Still Waters Run Deep (fable)
Encyclopedia
Still waters run deep is a proverb of Latin origin now commonly taken to mean that a placid exterior hides a passionate or subtle nature. Formerly it also carried the warning that silent people are dangerous, as in Caesar's summing up of Cassius in William Shakespeare
's play Julius Caesar I.2.195-6:
This interpretation was also given currency in the commentaries of those who based a fable on the saying.
n origin. The earliest mention in English sources goes back to 1400. In about 1490 the Italian writer Laurentius Abstemius
expanded the proverb into a short fable in Latin titled De rustico amnem transituro in his Hecatomythium and this was subsequently included in European collections of Aesop's fables. In 1692 Roger L'Estrange
included an outline of the Abstemius version in his edition of the fables under the title of A Country-man and a River, along with the interpretation that men of few words are dangerous:
Slightly earlier than this, Jean de la Fontaine
had written an amplified version of the fable under the title "The torrent and the river" (Le torrent et la rivière, Fables VIII.23, 1678). It tells of a man trying to escape a robber who easily fords a turbulent stream but drowns in a smooth-flowing river, ending on the caution that 'Silent folk are dangerous'. The French proverb that is the nearest equivalent to the English 'still waters run deep' also emphasises this danger: 'no water is worse than quiet water' (Il n’est pire eau que l’eau qui dort). When the caricaturist J.J.Grandville
illustrated La Fontaine's fable, he further underlined this meaning by transposing it into a seduction scene. In the background a capering donkey and a shrew are advancing along the road, watched by a woman whose hands are clasped by a sleek cat. Unnoticed at her feet, a snake is slithering through the grass.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's play Julius Caesar I.2.195-6:
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- Yon Cassius hath a lean and hungry look.
- He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous.
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This interpretation was also given currency in the commentaries of those who based a fable on the saying.
The Fable
According to the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Proverbs, the first mention of the proverb appears in Classical times and was there claimed as being of BactriaBactria
Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
n origin. The earliest mention in English sources goes back to 1400. In about 1490 the Italian writer Laurentius Abstemius
Laurentius Abstemius
Laurentius Abstemius was an Italian writer, professor of Belles Lettres at Urbino, and librarian to Duke Guido Ubaldo under Pope Alexander VI. Born at Macerata in Ancona, he distinguished himself, at the time of the revival of letters, as a writer of considerable talents...
expanded the proverb into a short fable in Latin titled De rustico amnem transituro in his Hecatomythium and this was subsequently included in European collections of Aesop's fables. In 1692 Roger L'Estrange
Roger L'Estrange
Sir Roger L'Estrange was an English pamphleteer and author, and staunch defender of royalist claims. L'Estrange was involved in political controversy throughout his life...
included an outline of the Abstemius version in his edition of the fables under the title of A Country-man and a River, along with the interpretation that men of few words are dangerous:
- A Country-man that was to pass a River, sounded it up and down to try where it was most fordable: and upon Trial he made this Observation on't: Where the Water ran Smooth, he found it Deepest; and on the contrary, Shallowest where it made most Noise. There's More Danger in a Reserv'd and Silent, than in a Noisy, Babbling Enemy.
Slightly earlier than this, Jean de la Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional...
had written an amplified version of the fable under the title "The torrent and the river" (Le torrent et la rivière, Fables VIII.23, 1678). It tells of a man trying to escape a robber who easily fords a turbulent stream but drowns in a smooth-flowing river, ending on the caution that 'Silent folk are dangerous'. The French proverb that is the nearest equivalent to the English 'still waters run deep' also emphasises this danger: 'no water is worse than quiet water' (Il n’est pire eau que l’eau qui dort). When the caricaturist J.J.Grandville
Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard
Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard , generally known by the pseudonym of J. J. Grandville, was a French caricaturist.-Life and work:...
illustrated La Fontaine's fable, he further underlined this meaning by transposing it into a seduction scene. In the background a capering donkey and a shrew are advancing along the road, watched by a woman whose hands are clasped by a sleek cat. Unnoticed at her feet, a snake is slithering through the grass.