62% sureThe sources checked so far agree on this one. The book or the speech it first came from hasn't turned up yet.
What turned up
Traced in print to Cervantes's Don Quixote (1605, Spanish; a paraphrase, not identical English wording); likely of Spanish or Italian folk origin before entering English in the 17th century.
Work
Cervantes, Don Quixote
Occasion
1605 · Spain
Sources checked
en.wiktionary.orgChecked using claude-sonnet-5, 21 August 2026Traces to Don Quixote, early 1600s, citing Titelman's Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs
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