Part 41
Possession and good right, with lance in hand, 242
Possession is as good as a title, 46
Pound the garlic, Pedro, whilst I grate the cheese, 230
Poverty and hunger have many learned disciples, 134
Poverty does not destroy virtue, nor does wealth bestow it, 228
Poverty has no kin, 121
Poverty is a sort of leprosy, 45
Poverty is cunning; it catches even a fox, 134
Poverty is no sin, 45, 200
Poverty is no sin, but it is a branch of roguery, 240
Poverty is the reward of idleness, 300
Poverty is the sixth sense, 134
Poverty never sped well in love, 291
Power often goes before talent, 386
Practice makes perfect, 171, 220, 261
Practice makes the master, 171
Practise not your art and ’twill soon depart, 180
Praise a fine day at night, 168, 365
Praise a fool, and you may make him useful, 396
Praise borrowed from ancestors is but sorry praise, 359
Praise paves the way to friendship, 385
Praise the sea, and keep on land, 22, 109
Praise yourself, basket, for I want to sell you, 195
Praising is not loving, 159
Pray to the saint until you have passed the slough, 299
Praying to God, and hitting with the hammer, 194
Precaution said, Good friend, this counsel keep: strip not yourself until you’re laid to sleep, 336
Precious ointments are put in small boxes, 17
Precious things are mostly in small compass (In small boxes the best spice), 331
Precipitate counsel—perilous deed, 375
Prepare a nest for the hen and she will lay eggs for you, 264
Presents keep friendship warm, 149
Pretty children sing pretty songs, 367
Pride went out on horseback and returned on foot, 107
Pride will have a fall, 152, 375
Priestly knaves sweat hard at their meat, but never at work get into a heat, 165
Priests and women never forget, 165
Priests bless themselves first, 165
Priests even smile pleasantly on young women, 165
Priests, friars, nuns, and chickens, never have enough, 121
Priests pay each other no tithes, 165
Priests should not prate out of the confessional, 165
Princes have long arms, 105
Princes have long hands and many ears, 148
Princes keep good reckoning, they never lose anything, 36
Princes will not be served on conditions, 36
Princes use men as the husbandman uses bees, 36
Prison and Lent were made for the poor, 226
Proffered service is little valued (Proffered service stinks), 296
Profit is better than fame, 370
Promises and undressed cloth are apt to shrink, 384
Promises don’t fill the belly, 172
Promises make debts, 191
Promises make debts, and debts make promises, 300
Promising and performing are two things, 47, 300
Promising is one thing, performing another, 172, 300
Promising is not giving, but serves to content fools, 292
Prosperity forgets father and mother, 225
Proverbs are the daughters of daily experience, 338
Prudent men choose frugal wives, 157
Public money is like holy water, every one helps himself to it, 101
Pull gently at a weak rope, 296
Pulling the devil by the tail does not lead far young or old, 58
Put a beggar into your barn and he will make himself your heir, 232
Put not all your eggs into one basket, 333
Put out the fire betimes, ere it reach the roof, 159
Put the belfry in the middle of the village, 22
Put the light out, and all women are alike, 159
Put your hand in your conscience and see if it don’t come out as black as pitch, 338
Put your hand quickly to your hat, and slowly to your purse, and you will take no harm, 380
Q.
Quick at meat, quick at work, 153
Quick and well don’t agree (or seldom go together), 121, 398
Quick enough, if good enough, 168
R.
Rage avails less than courage, 39
Ragged colts make the handsomest stallions, 135
Rain comes oft after sunshine, and after a dark cloud a clear sky, 394
Raise no more devils than you can lay, 160
Rather a husband with one eye than with one son, 289
Rather a single grape for me than a brace of figs for thee, 27
Rather an ass that carries than a horse that throws, 121
Rather go rob with good men than pray with bad, 266
Rather hat in hand than hand in purse, 121
Rather have a little one for your friend, than a great one for your enemy, 65
Rather lose the wool than the sheep, 266
Rather mulberry than almond (the almond-tree is in blossom earlier than the mulberry), 200
Rather the egg to-day than the hen to-morrow, 349
Rats do not play tricks with kittens, 209
Ravens do not peck out ravens’ eyes, 34, 89
Ready money works great cures, 5
Reason does not come before years, 172
Reason lies between bridle and spur, 128
Reason not with the great, ’tis a perilous gate, 55
Reasonings banish reason, 36
Reconciled friendship is a wound ill salved, 70, 368
“Red is Love’s colour,” said the woer to his foxy charmer, 166
Rejoice in little, shun what is extreme; the ship rides safest in a little stream, 338
Render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, 333
Renounce the devil and thou shalt wear a shabby cloak, 193
Rent and taxes never sleep, 191
Repentance costs dear, 33, 208
Repentance is the heart’s medicine, 166
Report makes the wolf bigger than he is, 149
Repute hangs a man, 31
Rest comes from unrest, and unrest from rest, 167
Rest is good after the work is done, 371
Rest makes rusty, 337
Revenge a hundred years old has still its milk-teeth, 131
Revenge converts a little right into a great wrong, 166
Revenge is new wrong, 165
Revenge remains not unrevenged, 165
Reward sweetens labour, 332
Rich gamblers and old trumpeters are rare, 166
Rich garments weep on unworthy shoulders, 34
Rich people are everywhere at home, 166
Riches and favour go before wisdom and art, 396
Riches are often abused, but never refused, 396
Riches breed care, poverty is safe, 396
Riches cause arrogance; poverty, meekness, 151
Ride on, but look before you, 337
Right is with the strongest, 139
Right or wrong, God aid our purpose, 203
Right or wrong, ’tis our house up to the roof, 203, 268
Right overstrained turns to wrong, 212
Rise early and watch, labour and catch, 230, 280
Roast geese don’t come flying into the mouth, 305
Roast pigeons don’t fly through the air, 318
Rome was not built in a day, 55, 104, 166
Rosary in hand, the devil at heart, 273
Roses and maidens soon lose their bloom, 166
Roses fall, but the thorns remain, 307
Royal favour, April weather, woman’s love, rose-leaves, dice, and card-luck, change every moment, 148
Running water carries no poison, 67
Rust consumes iron, and envy consumes itself, 396
Rust wastes more than use, 31
S.
Safe bind, safe find, 174
Safe over the bridge, one laughs at St. Nepomuck, 150
Said in sport, meant in earnest, 153
Said the frying-pan to the kettle, Stand off, black bottom, 213
Sail while the breeze blows, wind and tide wait for no man, 397
Saint cannot if God will not, 55
Saint Francis shaved himself first, and then he shaved his brethren, 124
Saint Martin was an easy man, he loved to drink _Cerevisiam_; and when he’d no _Pecuniam_, he left in pledge his _Tunicam_, 167
Saints appear to fools, 266
Saint’s words, cat’s claws, 291
Salt and bread make the cheeks red, 167
Salt spilt is never all gathered, 255, 299
Samson was a strong man, but he could not pay money before he had it, 167
Satiety causes disgust (Abundance begets indifference), 171
Saving is a greater art than gaining, 169
Saving is getting, 49
Savings are the first gain, 109
Say before they say (Tell your own story first), 200
Say what we will, do what we will, the boat goes but sorrily without oars, 75
Saying and doing are two things, 98, 167
Saying is one thing, doing another, 70
Saying well causes a laugh; doing well produces silence, 8
Scratch people where they itch, 22
Scratching and borrowing do well enough, but not for long, 156
Seat yourself in your place and you will not be made to quit it, 257, 294
Second thoughts are best, 103
Secret fire is discovered by its smoke (Catalan), 222
Secret gifts are openly rewarded, 374
Security is nowhere safe, 169
Security is the first cause of misfortune, 169
See a pin and let it lie, you’ll want a pin before you die, 54
See, hear, and hold your tongue, 261
See how he has risen from a mayor to a hangman, 211
See Naples and then die, 131
See that you tie so that you can untie, 233
Seeing is believing, 79
Self-done, is soon done (Never trust to another what you should do yourself), 168
Self is the man, 168
Self-love is bad, and makes the eyes sad, 142
Self-love is blind, 317
Self-love nobody else’s love, 344
Self-praise stinks, friend’s praise hinks, the stranger’s is sincere, and may last for a year, 142
Sell me dear, and measure me fair, 77
Sell publicly and buy privately, 261
Send a man of sense on the embassy, and you need not instruct him, 282
Sense comes with age, 259
Seven brothers in a council make wrong right, 257
Seven is company, and nine confusion (Alluding to a dinner party), 257
Serve a lord and you’ll know what is grief, 257, 294
Serve as a serf or fly like a deer, 56
Service is no inheritance, 56, 126
Services unrequired go unrequited, 171
Set a beggar on horseback, and he don’t trot, but gallops, 321
Set a beggar on horseback, and he’ll outride the devil, 178
Set a peasant on horseback, and he forgets both God and man, 244
Set a fox to catch a fox, 390
Set a thief to catch a thief, 167, 334, 364
Set thy expense according to thy trade, 345
Set your sail according to the wind, 22
Shame comes to no man unless he himself help it on the way, 381
Shame lasts longer than poverty, 337
She hangs out the broom (wants a husband), 345
She is fond of greens who kisses the gardener, 223
She is fond of him—on the side where the pocket hangs, 169
She is good and honoured who is dead and buried, 222
She is good who is close to the fire and does not burn, 222
She is well married who has neither mother-in-law nor sister-in-law, 201, 267
She who is born a beauty is born betrothed, 83
She who loves an ugly man thinks him handsome, 249
Shear the sheep but don’t flay them, 23, 333
Shoemaker stick to your last, 168, 262, 337
Shoemakers are always the worst shod, 34
Shoemakers go to mass and pray that sheep may die, 261
Short flax makes long thread, 399
Short hair is soon brushed, 157
Short hose must have long points, 193
Short pleasure often brings long repentance, 399
Short reckonings make long friends, 34, 157, 273, 317
Should the heavens fall, many pipkins will be broken, 367
Show me a liar and I’ll show you a thief, 39, 190, 344
Show me a poor man, I will show you a flatterer, 273
Shut your door, and you will make your neighbour good (or a good woman), 208, 272
Sickly body, sickly mind, 157
Sickness comes in haste, and goes at leisure, 399
Sickness comes on horseback and departs on foot, 308
Sickness comes uninvited—no need to bespeak it, 399
Sickness is every man’s master, 399
Sight goes before hearsay, 399
Silence and look out, we shall catch both hen and chicks, 207
Silence and reflection cause no dejection, 168
Silence answers much, 345
Silence gives consent, 50, 86, 185, 247, 311
Silk and velvet put out the kitchen fire, 167
Silken tongue and hempen heart often go together, 397
Silly sheep, where one goes, all go, 238
Silver and gold are all men’s dears, 398
Since I wronged you, I have never liked you, 212
Since the house is on fire, let us warm ourselves, 121, 242
Since the wine is drawn it must be drunk, 47
Since we have loaves let us not look for cakes, 242
Since you have been scolding me, I have counted a hundred and twenty holes in that nutmeg grater, 213
Singed eats live long, 172
Singers, lovers, and poets, are privileged liars, 167
Six things have no business in the world: a fighting priest, a coward knight, a covetous judge, a stinking barber, a soft-hearted mother, and an itchy baker, 57
Skill or fortune will efface the spots, 72
Skilled hands eat trouts, 230
Slander expires at a good woman’s door, 399
Slander! slander! some of it always sticks, 9
Slaughter (or kill) no more than you can well salt, 167
Sleep over it, and you will come to a resolution, 215
Sloth is the beginning of vice, 332
Sloth is the key to poverty, 148, 240, 292
Slow and sure, 158
Small beer comes the last, 348
Small gains bring great wealth, 330
Small profits and often, are better than large profits and seldom, 157
Small profits are sweet, 384
Small rain lays a great wind, 120
Small saints, too, work miracles, 157
Small undertakings give great comfort, 177
Smoke, floods (or stench), and a scolding wife, are enough to drive a man out of his life, 19, 224, 337
Smoke, rain, and a scolding wife, are three bad things in a house, 401
Smooth words do not flay the tongue, 114
Snarling curs never want sore ears, 13
Snivelling folks always want to wipe other folks’ noses, 35
So begun, so done, 345
So good that he is good for nothing, 127
So got, so gone, 345
So it goes in the world: one has the purse, the other has the gold, 169
So many countries, so many customs, 127, 158, 169
So many heads, so many minds, 127, 397
So many men, so many minds, 7, 173, 345
So you tell me there are wolves on the mountain, and foxes in the valley, 202
Soft and fair goeth far, 344
Soft water constantly striking the hard stone, wears it at last, 264
Soft words don’t scotch the tongue, 16
Softly, barber, the water scalds, 120
Softly, don’t raise a dust, 120
Soldiers must be well paid, and well hanged, 169
Some day Peter will command as much as his master, 196
Some have bread who have no teeth left, 58
Some have fine eyes and can’t see a jot, 58
Some have the fame, and others card the wool, 260
Some sell and don’t deliver, 58
Some sing who are not merry, 127
Some think they have done when they are only beginning, 58
Some thinking to avenge their shame increase it, 58
Some who jest tell tales of themselves, 127
Some who mean only to warm, burn themselves, 58
Something to every one is good division, 155
Sometimes an egg is given for an ox, 69
Sometimes the lees are better than the wine, 69
Soon enough if well enough, 5
Soon fire, soon ashes, 341
Soon gained, soon squandered, 58
Soon grass, soon hay, 341
Soon ripe, soon rotten, 154
Soon ripe, soon rotten; soon wise, soon foolish, 341
Sooner or later the truth comes to light, 341
Sorrow seldom comes alone, 397
Sour wine, old bacon, and rye bread, keep a house rich, 261
Sow corn in clay, and plant vines in sand, 257
Sow not money on the sea, lest it sink, 344
Spare to speak and spare to speed, 51
Sparrows should not dance with cranes, their legs are too short, 375
Speak little and well, they will think you somebody, 277
Speak little of your ill luck, and boast not of your good luck, 400
Speak little, speak truth. Spend little, pay cash, 166
Speak not ill of the year until it is past, 112, 235, 285
Speak, that I may see thee, 166
Speak well of your friend; of your enemy neither well nor ill, 91
Speaking comes by nature, silence by understanding, 166
Speaking is silver, silence is gold, 338
Speaking silence is better than senseless speech, 350
Speech is oft repented, silence seldom, 386
Speedy rise, speedy fall (Sudden glory soon goes out), 168
Spending your money with many a guest, empties the kitchen, the cellar, and chest, 190
Spilt salt is never well collected, 255, 299
Spinner, spin softly, you disturb me; I am praying, 278
Spit not in the well, you may have to drink its water, 40
Spur not a willing horse, 1, 77, 188
Stagnant water grows stinking, 170
Stand up, farthing, let the florin sit down (Stand up, cent, let the dollar sit down), 152
Starlings are lean because they go in flocks, 100
Starved lice bite the hardest, 332
Stay a while, and lose a mile, 338
Stealing would be a nice thing, if thieves were hanged by the girdle, 218
Step by step one goes far (or to Rome), 118, 297, 341
Still water breeds vermin, 67
Still waters run deep, 170, 338, 363
Stock-fish are made tender by much beating, 334
Stolen bread stirs the appetite, 44
Stones or bread, one must have something in hand for the dogs, 118
Stoop, and let it pass; the storm will have its way, 364
Store is no sore, 1, 174
Strain not your bow beyond its bent, lest it break, 338
Strangers’ meat is the greatest treat, 369
Straying shepherd, straying sheep, 154
Strength avails not a coward, 67
Stretch your legs, according to your coverlet, 160 170, 338 (_See_ Every one stretches)
Strew no roses before swine, 338
Strike while the iron is hot, 22, 74, 160, 282, 337, 390
Strong folks have strong maladies, 170
Strong is the vinegar of sweet wine, 99
“Success to you! God speed the craft!” as the hangman said to the judge, 150
Such awkward things will happen as going into the great square and coming back without ears, 202
Suffering and patience, obedience and application, help the lowly born to honour, 384
Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof, 2
Sugared words generally prove bitter, 239
Suit yourself to the times, 167
Summer-sown corn and women’s advice turn out well once in every seven years, 169
Supper is soon served in a plentiful house, 284
Supple as a glove, 318
Suspicion is the poison of friendship, 57
Sweat makes good mortar, 168
Sweep before your own door before you look after your neighbour’s, 340
Sweet meat requires sour sauce, 93
Sweet song has betrayed many, 170
Sweet wine makes sour vinegar, 170
Swim on and don’t trust, 40
T.
Take a horse by his bridle and a man by his word, 333
Take a woman’s first advice and not her second, 46
Take advice of a red-bearded man, and be gone, 400
Take an ox by his horn, a man by his word, 31
Take care of your geese when the fox preaches, 400
Take care of your plough, and your plough will take care of you, 180
Take care you don’t let your tail be caught in the door, 100
Take counsel before it goes ill, lest it go worse, 312
Take down a thief from the gallows and he will hang you up, 15, 92
Take help of many, advice of few, 400
Take not your sickle to another man’s corn, 388
Take nothing in hand that may bring repentance, 335
Take the horse to the knacker, and throw in bridle and saddle, 190
Take the middle of the way and thou wilt not fall, 225
Take the world as it is, not as it ought to be, 164
Taking out without putting in soon comes to the bottom, 211, 276
Talk as you go, husband, to the gallows, 199
Talk little and well, and you will be looked upon as somebody, 223
Talk of sporting, and buy game in the market, 223
Talk of the devil and his imp appears, 178
Talk of the devil and you hear his bones rattle, 299
Talk of the wolf and behold his skin, 277
Talk of the wolf and his tail appears, 48, 299
Talking is easier than doing, and promising than performing, 166
Talking is silver, silence is gold, 166
Tall trees catch much wind, 328
Tell a lie and you’ll hear the truth, 167, 214
Tell everybody your business and the devil will do it for you, 92
Tell her she is handsome, and you will turn her head (or brain), 214, 275
Tell it her once, and the devil will tell it her ten times, 214
Tell, me the company you keep, and I’ll tell you what (or who) you are, 16, 92, 214, 344
Tell me with whom thou goest, and I’ll tell thee what thou doest, 275
Tell no one what you would have known only to yourself, 303
Tell no tales out of school, 160
Tell not all you, know believe not all you hear, do not all you are able, 67
Tell not all you know, nor judge of all you see, if you would live in peace, 245
Tell your affairs in the market-place, and one will call them black and another white, 255
Tell your friend a lie, and if he keeps it secret tell him the truth, 203, 268
Tell your friend your secret, and he will set his foot on your neck, 91, 213, 275
Ten noes are better than one lie, 401
Tender surgeons make foul wounds, 344
Thank you, pretty pussy, was the death of my cat, 119
That beer’s of your own brewing, and you must drink it, 303
That bench is well adorned that is filled with virtuous women, 352
That brings water to the mill, 9
That costs dear which is bought with begging, 77
That happens in a moment (or a day) which may not happen in a hundred years, 20, 66
That is beggar’s fare, said the dame, when she fried eggs with the sausages, 303
That is done soon enough which is well done, 5, 73
That is gold which is worth gold, 43, 118, 238, 290
That is good wisdom which is wisdom in the end, 324
That is not in the looking-glass which is seen in the looking-glass, 147
That is pleasant to remember which was hard to endure, 124
That is poor help that helps you from the feather-bed to the straw, 359
That may be soon done which brings long repentance, 362
That miller is honest who has hair on his teeth, 139
That mouse will have a tail (_i. e._ The thing will have a long train of consequences), 303
That priest is a fool who decries his relics, 119
That usury is a sin some hold, but take for granted they’ve no gold, 185
That which burns thee not, cool not, 343
That which comes with sin, goes with sorrow, 375
That which covers thee discovers thee, 252
That which has been eaten out of the pot cannot be put into the dish, 362
That which has been thrown away has often to be begged for again, 393
That which is customary requires no excuse, 88
That which is stamped a penny will never be a pound, 352
That which is unsaid, may be said; that which is said, cannot be unsaid, 363
That which must be, will be, 362
That’s all well and good, but gold is better, 303
That’s as much as a bean in a brewing copper, 325
That’s but an empty purse which is full of other men’s money, 354
That’s quickly done which is long repented, 324
Thaw reveals what has been hidden by snow, 362
The abbey does not fail for want of one monk, 46
The absent are always in the wrong, 33, 303
The absent were never in the right, 237
The accomplice is as bad as the thief, 294
The account is correct, but not a sixpence appears, 224
The act of treachery is liked, but not he that does it, 228
The aged in council—the young in action, 352
The ant gets wings that she may perish the sooner, 233 (_See_ God gives wings)
The anvil is not afraid of the hammer, 138, 365
The anvil is used to noise, 138
The anvil lasts longer than the hammer, 95, 120
The archer that shoots badly has a lie ready, 261, 269
The arguments of the strongest have always the most weight, 31
The arms of Bruges: an ass in an arm-chair, 325
The art is not in making money, but in keeping it, 323
The ass and his driver do not think alike, 138, 304
The ass carries corn to the mill and gets thistles, 138
The ass dead, the barley at his tail, 195, 267
The ass does not know the worth of his tail till he has lost it, 107
The ass embraced the thistle, and they found themselves relations, 263
The ass of many owners is eaten by wolves, 202, 267
The ass that is common property is always the worst saddled, 30
The ass that is hungry eats thistles, 268
The ass that trespasses on a stranger’s premises will leave them laden with wood (_i.e._ cudgelled), 268
The ass well knows in whose house he brays, 205, 269
The ass’s hide is used to the stick, 107
The ass’s son brays one hour daily, 288
The back door is the one that robs the house, 107
The bacon of paradise for the married man that does not repent, 220
The bad barber leaves neither hair nor skin, 220
The bad man always suspects knavery, 218
The bad neighbour gives a needle without thread (Galician), 198, 265
The bagpipe never utters a word till its belly is full, 27
The bailiff’s cow and another’s cow are two different cows, 140
The balance in doing its office knows neither gold nor lead, 18
The bath has sworn not to whiten the blackamoor, 225
The beadle’s cow may graze in the churchyard, 157, 331
The beadle of the parish is always of the vicar’s opinion, 31
The beard does not make the philosopher, 105