The Proverbs is a collection of
ancient wisdom, still recognized today as practical advice. It contains
the sayings not only of Solomon, but other sages of ancient Israel as well.
The teachings of this book can be applied by everyone from children to young
men and women to the leaders of business empires and nations.
Zeal is fit only for wise men but is found
mostly in fools.
Proverb, (Ancient)
Zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse.
Proverb, (English)
Zeal without knowledge is like fire without light.
Proverb, (English)
Zeal without knowledge is the sister of folly.
Proverb
Zeal without prudence is frenzy.
Proverb
There's no sauce like appetite.
[Fr., Il n'est sauce que d'appetit.]
Proverb, (French)
Every man is the architect of his own fortunes.
Pseudo-Sallust
His fore feet though you sever, his grip he'll make good.
Punch
And he repents in thorns that sleeps in beds of roses.
Francis Quarles
Poor thieves in halters we behold;
And great thieves in their chains of gold.
Francis Quarles
When two agree in their desire,
One sparke will set them both on fire.
Francis Quarles
The next way home's the farthest way about.
Francis Quarles, Emblems
(bk. IV, em. 2, ep. 2)
A laugh, if purchased at the expense of propriety, costs too much.
Quintilian (Marcus Fabius Quintilianus)
He who speaks evil only differs from his who does evil in that he lacks
opportunity.
Quintilian (Marcus Fabius Quintilianus)
That which prematurely arrives at perfection soon perishes.
Quintilian (Marcus Fabius Quintilianus)
While we are making up our minds as to when we shall begin. the opportunity
is lost.
Quintilian (Marcus Fabius Quintilianus)
I am just going to leap into the dark.
Francois Rabelais
Others set carts before the horses.
Francois Rabelais
Nature abhors a vacuum.
[Fr., Natura abhorret vacuum.]
Francois Rabelais, Gargantua (ch. V)
How well I feathered by nest.
Francois Rabelais, Works
(bk. II, ch. SVII)
He did not care a button for it.
Francois Rabelais, Works (bk. II, ch. XVI)
Strike the iron whilst it is hot.
Francois Rabelais, Works
(bk. II, ch. XXXI)
Performed to a T.
Francois Rabelais, Works (bk. IV, ch. LI)
Make three bites of a cherry.
Francois Rabelais, Works
(bk. V, ch. XXVIII)
You shall never want rope enough.
Francois Rabelais,
Works--Prologue to the Fifth Book
No money, no Swiss.
[Fr., Point d'argent, point de Suisse.]
Jean Baptiste Racine, Plaideurs (I, 1)
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
John Ray (Wray)
If the first of July be rainy weather,
It will rain, more of less, for four weeks together.
John Ray (Wray), English Proverbs
The drop hollows out the stone not by strength, but by constant falling.
[Lat., Gutta cavat lapidem non vi, sed saepe cadendo.]
prob. first used by Richard,
quoted in the "Menagiana", 1713
The Good are better made by Ill,
As odours crushed are sweeter still.
Samuel Rogers, Jacqueline (st. 3)
Nothing is so secure in its position as not to be in danger from the attack
even of the weak.
Quintus Curtius Rufus (Curtis Rufus Quintus)
Timid dogs more eagerly bark than bite.
Quintus Curtius Rufus (Curtis Rufus Quintus)
Haste is slow.
[Lat., Festinatio tarda est.]
Quintus Curtius Rufus (Curtis Rufus Quintus) IX, 9, 12
The deepest rivers flow with the least sound.
[Lat., Altissima quaeque flumina minimo sono labuntur.]
Quintus Curtius Rufus (Curtis Rufus Quintus),
De Rebus Gestis Alexandri Magni
(VII, 4, 13)
But few prize honour more than money.
Sallust (Caius Sallustius Crispus)
