Proverbs of the world

Every line we've sourced

1. Wealth dies. Kin die. You die too. A good name never dies.

   "Deyr fé, deyja frændr, deyr sjalfr it sama, en orðstírr deyr aldregi, hveim er sér góðan getr."

   Hávamál 76, our translation from the Greek

2. One thing never dies: how the dead are judged.

   "ek veit einn, at aldrei deyr: dómr um dauðan hvern."

   Hávamál 77, our translation from the Greek

3. A sleeping wolf rarely gets the meat. A sleeping man rarely wins.

   "sjaldan liggjandi ulfr lær of getr né sofandi maðr sigr."

   Hávamál 58, our translation from the Greek

4. Rise early. Sleep through the morning and much slips away. Drive is half the fortune.

   "margt of dvelr, þann er um morgin sefr, hálfr er auðr und hvötum."

   Hávamál 59, our translation from the Greek

5. Dodge every fight and you'll still grow old. Age gives no one peace.

   "Ósnjallr maðr hyggsk munu ey lifa, ef hann við víg varask; en elli gefr hánum engi frið"

   Hávamál 16, our translation from the Greek

6. People are each other's joy.

   "maðr er manns gaman."

   Hávamál 47, our translation from the Greek

7. Be wise, but not too wise.

   "Meðalsnotr skyli manna hverr; æva til snotr sé"

   Hávamál 54, our translation from the Greek

8. Among the bold, nobody is boldest.

   "þá hann þat finnr, er með fræknum kemr at engi er einna hvatastr."

   Hávamál 64, our translation from the Greek

9. The lame can ride. The handless can herd. The deaf can fight.

   "Haltr ríðr hrossi, hjörð rekr handar vanr, daufr vegr ok dugir"

   Hávamál 71, our translation from the Greek

10. The wary rarely come to harm.

    "sjaldan verðr víti vörum"

    Hávamál 6, our translation from the Greek

11. Before you walk through a door, look around it.

    "Gáttir allar, áðr gangi fram, um skoðask skyli"

    Hávamál 1, our translation from the Greek

12. A fool does best to keep his mouth shut.

    "Ósnotr maðr, er með aldir kemr, þat er bazt, at hann þegi"

    Hávamál 27, our translation from the Greek

13. Where the wave breaks, that's where the passage through the reef is.

    "Penyi wimbi na milango i papo."

    Taylor, African Aphorisms (1891), no. 460, our translation from the Greek

14. Want what the sea brings? Go wait on the beach.

    "Kilicho baharini kalingoje ufuoni."

    Taylor, African Aphorisms (1891), no. 148, our translation from the Greek

15. Afraid of the sea? You'll never be a traveler.

    "Mchelea-bahari si msafiri"

    Taylor, African Aphorisms (1891), no. 255, our translation from the Greek

16. Canoe on top. Wave below.

    "Ngarawa juu, wimbi"

    Taylor, African Aphorisms (1891), no. 419, our translation from the Greek

17. Little by little fills the measure.

    "Haba na haba hujaza kibaba."

    Taylor, African Aphorisms (1891), no. 70, our translation from the Greek

18. Hurry, hurry brings no blessing.

    "Haraka, haraka, haina mbaraka."

    Taylor, African Aphorisms (1891), no. 86, our translation from the Greek

19. One finger alone can't crush a louse.

    "Kidole kimoja hakivundi"

    Taylor, African Aphorisms (1891), no. 139, our translation from the Greek

20. Patience gives birth to good things.

    "Subira huvyaa mwana mwema."

    Taylor, African Aphorisms (1891), no. 499, our translation from the Greek

21. Skill, not force.

    "Mambo maarifa, si nguvu."

    Taylor, African Aphorisms (1891), no. 236, our translation from the Greek

22. Brains are wealth.

    "Akili mali."

    Taylor, African Aphorisms (1891), no. 7, our translation from the Greek

23. A hoe proves its strength in the field.

    "ya jembe kaingoje shamba."

    Taylor, African Aphorisms (1891), no. 111, our translation from the Greek

24. The world is a dry tree. Don't lean your weight on it.

    "Dunia mti mkavu : kiumbe siulemele."

    Taylor, African Aphorisms (1891), no. 61, our translation from the Greek

25. Fortune helps the brave.

    "Fortes Fortuna adjuvat"

    Erasmus, Adagia (Bland ed. 1814, p. 46), our translation from the Greek

26. Hurry slowly.

    "Festina, lente"

    Erasmus, Adagia (Bland ed. 1814, p. 244), our translation from the Greek

27. Drops hollow out the stone.

    "Gutta cavat Lapidem."

    Erasmus, Adagia (Bland ed. 1814), our translation from the Greek

28. Not a day without a line.

    "Nulla Dies sine Linea."

    Erasmus, Adagia (Bland ed. 1814, p. 84), our translation from the Greek

29. Half is more than the whole.

    "Dimidium plus toto."

    Erasmus, Adagia (Bland ed. 1814, p. 257), our translation from the Greek

30. Many blows bring down the oak.

    "Multis Ictibus dejicitur Quercus."

    Erasmus, Adagia (Bland ed. 1814, p. 186), our translation from the Greek

31. A human being is a bubble.

    "Homo est Bulla."

    Erasmus, Adagia (Bland ed. 1814, p. 281), our translation from the Greek

32. There's no soft road from earth to the stars.

    "Non est e Terris mollis ad Astra Via"

    Erasmus, Adagia (Bland ed. 1814, p. 247), our translation from the Greek

33. Teaching a dolphin to swim.

    "Delphinum natare doces"

    Erasmus, Adagia (Bland ed. 1814), our translation from the Greek

34. Finished work is sweet.

    "Acti Labores jucundi."

    Erasmus, Adagia (Bland ed. 1814, p. 281), our translation from the Greek

35. The fox knows many tricks. The cat knows one big one.

    "Multa novit Vulpes, sed Felis unum magnum"

    Erasmus, Adagia (Bland ed. 1814, p. 112), our translation from the Greek

36. Calmer than oil on the water.

    "Oleo tranquilior"

    Erasmus, Adagia (Bland ed. 1814, p. 220), our translation from the Greek

37. A light drizzle makes a downpour.

    "Minutula Pluvia Imbrem parit"

    Erasmus, Adagia (Bland ed. 1814, p. 64), our translation from the Greek

38. Fall seven times, rise eight.

    "七轉び八起き"

    Rigen ruishu: ichigo senkin (1906), our translation from the Greek

39. Sit on a stone for three years and even it gets warm.

    "石の上にも三年"

    Rigen ruishu: ichigo senkin (1906), our translation from the Greek

40. In a hurry? Take the long way round.

    "急がば迂遠れ"

    Rigen ruishu: ichigo senkin (1906), our translation from the Greek

41. After the rain, the ground sets harder.

    "雨降て地固まる"

    Rigen ruishu: ichigo senkin (1906), our translation from the Greek

42. Even monkeys fall out of trees.

    "猿も木から落る"

    Rigen ruishu: ichigo senkin (1906), our translation from the Greek

43. Luck comes to the house that laughs.

    "笑ふ門には福來る"

    Rigen ruishu: ichigo senkin (1906), our translation from the Greek

44. Even an ant's will can reach the sky.

    "蟻も念力は天まで達く"

    Rigen ruishu: ichigo senkin (1906), our translation from the Greek

45. Pick up the staff before you fall.

    "轉ばぬ先きの杖"

    Rigen ruishu: ichigo senkin (1906), our translation from the Greek

46. A rope saws through wood. Dripping water bores through stone.

    "繩鋸木斷水滴石穿"

    Helin yulu 10 (Zhang Guaiya's judgment), our translation from the Greek

47. Keep grinding and an iron bar becomes a needle.

    "鐵杵磨成針只要工夫深"

    Shantang sikao 182 (the old woman grinding the pestle), our translation from the Greek

48. A hundred hearings are not worth one look.

    "百聞不如一見"

    Daxue yanyi bu 146 (quoting Zhao Chongguo, Book of Han), our translation from the Greek

49. More disciplined than Zeno.

    "τοῦ φιλοσόφου Ζήνωνος ἐγκρατέστερος."

    Diogenes Laertius 7.27, our translation from the Greek