Great Throughts Treasury

"If you have to drag a dog to the hunt, neither he nor his hunting is any good."

"If you don't keep a close eye on your property, people will steal from you."

"If you live in a glass house, don't throw stones."

"If you love, love the moon; if you steal, steal a camel."

"If you marry a monkey [i.e. someone ugly] for his money, the money will go away and the monkey will stay the same as ugly as ever."

"If you put a rope around your neck, many people will be glad to drag you by it."

"If you search for the laws of harmony, you will find knowledge."

"If you marry a monkey for his wealth, the money goes and the monkey remains as is."

"If you steal, steal a camel, and if you love, love someone as beautiful as the moon."

"If you would know yourself, take yourself as starting point and go back to its source; your beginning will disclose your end."

"If your friend is (like) honey, don't lick it all."

"If you would build something solid, don't work with wind: always look for a fixed point, something you know that is stable... yourself."

"If you're going to do something, go all out."

"If you're relying on other people's generosity, you should just be grateful for whatever you can get instead of complaining you didn't get more."

"Ignorance is bliss."

"Images are nearer reality than cold definitions."

"In his own nest a beetle is a sultan."

"Ignorance is Darkness."

"It is a wretched thing to injure a poor man."

"In every vital activity it is the path that matters."

"It is better not to know and to know that one does not know, than presumptuously to attribute some random meaning to symbols."

"In his mother’s eye, the monkey is as beautiful as a gazelle."

"Instead of giving me things for granted, teach me a useful skill."

"It is no use whatever preaching Wisdom to men: you must inject it into their blood."

"It is the passive resistance from the helm that steers the boat."

"It's all the same thing to those who know nothing."

"It's always the idiots who have lots of money."

"It's better to cut your losses and admit defeat quickly rather than stick it out and eventually win a victory that cost you a lot."

"It's easier to get yourself into a situation than it is to get out of it."

"Kill him before he kills you; get your blow in first."

"Know the world in yourself. Never look for yourself in the world, for this would be to project your illusion."

"Know those who are faithful to you when you are in low estate."

"Its protector is its thief."

"Judge by cause, not by effect."

"Knowledge is not necessarily wisdom."

"Knowledge is consciousness of reality. Reality is the sum of the laws that govern nature and of the causes from which they flow."

"Learn to rise up out of the enigmatic egg in the hidden land."

"Knowledge is in the head, not the copybook."

"Lie to a liar, for lies are his coin; Steal from a thief, for that is easy; lay a trap for a trickster and catch him at first attempt, but beware of an honest man."

"Leave him in error who loves his error."

"Like father, like son."

"Like mother, like daughter."

"Listen to your conviction, even if they seem absurd to your reason."

"Listen with kindness for a clear explanation."

"Look at a girl without makeup and hairdo to see if she’s really pretty."

"Love is one thing, knowledge is another."

"Love and let the world know, hate in silence."

"Maat, who links universal to terrestrial, the divine with the human is incomprehensible to the cerebral intelligence."

"Make an effort, and I'll make an effort [to help] you."

"Making money selling manure is better than losing money selling musk."