it is a wise child that knows his own father

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

  • From act 2, scene 2 of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.
  • From The Odyssey, translated by Samuel Butler.

Proverb[edit]

it is a wise child that knows his own father

  1. One can never be sure of one's paternity.
    • 1900, Samuel Butler, The Odyssey:
      "My mother," answered Telemachus, "tells me I am son to Ulysses, but it is a wise child that knows his own father."

Translations[edit]