Great Throughts Treasury

"Act quickly, think slowly."

"Where there is envy, there is malice."

"Ask the patient, not the doctor."

"Fools scatter about their many attributes, the wise keep such within; A piece of straw floats upon the surface of water. A precious gemstone sinks to the bottom! Therefore, it is best to disregard the seen. And concentrate upon the unseen. Only within the latter may riches be found."

"Nothing will content those who are not content with a little."

"Once you learn something, it is hard to unlearn."

"The believer is happy, the doubter is wise."

"Wonder is the beginning of wisdom."

"Who would learn to command well must first of all learn to obey."

"A beard signifies lice, not brains."

"A cassock doesn't make someone a priest."

"A confessed sin is half-forgiven."

"A civilization flourishes when people plant trees under which they will never sit."

"A different man, a different taste."

"A doctor's mistake is God's writing."

"A gentle sheep is being breastfed by two mothers."

"A green fruit gets ripe slowly."

"A gift, though small, is welcome."

"A good man says no slowly; a wise man says no at once."

"A hungry bear does not dance."

"A house not seen by the sun is seen by the doctor."

"A heart that loves is always young."

"A liar gives birth to another liar, until they become a generation (of liars)."

"A library is a repository of medicine for the mind."

"A lucky person is someone who plants pebbles and harvests potatoes."

"A mad bull is not to be tied up with a packthread."

"A miser and a liar bargain quickly."

"A miser is ever in want."

"A person can be as sweet as honey or as heavy as steel."

"A person's character is revealed by their speech."

"A man with a skinny wife is a deceitful man."

"A priest, a doctor and a policeman is better not to enter one's house."

"A serpent, unless it devours a serpent, will not become a dragon."

"A priest can't stand another good priest."

"A pomegranate never tastes like a fig."

"A servant of God fasts, because he doesn't have any food."

"A small evil may be a great good."

"A shoeless man saw a one-legged man and felt better."

"A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit."

"A truth spoken before its time is dangerous."

"A tomb now suffices him (Alexander) for whom the whole world was not sufficient."

"A thorn stings even if it's small."

"A stout bearded woman always bears something malicious."

"A woman and the sea are the same in anger."

"Add not fire to fire."

"A word out of season may mar a whole lifetime."

"A walking stick in a corner, therefore it's raining."

"Affairs sleep soundly when fortune is present."

"A workshop should have a lame master."

"After the war, aid"