Proverbs From Around the World
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Proverbs From Around the World.
William Penn wrote, "The wisdom of nations lies in their proverbs, which are brief and pithy. Collect and learn them; they are notable measures of directions for human life; you have much in little; they save time in speaking; and upon occasion may be the fullest and safest answers."
Anonymous, that prolific pontificator, wrote, "Proverbs are the cream of a nation's thought."
These are by no means the only proverbs from around the world, Nor are they the best. They are simply those that I happened to read and like. Feel free to add your own.
Anonymous, that prolific pontificator, wrote, "Proverbs are the cream of a nation's thought."
These are by no means the only proverbs from around the world, Nor are they the best. They are simply those that I happened to read and like. Feel free to add your own.
American Proverbs
The most dangerous food is wedding cake.
Never swap horses crossing a stream
A louse in the cabbage is better than no meat at all. (Pennsylvanian Dutch.)
A people without history is like wind on the buffalo grass. (Sioux)
In the beginning God gave to every people a cup of clay, and from this cup they drank their life. (Norther Paiute)
Don't talk unless you can improve the silence. (Vermont)
Never swap horses crossing a stream
A louse in the cabbage is better than no meat at all. (Pennsylvanian Dutch.)
A people without history is like wind on the buffalo grass. (Sioux)
In the beginning God gave to every people a cup of clay, and from this cup they drank their life. (Norther Paiute)
Don't talk unless you can improve the silence. (Vermont)
Belgian Proverb
Experience is the comb that nature gives us when we are bald.
Chinese Proverbs
Two leaps per chasm is fatal.
One joy scatters a hundred griefs.
Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from your friend's forehead.
Behind an able man there are always other able men.
Blessings never come in pairs; misfortunes never come alone.
One joy scatters a hundred griefs.
Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from your friend's forehead.
Behind an able man there are always other able men.
Blessings never come in pairs; misfortunes never come alone.
English Proverbs
What can be done at any time is never done at all.
As bad as marrying the devil's daughter and living with the old folks.
As bad as marrying the devil's daughter and living with the old folks.
Estonian Proverb
What you are afraid of overtakes you.
French Proverb
Everything passes, everything perishes, everything palls.
German Proverbs
Too clever is dumb.
An old error is always more popular than a new truth.
Begin to weave and God will give you the thread.
An old error is always more popular than a new truth.
Begin to weave and God will give you the thread.
Haitian Proverb
Do not insult the mother alligator until after you have crossed the river.
Indian Proverb
The cobra will bite you whether you call it Cobra or Mr. Cobra.
Irish Proverbs
It is better to be a coward for one minute than dead for the rest of your life.
Patience cures many an old complaint.
When the apple is ripe, it will fall.
Patience cures many an old complaint.
When the apple is ripe, it will fall.
Italian Proverbs
The best way to get praise is to die.
There is no thief like a bad book.
By asking for the impossible, we obtain the best possible.
There is no thief like a bad book.
By asking for the impossible, we obtain the best possible.
Japanese Proverbs
The reverse side also has a reverse side.
To teach is to learn.
A man in love mistakes a pimple for a dimple.
The nail that sticks up get hammered down.
A good husand is healthy and absent.
At the first cup man drinks wine; at the second cup wine drinks wine; at the third cup wine drinks man.
To teach is to learn.
A man in love mistakes a pimple for a dimple.
The nail that sticks up get hammered down.
A good husand is healthy and absent.
At the first cup man drinks wine; at the second cup wine drinks wine; at the third cup wine drinks man.
Jewish Proverb
If the rich could hire people to die for them, the poor could make a wonderful living.
Norwegian Proverb
Heroism consists in hanging on one minute longer.
Persian Proverb
Fate: When its time has arrived, the prey comes to the hunter.
Polish Proverbs
The greatest love is a mother's, then a dog's, then a sweetheart's.
When I have money, everyone called me brother.
The woman cries before the wedding, the man afterward.
When I have money, everyone called me brother.
The woman cries before the wedding, the man afterward.
Portuguese Proverb
An old man in love is like a flower in winter.
Russian Proverbs
If God listened to every shepherd's curse, our sheep would all be dead.
The eggs do not teach the hen.
Live with the wolves, howl like a wolf.
A sleeping fox counts hens in its dreams.
When money speaks, the truth is silent.
The eggs do not teach the hen.
Live with the wolves, howl like a wolf.
A sleeping fox counts hens in its dreams.
When money speaks, the truth is silent.
Sicilian Proverb
The less things change, the more they stay the same.
Scottish Proverbs
Better bend than break.
A man is a lion in his own cause.
A man is a lion in his own cause.
Spanish Proverbs
If you want to make someone laugh, tell them your troubles.
An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest.
There is no happiness; there are only moments of happiness.
It is better to be a mouse in a cat's mouth than a man in a lawyer's hands.
If I die, I forgive you. If I live, we'll see.
Never advise anyone to go to war or to marry.
Habits are at first cobwebs then cables.
How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward.
An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest.
There is no happiness; there are only moments of happiness.
It is better to be a mouse in a cat's mouth than a man in a lawyer's hands.
If I die, I forgive you. If I live, we'll see.
Never advise anyone to go to war or to marry.
Habits are at first cobwebs then cables.
How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward.
Welsh Proverbs
Heaven defend me from a busy doctor.
He understands badly who listens badly.
Better one word before than two after.
He understands badly who listens badly.
Better one word before than two after.
Yiddish Proverb
Small children disturb your sleep, big children your life.
Yugoslavian Proverb
Tell the truth and run.
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Pat Bertram is the author of Daughter Am I, More Deaths Than One, and A Spark of Heavenly Fire. Bertram's books are available from Second Wind Publishing... more »
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