Dhammapada · 5.5

Yāvajīvampi ce bālo, paṇḍitaṃ payirupāsati;Na so dhammaṃ vijānāti, dabbī sūparasaṃ yathā.

Yavajivampi ce balo, panditam payirupasati; Na so dhammam vijanati, dabbi suparasam yatha.

Even if a fool attends on a wise person all his life, he comprehends not the Dhamma — as the spoon comprehends not the taste of the soup.

— Dhammapada 5.5

Source: Pali text from the Khuddaka Nikāya of the Pali Canon (oldest extant Buddhist scripture, compiled c. 3rd century BCE). Public-domain English readings drawn from F. Max Müller's translation in Sacred Books of the East, Vol X (1881) and the Buddhist Publication Society's freely-licensed Acharya Buddharakkhita rendering.