[Grammar] The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not so the heart of fools.

[kadioguy]

[New English Translation (NET Bible)]

The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not so the heart of fools.

Proverbs 15:7

https://www.taiwanbible.com/web/bibleenglish/dailyVerseEng.jsp?ID=16815
------------------------
Does 'so' mean 'spread knowledge'?
Isn't there any verb in but not so the heart of fools?

Why not:
a. The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not so do the heart of fools.
b. The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the heart of fools do not do so.

 

[Rover_KE]

There's no verb in 'but not so the heart of fools', because there doesn't need to be.

Compare:

'My sister enjoys opera, but not I'.

 

[kadioguy]

Compare:

'My sister enjoys opera, but not I'.

But in the original sentence, there is a 'so', and your sentence don't have.
What does the 'so' mean? What is the difference whether there is a 'so' or not?

 

[Rover_KE]

The King James Bible, from which your quote is taken, dates from 1611. English has changed considerably over that time.

I could have said '... but not so I'. It would have been understandable, but sounds archaic.

 

[kadioguy]

The King James Bible, from which your quote is taken, dates from 1611. Language changes considerably over time.

But it says that it is 'New English Translation (NET Bible)', not the King James Version. (You can go to the website and see it):shock:
------
Another example sentence from a usage book:
Some prefer their birthdays go unrecognized, not so the Bulletin.

Why is there also a 'so'? Could you tell me what is the difference whether there is a 'so' or not?

 

[Matthew Wai]

Having read post #4, I think the difference is that it sounds archaic.

Note that your book was written by a Mainland Chinese.

 

[Tdol]

But it says that it is 'New English Translation (NET Bible)', not the King James Version. (You can go to the website and see it):shock:

The language of the King James version is even more impenetrable. :up:

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

[New English Translation (NET Bible)]

The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not so the hearts of fools.

Proverbs 15:7

https://www.taiwanbible.com/web/bibleenglish/dailyVerseEng.jsp?ID=16815
------------------------
Does 'so' mean 'spread knowledge'? No.

Isn't there any verb in but not so the hearts of fools? Do you see any verbs there?

Why not:

a. The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not so do the hearts of fools. Because we never say "not so do." It's not idiomatic. You could say "but the hearts of fools do not."

b. The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the hearts of fools do not do so. Because the "do so" is wordy, unnatural, and redundant.

Fools don't all share one heart. Each fool has a heart. Since it's not clear whether "the wise" is singular or plural (each wise person has two lips), you could also say "but the heart of a fool does not."

I know you're just quoting what you read, but the text is wrong.

 

[kadioguy]

Does 'so' mean 'spread knowledge'? No.

So what do you think the 'so' mean?

----------------
In the LDOCE6, it says:

so
adv.
[FONT=Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]
3.[not used with negative verbs] used to add that what has just been said is also true about someone or something else[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]so do I/so is he/so would Peter etc

[/FONT][FONT=Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]4.used to refer back to an idea, action, quality, situation etc that has just been mentioned[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]hope so/think so/say so etc[/FONT]

---------
I think one of them would fit my original sentence, don't they?

 

[Matthew Wai]

The + adjective almost always refers to a group of people.

'The deceased' can be either singular or plural according to https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/american_english/deceased?q=deceased

 

[kadioguy]

User Charlie Bernstein says, "'so' don't mean 'spread knowledge'".
If it is true, then what does 'so' mean?
What do you think?

 

[kadioguy]

a. The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not so the heart of fools.
b. The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not the heart of fools.
--------------
Does they mean the same? If not, could you tell me the reason?

 

[Matthew Wai]

The lips of the wise, but not the hearts of fools, spread knowledge.

I think it is unambiguous.