Proverbs Quotes

A country can be judged by the quality of its proverbs.

The reverse side also has a reverse side.

If God lived on earth, people would break his windows.

First secure an independent income, then practice virtue.

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.

If you believe everything you read, better not read.

The big thieves hang the little ones.

Speak the truth, but leave immediately after.

A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.

A smiling face is half the meal.

What may be done at any time will be done at no time.

The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.

Don't throw away the old bucket until you know whether the new one holds water.

Good habits result from resisting temptation.

Charity sees the need not the cause.

Who begins too much accomplishes little.

Write down the advice of him who loves you, though you like it not at present.

When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.

Make your bargain before beginning to plow.

Hold a true friend with both hands.

Never criticize a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

If you wish your merit to be known, acknowledge that of other people.

If you refuse to be made straight when you are green, you will not be made straight when you are dry.

It is not enough to aim; you must hit.

He who would leap high must take a long run.

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.

You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.

Don't think there are no crocodiles because the water is calm.

Never give a child a sword.

Complain to one who can help you.

Don't be sweet, lest you be eaten up; don't be bitter, lest you be spewed out.

The best armor is to keep out of range.

Keep your broken arm inside your sleeve.

Do not throw the arrow which will return against you.

Trumpet in a herd of elephants; crow in the company of cocks; bleat in a flock of goats.

Don't let your sorrow come higher than your knees.

Never advise anyone to go to war or to marry.

Never give advice unless asked.

Ask advice only of your equals.

Fall seven times, stand up eight.

If you bow at all, bow low.

Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet.

Wait until it is night before saying that it has been a fine day.

He that can't endure the bad, will not live to see the good.

Use your enemy's hand to catch a snake.

Keep five yards from a carriage, ten yards from a horse, and a hundred yards from an elephant; but the distance one should keep from a wicked man cannot be measured.

Don't fall before you're pushed.

To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.

Raise your sail one foot and you get ten feet of wind.

Go often to the house of thy friend; for weeds soon choke up the unused path.

Do not protect yourself by a fence, but rather by your friends.

When you have given nothing, ask for nothing.

What you don't see with your eyes, don't invent with your mouth.

Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.

When you drink the water, remember the spring.

Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.

Be honorable yourself if you wish to associate with honorable people.

Ask about your neighbors, then buy the house.

Don't live in a town where there are no doctors.

If you wish to know what a man is, place him in authority.

It is the part of a good shepherd to shear his flock, not to skin it.

Dwell not upon thy weariness, thy strength shall be according to the measure of thy desire.

Take hold lightly; let go lightly. This is one of the great secrets of felicity in love.

Worries go down better with soup than without.

The palest ink is better than the best memory.

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

Seize opportunity by the beard, for it is bald behind.

A full cup must be carried steadily.

Drink nothing without seeing it; sign nothing without reading it.

When you go to buy, use your eyes, not your ears.

Do not employ handsome servants.

Don't stay long when the husband is not at home.

Examine what is said, not him who speaks.

Make sure to be in with your equals if you're going to fall out with your superiors.

Never rely on the glory of the morning nor the smiles of your mother-in-law.

Better be ill spoken of by one before all than by all before one.

Don't make use of another's mouth unless it has been lent to you.

Use soft words and hard arguments.

Use soft words and hard arguments.

Rejoice not at thine enemy's fall - but don't rush to pick him up either.

If you want to be respected, you must respect yourself.

Buy on the rumor; sell on the news.

If you scatter thorns, don't go barefoot.

Praise youth and it will prosper.

One kind word can warm three winter months.

Call on God, but row away from the rocks.

Call on God, but row away from the rocks.

If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.