12th century

Shota Rustaveli

Georgian poet of the court of Queen Tamar and author of The Man in the Panther's Skin, the national epic of Georgia. Its lines on friendship, loyalty and generosity are still quoted as proverbs.

30 sourced lines

Every line we carry

Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.

What you give away is yours. What you keep is lost.
In Georgia's national epic, this comes in praise of a generous king: everyone follows the open-handed, and hoarding profits no one. What you give becomes part of other lives and stays yours in a way money in a drawer never does. Count your wealth by what has left your hands.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, stanza 50, Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
A lion's cub is a lion, male or female.
The court argues that a king's daughter is fit to rule because strength runs in the blood, not in the sex. Courage and capability are not reserved for sons. Judge the cub by the lion it is, and raise daughters to take the throne if it is theirs.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 39 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Better a glorious death than a shameful life.
Avt'handil tells his king that death comes for everyone by every road, so the only real choice is how you meet it. A life bought with cowardice is worse than a short one lived with honor. Few of us face that literal choice, but the small version comes daily: keep your word when it costs you, or keep your comfort and lose your name.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 781 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
A good name is worth more than all you could own.
Rustaveli ranks reputation above every possession. Goods can be bought back; a name, once spent, is very hard to earn again. When a deal asks you to trade your word for profit, this is the answer.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 780 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
In trouble, stand like a stone wall.
Avt'handil tells his grieving friend that the wise all agree on one rule: when misery comes, set yourself like masonry. Grief that runs unchecked only digs the hole deeper. Feel it, but keep standing; walls are built for weather.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 855 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Whoever seeks no friend is his own enemy.
To cut yourself off from friendship is to do your enemy's work for him. No one is strong enough to go through life without people who would cross a desert for them. Make the call, show up for the friend, and let others show up for you.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 834 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
If we want joy from God, we must accept grief too.
Avt'handil talks to his own heart on the road: you cannot order the sweet without the bitter. Joy and grief come from the same hand, and refusing one closes the door on the other. Take the hard season as part of the deal you made when you asked for a good life.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 708 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Patience is the spring of wisdom.
Rustaveli puts patience upstream of wisdom: the clear thinking comes after the waiting. Most bad decisions are made by people who could not bear another hour of not knowing. Sit with the problem a little longer than is comfortable and the answer often arrives on its own.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 708 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Sometimes speaking beats silence. Sometimes speaking spoils it.
A vizier weighs whether to bring the king bad news. There is no rule that settles it ahead of time; words help or harm depending on the moment. Before you speak, ask whether this is the time it helps.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 733 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Slow and scolded beats fast and praised.
Avt'handil says it after a rash act he regrets. Haste wins applause in the moment and bills you later; care gets called slow and pays off. Take the criticism for checking twice rather than the praise for a mistake made fast.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 1320 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Good has beaten evil. Good is what lasts.
Spoken when the heroes' long ordeal turns to joy, it is the moral spine of the poem. Evil can win a season, but it burns out, while good keeps building. It is a reason to keep doing the right thing on the days it looks like it is losing.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 1337 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
A sweet tongue lures the snake from its hole.
Kind, well-chosen words reach where force cannot. Even the most guarded person comes out for warmth and respect. If you need someone to open up, soften your voice before you raise your argument.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 881 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
What is in the jug is what pours out.
You cannot pour wine from a jug of vinegar. What comes out of a person under pressure is what was already inside. Fill yourself with the habits and thoughts you want spilling out on a bad day.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 1072 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Whoever does good does not lose in the end.
Doing good can look like a losing trade for a long time. Rustaveli bets on the long run, where kindness and honest work come back around. Keep the ledger open longer than a week.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 1476 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
No enemy can hurt you the way you hurt yourself.
A vizier walks out of the king's hall ruined by his own careless words. Most of our worst damage is self-inflicted: the text sent angry, the habit we feed, the promise we break. Guard against yourself first; outside enemies are rarely as effective.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 743 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
When a man is in trouble, he needs a brother.
Friends are easy to have in good times; hard times show who your people are. Rustaveli says plainly that trouble is what brothers are for. Be that brother before you need one.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 754 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
For a traveller, standing still is the mistake.
Avt'handil refuses to linger when he still has a road to finish. Once you have set out, delay is the real danger, not the hills ahead. If you have a goal, keep moving, even slowly.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 995 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Soft lead can break hard stone.
The image is of something soft winning against something hard. Patience, gentleness and repeated small blows wear down what force cannot crack. Do not underestimate the quiet approach.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 5 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
No one ever picked a rose without thorns.
Everything worth having comes with some pain attached. Rustaveli says it to a man who thinks his suffering is unique. Expect the thorns, and do not take them as proof you chose the wrong rose.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 857 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Do what you don't want to. Don't follow every desire.
Avt'handil tells his friend to stop obeying his own moods. Discipline is doing the thing your wanting argues against. Get up, train, make the call; let desire advise you, never command you.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 860 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Everyone is wise in someone else's battle.
It is easy to know what someone else should do when the arrows are not flying at you. Rustaveli uses it to excuse the advice-givers and to humble them. Before you judge how someone handled their fight, remember you were not in it.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 830 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Lies and two faces wound the body, then the soul.
Living a double life costs you twice: first in stress and the effort of keeping stories straight, then in who you become. Rustaveli's hero refuses to betray a friend for this reason. Be one person in every room.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 770 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Give heart for heart. Make love a road and a bridge.
This is Rustaveli's rule for friendship: give your heart in exchange for a heart, and let your love be the road your friend crosses to safety. Love here is practical, something to walk on. Ask what bridge your friend needs and build it.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 685 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
The worst enemy is the one who looks like a friend.
An open enemy you can see and guard against. The false friend has your trust, your secrets and your back. Watch how people act when you are not in the room before you hand them the keys.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 1189 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
True justice can turn a dry tree green.
Fairness revives what looked dead: a team, a family, a town. People who have been treated unjustly wither, and real justice brings them back. When something has gone dry, ask first whether it was treated fairly.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 526 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Men are not all equal. Man differs greatly from man.
Rustaveli means character, not rank or birth. Two people with the same chances can turn out worlds apart in loyalty and courage. Choose your friends by what they do, because people are not interchangeable.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 932 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
How can a doctor cure someone who won't say what hurts?
Help needs honesty. A friend, a coach or a doctor can only fix what you are willing to name. Say where it hurts, out loud, to someone who can help.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 1061 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
No one gets a pearl without paying for it.
Anything precious has a price, in effort, risk or time. Avtandil says it to his servant Shermadin before setting off alone to earn what he wants. Stop waiting for the pearl to fall in your lap and start paying for it.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 161 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Fate treats us like weather: sometimes sun, sometimes thunder.
Good and bad luck come and go like weather, to everyone. Rustaveli's hero says it on a good day, remembering the storms. Do not take the sunny days for granted or the thunder personally; both pass.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 687 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912
Every unworthy deed is short-lived and bears no fruit.
Shortcuts and shabby moves rarely last, and what they win does not grow. Rustaveli says it of a foolish love letter, but it holds for any cheap move. Build the things that will still be standing next year.
The Man in the Panther's Skin, st. 1068 (Wardrop 1912 numbering), Marjory Scott Wardrop, 1912