Famous Proverbs

1] Whether the pitcher strikes the stone, or the stone the pitcher, it is bad for the pitcher

2] Numbers overcome the brave

3] Learn weeping and you shall gain laughing

4] He that has no shame has no conscience

5] Don’t have too many irons in the fire

6] Promises may make friends, but it is performances that keep them

7] Lend your money and lose a friend

8] Though the fox runs, the chicken has wings

9] Mere wishes are silly fishes

10] Better an egg today than a hen tomorrow.

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

12] Life begins only in success

13] All’s fair in love and war

14] Familiarity breeds contempt

15] Like breeds like

16] Better be out of the world than out of the fashion.

17] After a storm comes a calm

18] He who teaches learns

19] The disinterested observer may perceive what is missed by those who are directly involved

20] To study a great deal is to acquire a priceless treasure

21] Stolen goods never thrive

22] Empty vessels make the most noise

23] An account is an account, and a brother a brother.

24] It is lawful to learn even from an enemy

25] Where there is peace, there is blessing

26] Opportunity makes the thief

27] In a clam sea, every man is a pilot

28] No man is born wise or learned

29] Two blacks do not make a white

30] Do leaves sprout on rootless trees?

31] Company in misery makes it light

32] What cannot gold do?

33] Harp not for ever on the same string

34] Love delights in praise

35] Charity covers a Multitude of sins

36] That which proves too much proves nothing

37] Wise men learn by other men’s harm, fools, by their own

38] Why keep a dog and bark yourself?

39] The dog that fetches, will carry.

40] Time has wings

41] Now is now, and then was then

42] The reason of the strongest is always the best.

43] Some have been thought brave because they are afraid to run away

44] A gift in hand is better than two promises.

45] He that dare not venture must not complain of ill luck

46] The effect speaks, the tongue need not

47] The tongue ever turns to the aching tooth

48] By falling we learn to go safely

49] Little birds that can sing and won’t sing should be made to sing

50] If you wish good advice, consult an old man

51] Grasp all, lose all

52] Silence never makes mistakes

53] When bitterness reaches its extreme, sweetness will follow

54] Ninety per cent of inspiration is perspiration

55] When the ear will not listen, the heart escapes sorrow

56] He that promises too much means nothing

57] One needs a full stomach to keep the precepts

58] He who envies admits his inferiority

59] Little things are pretty

60] We should publish our joys and conceal our griefs

61] Choose neither women nor linen by candlelight.

62] 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

63] He that has a full purse never wanted a friend

64] He stands not surely that never slips

65] Everything tempts the man who fears temptation. If you can’t be good, be careful.

66] The delay is good which makes the way the safer

67] He that comes of a hen, must scrape

68] He who does not heed the good advice of an experienced person will soon find himself suffering for his stubbornness.

69] He is not fit to command others, that cannot command himself

70] Poverty parts friendship

71] A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword

72] Put out your tubs when it is raining

73] Bees that have honey in their mouths have stings in their tails.

74] Children have wide ears and long tongues.

75] Necessity breaks iron

76] The dog that fetches, will carry.

77] A kind heart loseth nought at last.

78] Good horses always get ridden; good men get imposed upon.

79] A good heart conquers ill fortune

80] Often and little eating makes a man fat

81] Every advantage has its disadvantage

82] Sparrows who emulate peacocks are likely to break a thigh

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

84] The sun is never the worse for shining on a dunghill

85] No man is the worse for knowing the worst of himself

86] It is easy to do what one’s own self wills

87] Good luck beats early rising

88] In a gambling house, there are no fathers and sons.

89] Once a use and ever a custom

90] If the lad goes to the well against his will, either the can will break or the water will spill

91] A good drink makes the old young

92] If you want a thing well done, do it yourself

93] Wash your dirty linen at home

94] The good is often the enemy of the best

95] Give yourself a pinch, and you will know how a pinch must hurt others

96] Great trees keep down the little ones

97] Water is a boon in the desert, but the drowning man curses it.

98] A black hen lays a white egg

99] Youth will have its course.

100] When one door shuts, another opens