Nahj al-Balāgha

٢٣٥. وَقِيلَ لَهُ (عليه السلام): صِفْ لَنَا الْعَاقِلَ. فَقَالَ (عليه السلام): هُوَ الِّذِي يَضَعُ الشَّيْءَ مَوَاضِعَهُ. فَقِيلَ: فَصِفْ لَنَا الْجَاهِلَ. فَقَالَ: قَدْ فَعَلْتُ.

235. It was said to Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him: Describe the wise to us; and he said: The wise is one who places things in their proper positions. Then, he was asked: Describe the ignorant to us; and he said: I have already done so.

قال السيد الرضى: يعنى أن الجاهل هو الذى لا يضع الشي‏ء مواضعه فكأن ترك صفته صفة له إذ كان بخلاف وصف العاقل.

as-Sayyid ar-Raḍī says: The meaning is that the ignorant is one who does not place things in their proper positions. In this way, Amīr al-mu’minīn’s abstention from describing was a way of describing him because his attributes are just the opposite of the wise.