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StillnessProverb

Still waters run deep.

English proverb

PhilosophyProverbs

The story behind the card

The Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus, writing about Alexander the Great in the 1st century AD, recorded ‘the deepest rivers flow with the least sound’ as a proverb from Bactria, in Central Asia. Today the saying usually means that a quiet person may have deep feelings or a sharp mind. It was once a warning too: a calm surface can hide danger. The French still say there is no worse water than sleeping water, and a Turkish saying warns that a meek, downcast look can hide mischief.

Türkçe oku
Durgun sular derin olur.
İngiliz atasözü

Romalı tarihçi Quintus Curtius Rufus, MS 1. yüzyılda Büyük İskender'i anlatırken “En derin ırmaklar en az sesle akar” sözünü, Orta Asya'daki Baktriya'nın bir atasözü olarak kaydetmiştir. Söz bugün genellikle, sessiz birinin derin duygular ya da keskin bir zekâ taşıyabileceği anlamında kullanılır. Eskiden bir uyarı anlamı da vardı: Durgun bir yüzeyin altında tehlike saklı olabilir. Fransızlar hâlâ “Uyuyan sudan kötü su yoktur” der. Türkçedeki “Yere bakan yürek yakan” sözü de uysal görünen birinin sinsice kötülük yapabileceğini anlatır.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Still waters run deep
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