Proverbs

A proverb is the wisdom of many
and the wit of one.
~Lord John Russell~

African Proverbs

When an old man dies,
a library burns down.
~African Proverb~

Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.
~African Proverb~

Arabian Proverbs

Ask the experienced
rather than the learned.
~Arabian Proverbs~

A friend is one to whom one may
pour out the contents of one's heart,
chaff and grain together,
knowing that the gentlest of hands
will take and sift it,
keep what is worth keeping and
with a breath of kindness
blow the rest away.
~Arabian Proverb~

Assyrian Proverb

Tell me your friends,
and I'll tell you who you are.
~Assyrian Proverb~

Bosnian Proverbs

Who lies for you
will lie against you.
~Bosnian Proverb~

Buddhist Proverbs

When the student is ready,
the master appears.
~Buddhist Proverb~

At the end,
three things that matter most:
how fully you lived,
how deeply you loved
and how well you learned
to let go when things are not
meant for you.
~Buddhist Proverb~

Chinese Proverbs

Learning is a treasure
that will follow its owner everywhere.
~Chinese Proverb~

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

A single conversation with a wise man
is better than ten years of study.
~Chinese Proverb~

When eating bamboo sprouts,
remember the man who planted them.
~Chinese Proverb~

The beginning of wisdom
is to call things by their right names.
~Chinese Proverb~

Fool me once, shame on you;
fool me twice, shame on me.
~Chinese Proverb~

Laws control the lesser man...
Right conduct controls the greater one.
~Chinese Proverb~

A book is like a garden
carried in the pocket.
~Chinese Proverb~

After three days without reading,
talk becomes flavorless.
~Chinese Proverb~

The man who removes a mountain
begins by carrying away small stones.
~Chinese Proverb~

When the sun rises, I go to work.
When the sun goes down I take my rest,
I dig the well from which I drink,
I farm the soil which yields my food,
I share creation, Kings can do no more.
~Chinese Proverb~

Deal with the faults of others
as gently as with your own.
~Chinese Proverb~

Enough shovels of earth - a mountain.
Enough pails of water - a river.
~Chinese Proverb~

To know the road ahead,
ask those coming back.
~Chinese Proverb~

Man who waits for roast duck to fly into
mouth must wait very, very long time.
~Chinese Proverb~

Flowers leave some of their fragrance
in the hand that bestows them.
~Chinese Proverb~

The gem cannot be polished without friction,
nor a person perfected without trials.
~Chinese Proverb~

With time and patience
the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown.
~Chinese Proverb~

Tell me, I will forget.
Show me, I may remember.
Involve me, and I will understand.
~Chinese Proverb~

When planning for a year, plant corn.
When planning for a decade, plant trees.
When planning for life, train and educate people.
~Chinese Proverb~

All the flowers of all the tomorrows
are in the seeds of today and yesterday.
~Chinese Proverb~

Behind every able man,
there are always other able men.
~Chinese Proverb~

Clear conscience never fears
midnight knocking.
~Chinese Proverb~

If you stand straight,
do not fear a crooked shadow.
~Chinese Proverb~

Not the cry,
but the flight of the wild duck,
leads the flock to fly and follow.
~Chinese Proverb~

A gem is not polished without rubbing,
nor a man made perfect without trials.
~Chinese Proverb~

Never write a letter
while you are angry.
~Chinese Proverb~

Be not afraid of going slowly;
be afraid only of standing still.
~Chinese Proverb~

A bit of fragrance always clings
to the hand that gives roses.
~Chinese Proverb~

Learning is like rowing upstream:
not to advance is to drop back.
~Chinese Proverb~

The miracle is not to fly in the air,
or to walk on the water,
but to walk on the earth.
~Chinese Proverb ~

Kissing is like drinking salted water
You drink, and your thirst increases.
~Chinese Proverb~

I dreamed a thousand new paths. . .
I woke and walked my old one.
~Chinese Proverb~

Laws control the lesser man.
Right conduct controls the greater one.
~Chinese Proverb~

Those who have free seats at a play hiss first.
~Chinese Proverb~

Czech Proverbs

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

Danish Proverbs

Peace and a well-built house
cannot be bought too dearly.
~Danish Proverb~

The sky is not less blue
because the blind man does not see it.
~Danish Proverb~

Bad is never good
until worse happens.
~Danish Proverb~

Act in the valley so that
you need not fear those who
stand on the hill.
~Danish Proverb~

Dutch Proverbs

He who is outside his door
has the hardest part of his journey
behind him.
~Dutch Proverb~

English Proverbs

As you make your bed,
so you must lie in it.
~English Proverb~

Absence sharpens love,
presence strengthens it.
~English Proverb~

Hope for the best
but prepare for the worst.
~English Proverb~

Behind every great man
there is a great woman.
~English Proverb~

Man cannot live by bread alone.
~English Proverb~

Cold hands, warm heart.
~English Proverb~

A stumble may prevent a fall.
~English Proverb~

Tickle it with a hoe and
it will laugh into a harvest.
~English Proverb~

Everyone must row with the oars he has.
~English Proverb~

Proportion your expenses
to what you have,
not what you expect.
~English Proverb~

Kisses that are easily obtained
Are easily forgotten.
~English Proverb~

Ethiopian Proverbs

Evil enters like a needle
and spreads like an oak tree.
~Ethiopian Proverb~

Finnish Proverbs

Even a small star shines in the darkness.
~Finnish Proverb~

French Proverb

Gratitude is the heart's memory.
~French Proverb~

German Proverbs

One does evil enough
when one does nothing good.
~German Proverb~

To question a wise man is
the beginning of wisdom.
~German Proverb~

Fear makes the wolf bigger
than he is.
~German Proverb~

Charity sees the need,
not the cause.
~German Proverb~

Greek Proverbs

It's not good for all of our wishes
to be fulfilled. Through sickness,
we recognize the value of health;
through evil, the value of good;
through hunger, the value of food;
through exertion, the value of rest.
~Greek Proverb~

Love can not grow without passion.
~Greek Proverb~

Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.
~Greek Proverb~

Hebrew Proverbs

Do not confine your children
to your own learning,
for they were born of another time.
~Hebrew Proverb~

Hopi Indian Proverbs

To watch us dance
is to hear our hearts speak.
~Hopi Indian Proverb~

Indian Proverbs

The soul would have no rainbow
if the eyes had no tears.
~Indian Proverb~

All the flowers of all the tomorrows
are in the seeds of today.
~Indian Proverb~

Call on God,
but row away from the rocks.
~Indian Proverb~

Everyone is a house with four rooms,
a physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual.
Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time,
but unless we go into every room, every day,
even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person.
~Indian Proverb~

Nonviolence is the supreme law of life.
~Indian Proverb~

Where love reigns the impossible may be attained.
~Indian Proverb~

Irish Proverbs

Laughter is brightest,
in the place where the food is.
~Irish Proverb~

The mills of God grind slowly
but they grind finely.
~Irish Proverb~

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

Italian Proverbs

To forget a wrong is the best revenge
~Italian Proverb~

He who enjoys good health is rich,
though he knows it not.
~Italian Proverb~

Between saying and doing
many a pair of shoes is worn out.
~Italian Proverb~

Once the game is over,
the king and the pawn
go back in the same box.
~Italian Proverb~

Japanese Proverbs

Who travels for love finds
a thousand miles not longer than one.
~Japanese Proverb~

Vision without action is a daydream.
Action without vision is a nightmare.
~Japanese Proverb~

The reverse side
also has a reverse side.
~Japanese Proverb~

Fall seven times,
stand up eight.
~Japanese Proverb~

The reputation of a thousand years
may be determined by the conduct
of one hour.
~Japanese Proverb~

We're fools whether we dance or not,
so we might as well dance.
~Japanese Proverb~

If you believe everything you read, you better not read.
~Japanese Proverb~

Jewish Proverbs

I ask not for a lighter burden,
but for broader shoulders.
~Jewish Proverb~

What you don't see with your eyes,
don't witness with your mouth.
~Jewish Proverb~

Latin Proverbs

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
~Latin Proverb~

It is solved by walking.
~Latin Proverb~

If the wind will not serve,
take to the oars.
~Latin Proverb~

A man is not where he lives,
but where he loves.
~Latin Proverb~

It is easier to pull down than to build up.
~Latin Proverb~

Mexican Proverbs

It is not enough for a man to
know how to ride;
he must know how to fall.
~Mexican Proverb~

I never ask God to give me anything;
I only ask Him to put me
where things are.
~Mexican Proverb~

Moroccan Proverbs

He who has nothing to die for
has nothing to live for.
~Moroccan Proverb~

Native American Proverbs

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors,
we borrow it from our children.
~Native American Proverb~

We ask for strength
And the Great Spirit gives us difficulties,
Which makes us strong.
~Native American Proverb~

Nigerian Proverbs

Hold a true friend
with both your hands.
~Nigerian Proverb~

Persian Proverbs

Every man goes down to his death bearing in his hands
only that which he has given away.
~Persian Proverb~

One pound of learning
requires ten pounds of common sense
to apply it.
~Persian Proverb~

It is nothing for one to know something
unless another knows you know it.
~Persian Proverb~

Philippine Proverbs

Beauty will fade, but not goodness.
~Philippine Proverb~

Russian Proverbs

Clemency is the support of justice.
~Russian Proverb~

If the thunder is not loud,
the peasant forgets to cross himself.
~Russian Proverb~

A kind word is like a Spring day.
~Russian Proverb~

Pray to God,
but continue to row toward shore.
~Russian Proverb~

There is no shame in not knowing;
the shame lies in not finding out.
~Russian Proverb~

The rich would have to eat money
if the poor did not provide food.
~Russian Proverb~

Sanskrit Proverbs

Never be entirely idle;
but either be reading, or writing,
or praying, or meditating,
or endeavoring something for the public good.
~Sanskrit Proverb~

Scottish Proverbs

Be happy while you're living,
for you're a long time dead.
~Scottish Proverb~

Sicilian Proverbs

Only your real friends
will tell you when your face is dirty.
~Sicilian Proverb~

Spanish Proverbs

An ounce of mother is
worth a pound of clergy.
~Spanish Proverb~

Whoever gossips to you
will gossip about you.
~Spanish Proverb~

Swedish Proverbs

Love is like dew
that falls on both nettles and lilies.
~Swedish Proverb~

Shared joy is a double joy;
shared sorrow is half a sorrow.
~Swedish Proverbs~

It is not length of life, but depth of life.
~Swedish Proverb~

Worry often gives a small thing
a big shadow.
~Swedish Proverb~

Those who wish to sing,
always find a song.
~Swedish Proverb~

Fear less, hope more;
eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more;
talk less, say more;
hate less, love more;
and all good things are yours.
~Swedish Proverb~

Tuscarora Proverb

Man has responsibility, not power.
~Tuscarora Proverb~

Turkish Proverb

Man is harder than iron,
stronger than stone
and more fragile than a rose.
~Turkish Proverb~

Vietnamese Proverbs

When eating fruit, think of the
person who planted the tree.
~Vietnamese Proverb~

Yugoslavian Proverbs

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

Zen Proverb

Be as an cup, and the universe flows into you.
Be as an arrow, and the universe retreats from you.
~Zen Proverb~

song playing....Yester-me, Yester-you, Yesterday

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