Great Throughts Treasury

"One falsehood spoils a thousand truths."

"He who is guilty is the one that has much to say."

"Don’t cut the bough you’re sitting on."

"Money is sharper than a sword."

"The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people."

"A child does not laugh at the ugliness of his mother."

"A wise man who knows proverbs, reconciles difficulties."

"A lie can annihilate a thousand truths."

"A worthy cause is worth pursuing to the end."

"Anger is like a wanderer; it doesn't live in one man's house."

"Do not call the forest that shelters you a jungle."

"By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed."

"Do not let what you cannot do tear from your hands what you can."

"Do not follow the path. Go where there is no path to begin the trail."

"Fire and gunpowder do not sleep together."

"Even though the old man is strong and hearty, he will not live forever."

"Even if the goat becomes a sheep, there will always be black spots on its body."

"He who cannot dance will say, "The drum is bad!""

"Force against force equals more force."

"He is a fool whose sheep runs away twice."

"He who has seen a thousand doesn't praise a hundred."

"Hunger is felt by a slave and hunger is felt by a king."

"If a chicken is eating your neighbor's corn, chase it away or it will eat yours someday."

"If God breaks your leg, He will teach you how to limp."

"If nothing touches the palm-leaves they do not rustle."

"If a child is cutting a piece of yam, he cuts it according to the size of his mouth."

"If the leg becomes bigger than the thigh, then the leg is diseased."

"If a small bird sings with the voice of a big bird, its voice breaks."

"If two persons are fighting, the third must be the peacemaker."

"If the wind can lift up a stone; take care of yourself if you are a piece of light gourd."

"If the head is there, the hat isn't put on the knee."

"If you are in hiding, don't light a fire."

"If you allow yourself to forget the sound of your town's horn you get lost in the gathering."

"If you are on a road to nowhere, find another road."

"If you understand the beginning well, the end will not trouble you."

"If you do not carry it on black hair, you will carry it on grey hair."

"If you pledge your tongue, you can't get it back."

"If you talk and talk, your tongue slips."

"If you wish to tell anything to the Supreme Being, tell it to the winds."

"It is Mr. Old-Man-Monkey who marries Mrs. Old-Woman-Monkey."

"It is no shame at all to work for money."

"It is difficult to throw a stone at a lizard that is clinging to a pot."

"It is the calm and silent water that drowns a man."

"It's a bad child who does not take advice."

"No one drinks the medicine for the patient."

"No one tests the depth of a river with both feet."

"No one shows a child the sky."

"It is the fool's sheep that break loose twice."

"One is born, one dies; the land increases."

"One cannot both feast and become rich."