Famous Proverbs

1] No man better knows what good is than he who has endured evil

2] Death keeps no calendar

3] Fortune does not stand waiting at any man’s door

4] Not lock will hold against the power of gold

5] Only a fool will make the doctor his heir

6] It is ill sitting at Rome and striving against the pope

7] Out of debt, out of danger

8] Catch your bear before you sell its skin

9] All things are difficult before they are easy

10] Union (or Unity) is strength

11] The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man

12] Six feet of earth make all men equal

13] The last drop makes the cup run over

14] An old cart well used may outlast a new one abused

15] Advice when most needed is least heeded

16] He knows most who speaks least

17] The best go first

18] A hungry man smells meat afar off

19] Idle folks have the least leisure

20] Misfortune tells us what fortune is

21] Behind the smile, a dagger may be hidden

22] The tyranny of a multitude is a multiplied tyranny

23] Give and spend, and God will send

24] Riches along make no men happy

25] A good servant must have good wages

26] Coming events cast their shadows before

27] The best remedy against an ill man, is much ground between

28] How forceful are right words

29] A good lawyer must be a great liar

30] Stolen goods never thrive

31] The fowler’s pipe sounds sweet till the bird is caught.

32] The good intention excuses the bad action

33] Point not at other’s spots with a foul finger

34] The day obliterates the promise of the might

35] Choose neither women nor linen by candlelight.

36] Pleasure is due only when all duty’s done.

37] Every tub must stand on its own bottom

38] When it rains porridge, the beggar has no spoon.

39] Asking costs little

40] Money makes the man

41] A jug that has been mended lasts two hundred years

42] An old man’s sayings are seldom untrue

43] Don’t quarrel with your bread and buffer

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

45] Make yourself all honey and the flies will devour you

46] Through obedience learn to command.

47] Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!

48] Distance lends enchantment to the view

49] The absent party is always to blame.

50] Prospect is often better than possession

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

52] No convenience without its inconvenience

53] Gold goes in at any gate except heaven’s

54] Armies are maintained for years to be used on a single day.

55] Sour, sweet, bitter and pungent flavours must all be tasted

56] Better an egg in peace than an ox in war

57] Would you know what money is, got borrow some

58] Marry in haste, repent at leisure

59] Friendship cannot stand always on one side

60] Words fly, writings remain

61] The buyer needs a hundred eyes, the seller but one

62] A fool may give a wise counsel. A fool’s bolt may sometimes hit the mark.

63] Jesters do oft prove prophets

64] Everyone puts his fault on the times.

65] Love rules without a sword, and binds without a cord

66] The fairest silk is soonest stained

67] First impressions are the most lasting

68] No bees, no honey’, that sweetness will come in to the mouth

69] Well begun is half done.

70] All roads lead to Rome

71] Wine and wenches empty men’s purses

72] Soon learnt, soon forgotten

73] A curse will not strike out an eye unless a fist goes with it

74] It is too late to grieve when the chance is past

75] It is easier to praise poverty than to bear it.

76] Better to be safe than sorry.

77] Do right and fear no man

78] Manners make the man

79] One speak of rat droppings will spoil a whole pan of rice

80] Success makes a fool seem wise.

81] One today is worth two tomorrows

82] No man fears what he has seen grow

83] Past cure, past care

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

85] It is a blind goose that comes to the fox’s sermon

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

87] Birds once snared fear all bushes

88] Blessed is he who excepts nothing, for he shall never be disappointed

89] A small pepper is hotter than a large one

90] If you walk in the sun, you will know the blessedness of being in the shade

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

92] It is best to be on the safe side

93] A bad excuse is better than none at all

94] Do unto others as they should do unto you

95] Anger makes a rich man hated, and a poor man scorned.

96] No pot so ugly as not to find a cover

97] A man may say too much, even up on the best subjects

98] Desires are nourished by delays

99] When two men look after a horse, it will surely be thin; when two families keep a boat, it will surely leak

100] You are never too old to learn