Traditional Proverbs
Browse traditional proverbs from cultures and traditions around the world, offering timeless insights on success, personal growth, leadership, mindset, and achievement.
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“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.”
“To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.”
“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.”
“An army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.”
“Self-knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement.”
“Enough is a feast.”
“We cannot see our reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.”
“During the day you should behave in such a way that you can sleep at night in peace; and in your youth you should behave in such a way that you can live in your old age in peace.”
“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.”
“As you think, you travel, and as you love, you attract.”
“Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.”
“If you don't want anyone to find out, don't do it.”
“There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man. The true nobility is being superior to your previous self.”
“Trust, but verify.”
“What was hard to bear is sweet to remember.”
“If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.”
“He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything.”
“Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart.”
“If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.”
“He who is silent is taken to agree.”
“A wise man adapts himself to circumstances, as water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it.”
“A bad settlement is better than a good lawsuit.”
“Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes.”
“Measure twice, cut once.”
“Fall seven times, stand up eight.”
“Eat little, sleep sound.”
“Smooth seas do not make a skilled mariner.”
“A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.”
“If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.”
“Knowledge without wisdom is like a load of books on the back of a donkey.”
“If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.”
“You can't pour from an empty cup.”
“Even the lion, king of the jungle, rests after the hunt.”
“The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.”
“To hear something a hundred times is not as good as seeing it once.”
“The glutton digs his grave with his teeth.”
“When eating fruit, remember the one who planted the tree.”
“He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.”
“A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.”
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
“Vision without action is a daydream; action without vision is a nightmare.”
“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
“What is meant for you will reach you even if it is beneath two mountains, and what is not meant for you will not reach you even if it is between your two lips.”
“A wise man makes his own decisions; an ignorant man follows public opinion.”
“Sweat more in training, bleed less in war.”
“He that takes medicine and neglects diet wastes the skill of the physician.”
“He who buys what he does not need steals from himself.”
“There are no miracles for those that have no faith in them.”
“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”
“The palest ink is better than the best memory.”
“Dig the well before you are thirsty.”
“Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow.”
“Sunshine all the time makes a desert.”
“With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown.”
“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.”
“A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle.”
“The spoken word perishes; the written word remains.”
“A boat doesn't go forward if each one is rowing their own way.”
“Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.”
“A single conversation across the table with a wise person is worth a month’s study of books.”
“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.”
“Promise little and do much.”
“Little by little, one travels far.”
“Arrogance diminishes wisdom.”
“Let go, or be dragged.”
“The wise man learns by the mistakes of others, the fool by his own.”
“To understand all is to forgive all.”
“Success and rest don’t sleep together.”
“Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.”
“One tree does not make a forest.”
“Money grows on the tree of persistence.”
“This too shall pass.”
