Sano e muto come un pesce. Comparazioni di grado e di analogia passate alla storia della lingua

Among the sayings, proverbs and maxims of classical literature collected by Erasmus of Rotterdam in the Adagiorum collectanea, there are several idiomatic expressions related to fish. Among them are two comparative expressions that have entered the Italian language and whose use is particularly important today: sanior es pisce / pisce sanior (“healthier than a fish”) and magis mutus, quam pisces / pisce magis mutus (“dumber than a fish”). The article aims to trace the linguistic history of these two stereotypical expressions from a semantic and structural point of view.