proverb · Words worth keeping
The greatest cunning is to have none at all.
The greatest cunning is to have none at all.
In print by 1857 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Straightforward conduct can avoid complications created by elaborate manoeuvring. Honesty may serve a relationship better than trying to control every impression or anticipated response.
What the words are saying
The proverb makes having no cunning into the greatest cunning, using a paradox to value directness. Someone who states a real need or limit may avoid the layers of explanation required to maintain a misleading impression. A useful reading asks whether an apparent clever solution makes the relationship less clear or dependable. It does not mean revealing every private matter or ignoring a genuine need for care. Candour can be considerate and bounded. The aim is a response that others can understand without having to discover the hidden purpose behind each part of it.
Everyday example
A colleague says they cannot finish a task by the proposed date instead of inventing excuses and creating further uncertainty.
When to use it
Use it to consider the value of a clear, honest response.
What it does not mean
Honesty does not require unsafe disclosure. Privacy, tact and appropriate boundaries remain legitimate.
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 (French-language collection)
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1857 AD · industrial
In print by 1857: recorded in A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857) (1857 AD)
Printed page 30; French section, paragraph 602; source wording: La plus grande finesse est de n’en avoir point.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.