It is good to be well ADVISED

Meaning & Analysis

Receiving thoughtful, sound counsel is beneficial and leads to better decisions or outcomes.

Insights

Value of Counsel

The proverb metaphorically underscores the importance of guidance in human affairs, suggesting that wisdom is not innate but cultivated through advice and reflection.

Prudence and Deliberation

It champions careful consideration before action, highlighting how deliberation—rather than haste—protects one from error or regret.

Shared Wisdom

Suggests that individual judgment is enhanced through dialogue and communal knowledge, pointing to the collective nature of true understanding.

Timeless Ethical Counsel

Echoing a perennial moral ideal, the proverb affirms that the wise are those who pause, consult, and weigh advice. It aligns with ancient teachings that valorize thoughtful action over impulsivity.

Social Contract of Advice

Implied within the proverb is a cultural contract: societies value advice-giving as a moral responsibility, and being ‘well advised’ reflects not just personal prudence but social cohesion.

Contrast to Rashness

Acts as an implicit warning against rashness or arrogance—those who act without seeking counsel risk failure, while the advised act with the strength of forethought.

Psychological Self-Regulation

Highlights the psychological virtue of impulse control and the cognitive benefit of seeking external perspectives to temper internal bias or emotion.

Rhetorical Devices

Parallelism

The symmetrical phrase structure—'It is good to be well advised'—enhances rhetorical clarity and reinforces its didactic intent.

Passive Construction

The use of passive voice (‘to be well advised’) subtly shifts focus from the self as advisor to the act of receiving wisdom, reinforcing humility.

Moral Simplicity

The straightforward tone lends the phrase a universal, almost axiomatic quality, enhancing its force as a piece of ethical instruction.

advicewisdomprudencecounseldeliberationhumility
Analyzed with gpt-4o on July 10, 2025

Transcription

Quotations

1616, DR., no. 382

'Tis good to have good advise.

1639, CL., p. 52

Be well advised.

Ibid., p. 305

Cross References

Original Scan

It is good to be well ADVISED - a scanned entry from Tilley's 1950 Dictionary of Proverbs.
Scan courtesy of HathiTrust Digital Library.
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.

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Last updated: January 27, 2026