El vivo a señas y el tonto a palos.
“The clever man takes a hint; the fool needs a beating.”
A perceptive person learns from a subtle signal, while a stubborn one only learns through hard consequence.
— Traditional Honduras Wisdom, Honduras
Source: Traditional Honduras proverb, public-domain oral tradition
More Proverbs from Honduras
Not even good food tastes good when it is forced on you.
Anything, however good, becomes unpleasant when someone is compelled to accept it against their will.
Even a fool cannot enjoy what God gives him.
A foolish or ungrateful person fails to appreciate even the greatest blessings placed before them.
From calm waters, God deliver me; from rough ones I deliver myself.
A quiet, gentle appearance can hide the greatest danger; open threats are easier to guard against than hidden ones.
No bull is brave against two spears at once.
Even the strongest will falter when pressed hard from two directions at the same time.
A lamp for the street, darkness in the house.
Someone who is generous and pleasant to strangers may still neglect and mistreat the people closest to them.
The hen that eats eggs keeps doing it, even if they burn her beak for it.
A deeply set habit continues even after repeated punishment.