Famous Proverbs

1] By his deeds we know a man

2] Children and fools have merry lives

3] He that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved

4] If the wise erred not, it would go hard with fools.

5] You cannot sell the cow and sup the milk

6] Every deed is to be judges by the doer’s intention.

7] All things are difficult before they are easy

8] He learned timely to beg that could not say ‘Nay’

9] Through obedience learn to command.

10] Vice makes virtue shine

11] Why play music for a deal man or dance for a blind man?

12] Never was a cat or dog drowned, that could but see the shore

13] He who cannot bear misfortune is truly unfortunate.

14] He that asks faintly begs a denial.

15] Fool’s haste is no speed

16] Nothing seek, nothing find

17] A good face is a letter of recommendation

18] Deliver your words not by number but by weight

19] Better sit still than rise and fall

20] Those who are used to the signs of the dumb, understand them

21] He that touches pitch shall be defiled

22] He that may not do as he would, must do as he may

23] A short cut is often a wrong cut

24] Silence is a woman’s best garment

25] Many a little makes a mickle

26] He that has no money needs no purse

27] He should have (or He needs) a long spoon who sups with the devil

28] Follow love and it will flee thee; flee love and it will follow thee

29] Save a stranger from the sea and he’ll turn your enemy

30] He mediates revenge who least complains.

31] Choose your neighbour before your house and your companion before the road.

32] He who works before dawn will soon be his own master

33] You eat, I dreams, the custard of the day

34] You cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs

35] Spend not where you may save, spare not where you must spend

36] Like master, like man

37] If the father is a tiger, the son cannot be a dog.

38] Past cure, past care

39] When you are an anvil, hold still; when you are an anvil, hold still; when you are a hammer, strike your fill.

40] There would be no great ones if there were no little ones

41] A good conscience is a constant feast

42] If you play with fire you get burnt

43] Beauty is in the face; grace is all over.

44] As soon as there is life there is danger

45] Two dogs fight for a bone, and a third runs away with it.

46] He that has a fellow-ruler, has an over-ruler. ¶ There is no good accord, where every man would be a lord

47] If each would sweep before his own door, we should have a clean city

48] Art improves Nature

49] He who aims at the moon may hit the top of a tree; he who aims at the top of a tree is unlikely to get off the ground

50] Let another’s shipwreck be you sea-mark.

51] Better never begin than never make an end

52] Lovers’ quarrels are soon mended

53] Praise without profit puts little in the pot

54] Friendship should not be all on one

55] A good heart cannot lie.

56] One good turn deserves another

57] Forewarned is forearmed

58] He who rouses a sleeping tiger exposes himself to danger

59] Man punishes the action but God the intention

60] A child can have too much of his mother’s blessings

61] He that eats least eats most

62] When you do not know what to do – wait.

63] First things first

64] Numbers overcome the brave

65] Words fly, writings remain

66] Know your own faults before blaming others for theirs.

67] Even Buddha has a limit to what he can tolerate

68] Fortune knocks once at everyone’s door (or gate)

69] Never too late to late to repent

70] The best go first

71] A bad excuse is better than none at all

72] He that sows thistles shall reap prickles.

73] The more cost, the more honour

74] Every man is the architect of his own fortune

75] Set a wolf to keep the sheep

76] A fool may sometimes speak to the purpose

77] He that sleeps sound feels not the toothache

78] Let not thy tongue run away with thy brains

79] Who is worse shod than the shoemaker’s wife?

80] Noting is impossible to a willing heart

81] It is the bridle and spur that makes a good horse

82] When we sing, everybody hears us; when sigh, nobody hears us

83] He that would eat the kernel must crack the nut

84] Help a lame dog over a stile

85] There is none misfortune cannot reach

86] Poverty is not a shame, but the being ashamed of it is

87] Good fences make good neighbours

88] The end makes all equal

89] Heaven takes care of children, sailor and drunken men

90] The good die young.

91] Do unto others as you would they should do unto you.

92] Better die a beggar than live a beggar

93] A good servant must have good wages

94] A man whose conscience is clear, of a knock at midnight has no fear

95] All things for not all persons

96] Confess and be hanged

97] Give a fool (or a thief) enough rope and he will hang himself

98] The poor sit on the front benches in Paradise

99] All heiresses are beautiful.

100] No man is born wise or learned