A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs Comprising French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and Danish, with English Translations and a General Index

To go safely through the world you must have the eye of a falcon, the ear of an ass, the face of an ape, the mouth of a pig, the shoulders of a camel, and the legs of a deer, 87

Where your father has been with ink, go not you with a bag (_i.e._ what your father has sold and assigned, think not to recover with a bag of papers. In other words, don’t go to...

The Emperor of Germany is the king of kings, the King of Spain king of men, the King of France king of asses, the King of England king of devils, 33

There is nothing for which the boors pray so much to God as that the horses of the squirearchy may not die, for otherwise they would ride the boors with spurs, 140

Folks say there is a lack of four sorts of people on earth: of priests, else one would not have six or seven benefices; of gentlemen, else every boor would not want to be a squi...

Det er daarligt at tage Tornen af en Andens Fod og sætte den i sin egen. _It is folly to take a thorn out of another’s foot and put it into your own._

Tidt faaer man det Tungt paa sin Ryg, som man tog let paa sin Samvittighed. _You may often feel that heavily on your back which you took lightly on your conscience._

Die Bauern bitten nichts so sehr von Gott, als daß den Junkern die Rosse nicht Sterben, sonst würden sie die Bauern mit Sporen reiten. There is nothing for which the boors pray...

Wer einen Aal beim Schwanz und Weiber faßt bei Worten, wie feste der auch hält, hält nichts an beiden Orten. Who takes an eel by the tail or a woman by her word, grasp as he wil...

Flyver end Fuglen over dit Hoved, saa lad den ei bygge Bo i dit Haar. _Though the bird may fly over your head, let it not make its nest in your hair._

El que fué monacelo, y despues abad, sabe lo que hacen los mozos tras el altar. _He who has been first a novice and then an abbot, knows what the boys do behind the altar._

Wie in zijn 23^e jaar niet sterft, in zijn 24^e niet verdrinkt, en in zijn 25^e niet wordt verslagen, die mag wel spreken van goede dagen. _He who dies not in his twenty-third y...

Ni con cada mal al fisico, ni con cada pleito al letrado, ni con cada sed al jarro. _Go not with every ailment to the doctor, with every plea to the lawyer, or with every thirst...

“Jeg siger det ikke for min Skyld,” sagde Ræven, “at der er god Gaasegang i Skoven.” _”It is not for my own sake,” said the fox, “that I say there is a good goose-green in the w...

Es ist zu viel von einer Katze begehrt, daß sie bei der Milch sitze, und nicht davon schlecke. It is too much to expect of a cat that she should sit by the milk and not lap it.

Quien á los veinte no entiende, á treinta no sabe y á quarenta no tiene, ruin vejez le espera. _He who at twenty understands nothing, at thirty knows nothing, and at forty has n...

So geht es in der Welt: der Eine hat den Beutel, der Andere hat das Geld. So it goes in the world: one has the purse, the other has the gold.

Quem te faz festa, naõ soendo fazer, ou te quer enganar, ou te há mister. _He who makes more of you than he is wont, either means to cheat you or wants you._

On ferait un bien gros livre de tous les peut-être qui se disent en un jour. _It would be a very big book that contained all the maybes uttered in a day._

Zwei Katzen und Eine Maus, zwei Weiber in Einem Haus, zwei Hund’ an einem Bein, kommen selten überein. Two cats and one mouse, two women in one house, two dogs to one bone, will...

Chi piglia l’anguilla per la coda, e la donna per la parola, può dir che non tiene niente. _Who takes an eel by the tail and a woman at her word, may say he holds nothing._

De haré, haré, nunca me pagué; mas vale un toma que dos te daré. _I never was satisfied with “I will, I will.” One “take this” is better than two “I will give you.”_

Si tienes médico amigo, quitale la gorra y envialo á casa de tu enemigo. _If you have a friend who is a doctor, make your bow and send him to the house of your enemy._

Emprestaste, e naõ cobraste; e se cobraste, naõ tanto; e se tanto, naõ tal; e se tal, inimigo mortal. _You have lent and not recovered; and if recovered, not so much; and if so...

Een huis van leem, een paard van gras, een vriend van mond, ’t is al maar glas. _A plaster house, a horse at grass, a friend in words, are all mere glass._

De la main à la bouche se perd souvent la soupe. _Between the hand and the mouth the soup is often spilt._ (_’Twixt the cup and the lip there’s many a slip._)

Man spricht, an vielerlei Leuten ist Mangel auf Erden: an Pfaffen, sonst dürfte einer nicht sechs bis sieben Pründen; an Adelichen, sonst wollte nicht jeder Bauer ein Junker sei...

Bijt mij niet, ik heet beetje; had ik een staartje zoo was ik een leeuwtje. _Bite me not, my name is little grizzle; had I a little tail I should be a little lion._

Si le diable sortait de l’enfer pour combattre, il se présenterait aussitôt un Français pour accepter le défi. _Were the devil to come from hell to fight, there would forthwith...

La vita de’ medici, l’anima de’ preti, e la roba de’ legisti sono in gran pericolo. _The lives of doctors, the souls of priests, and the property of lawyers, are in great danger._

Se il giovane sapesse, se il vecchio potesse, e’ non c’è cosa che non si facesse. _If the young man knew, if the old man could, there is nothing but would be done._

Egli ha fatto come quel Perugino, che subito che gli fu rotto il capo, corse a casa per la celata. _He has done like the Perugian who, when his head was broken, ran home for his...

Ad un uomo dabbene avanza la metà del cervello; ad un tristo non basta neanche tutto. _For an honest man half his wits are enough; the whole is too little for a knave._

La fortune est une femme; si vous la manquez aujourd’hui, ne vous attendez pas à la retrouver demain. _Fortune is a woman; if you neglect her to-day, expect not to regain her to...

WHILE engaged in editing my Handbook of English Proverbs, it occurred to me that a Collection of Foreign Proverbs, arranged in monographs, and brought as far as possible into ju...

Kwaad gezelschap zei de dief, en hij ging tusschen den beul en eenen monnik naar de galg. _”Bad company,” said the thief, as he went to the gallows between the hangman and a monk._