Irish Proverbs
It’s better to be sorry and stay than to be sorry and go away.
A windy day is not the day for thatching.
Firelight will not let you read fine stories but its warm and you won’t see the dust on the floor.
One beetle recognizes another.
A wild goose never reared a tame gosling.
Willful waste makes woeful want
It takes time to build a castle.
What is in the marrow is hard to take out of the bone.
He’d offer you an egg if you promised not to break the shell.
What would a young cat do but eat mice?
The one who waits the fine day, will get the fine day.
A buckle is a great addition to an old shoe.
Patience can conquer destiny.
Do not mistake a goat’s beard for a fine stallion’s tail.
A narrow neck keeps the bottle from being emptied in one swig.
It is no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking.
Marry a mountain girl and you marry the whole mountain.
A silent mouth is melodious.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Latin Proverbs
It is stupid to complain about misfortune that is your own fault.
A fellow who won’t do a favor has no right to ask for one.
Whatever you want to teach, be brief.
A liar better have a good memory.
Why shouldn’t a fellow laugh while he tells the truth?
In Rome you want the country; in the country you brag about town.
Easy tears show treachery, not grief.
Men easily believe what they want to.
When you have just climbed out of a deep well and are perched on top, you are in the greatest danger of falling in again.
The great thing is to know when to speak and when to keep quiet.
Nobody underestimates his own troubles.
Fashion is more powerful than any tyrant.
Don’t whistle and drink at the same time.
A man needs a good mirror to scrutinize his heart as well as his face.
The silence of a stupid man looks like wisdom.
The bigger the undertaking, the trickier it is.
It’s too late to ask advice when danger comes.
The man who inspects the saddle blanket instead of the horse is stupid; most stupid is the man who judges another man by his clothes or his circumstances.
If fortune wants to do you in, she makes you stupid.
Thrift is misery with a good press agent.
If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.
A fellow who gets more than he deserves wants more than he gets.
Speech is given to many; intelligence to few.
What you want to keep secret, tell no one. If you could not control your urge to tell, how can you expect silence from anyone else?
Always depend on people to think the worst.
It is very important if a man is wise or only looks it.
Better late than never.
French Proverbs
There are no miracles for those that have no faith in them.
When a blind man bears the standard, pity those who follow.
Nothing is as burdensome as a secret.
A bad bush is better than an open field.
Skeptics are never deceived.
Beauty, unaccompanied by virtue, is as a flower without perfume.
Fortune helps him that’s willing to help himself.
Work relieves us from three great evils, boredom, vice, and want.
He that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned.
Report makes mischiefs greater than they need to be.
In love, there is always one who kisses and one who offers the cheek.
A bad sheerer never had a good sickle.
He that waits for a dead man’s shoes may long go barefoot.
Birds of a feather flock together.
Patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet.
When we cannot get what we love, we must love what is within our reach.