traditional context is unverified, and age alone does not prove expertise. A qualified human reading asks what someone already knows before offering help. Experienced people can still learn, and new evidence need not be dismissed merely because it comes from a newcomer.
Everyday example
Someone asks about a colleague’s experience before explaining a familiar task.
When to use it
Use it to make advice responsive to actual knowledge.
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What it does not mean
No expertise guaranteed by age or animal-behaviour finding is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
South Africa
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.- Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 701; PDF page 63; collection label: South Africa
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- South Africa