Ọ̀gbọ́n ju agbára lọ — Wisdom is greater than strength
Category: Proverbs
A proverb valuing wise thinking over brute force.
A common piece of Yorùbá moral teaching, often echoed in folktales where a small, clever character outwits a stronger one.
The proverb uses the comparative pattern "X ju Y lọ" — "X exceeds Y" — one of the most common structures in Yorùbá proverbial speech (òwe) for weighing one virtue against another.
It is most often invoked as advice: urging someone facing a bigger or stronger opponent to out-think rather than out-fight them. It shows up constantly in Yorùbá folktales (àlọ́) starring Ìjàpá the tortoise, a trickster figure who repeatedly defeats larger animals through cleverness rather than size or strength.
Yorùbá culture treats proverbs themselves as a mark of eloquence — a well-known meta-proverb, "Òwe lẹṣin ọ̀rọ̀, bí ọ̀rọ̀ bá sọnù òwe la fi í wá a" ("the proverb is the horse of speech; when speech is lost, it is the proverb we use to find it"), captures how central they are to everyday communication, not just formal occasions.
Example: Má gbẹ́kẹ̀lé agbára nìkan; rántí pé ọ̀gbọ́n ju agbára lọ. — "Don't rely on strength alone; remember that wisdom is greater than strength."
Related words:
- Ọgbọ́n — Wisdom, cleverness
- Agbára — Power, strength
- Ìjàpá — Tortoise (the trickster figure of Yorùbá folktales)