Don't look for more honor than your learning merits.

The proverb cautions against seeking public honor, status, or deference that exceeds one’s actual learning. It assumes a moral economy in which respect should be proportionate to merit, and it warns that vanity—demanding recognition without substance—invites embarrassment and ethical failure. Read positively, it encourages humility and steady study: honor is best treated as a byproduct of genuine attainment rather than a goal to be chased. In communities where scholarship carries social authority, the saying also functions as a communal safeguard, discouraging pretension and urging people to let competence, not self-promotion, determine reputation.