The Routledge Book of World Proverbs

Jon R. Stone

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2006
• ISBN:
  9781135870539
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Langues et linguistique
• Subtopic: Langues

The Routledge Book of World Proverbs invites the reader to travel the globe in search of the origins of such words of wisdom, experiencing the rich cultural traditions reflected in each nation's proverbs. This collection contains over 16, 000 gems of humour and pathos that draw upon themes from our shared experiences of life. And we are not just invited to learn about other cultures; proverbs are 'bits of ancient wisdom' and thus teach us about our own history.

Drawing together proverbs that transcend culture, time and space to provide a collection that is both useful and enjoyable, The Routledge Book of World Proverbs is, unquestionably, a book of enduring interest.

S

Sack
A sack is best tied before it is full. (French)
A sack was never so full but that it would hold another grain. (Italian)
Bad is the sack that will not bear patching. (Italian)
Let every man carry his own sack to the mill. (Danish)
Nothing can come out of a sack but what is in it. (Italian)

Sacred
Do not give that which is sacred to dogs. (Jesus)

Sacrifice
Personal affections must be sacrificed for the greater cause. (Chinese)
The sacrifice of an ox will not bring us all we want. (Roman)
To obey is better than sacrifice. (the Bible)

Sad
The sad detest the cheerful, and the cheerful the sad. (Roman)

Saddle
A saddle fits more backs than one. (Italian)
Better to lose the saddle than the horse. (Italian)
We have not saddled and yet we are riding. (Portuguese)

Sadness
It is difficult to feign wit when one is in a sad mood. (Roman)
Sadness and gladness succeed each other. (French)

Safe, Safely
A beaten track is a safe one. (Roman)
A middle course is the safest. (Roman)
Be afraid and you will be safe. (Irish)
Be busy and you will be safe. (Roman)
Cheap things are safe from harm. (Roman)
He goes safely who has nothing. (French)
He may lie safely who comes from afar. (Italian)
He that keeps out of harm’s way will gather goodly riches. (Danish)
It is best to be on the safe side, it saves trouble in the end. (Danish)
It is better to be safe than sorry. (American)
Keep to the common road, and thou wilt be safe. (Roman)
Safely bound, safely found. (English)
The way to be safe is never to feel secure. (Czech)
Things locked up are safe. (Roman)
Things lost are safe. (Roman)

Safeguard
From smooth water God preserve me, from rough I will preserve myself. (Spanish)
From those I trust God guard me, from those I mistrust I will guard myself. (Italian)

Safety
A strong shield is the safety of leaders. (Roman)
A subject faithful to his king is the safety of the kingdom. (Roman)
He is in safety who rings the tocsin. (Spanish)
He most values safety who experiences danger. (Persian)
Safety must sometimes be bought with money. (Roman)
There is safety in many advisors. (Roman)
There is safety in numbers. (Italian)

Sages
The gods and demons revere the words of the sages. (Chinese)
After a thousand years, the words of the sages still pertain. (Chinese)

Said
Nothing is said now that has not been said before. (Roman)
Sooner said than done. (English)
That which is unsaid, may be spoken; that which is said, cannot be unsaid. (Danish)
The less said the sooner mended. (Dutch)
The more said the less done. (English)

Sail, Sailor
A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. (English)
Hoist your sail according to the fair wind. (Japanese)
It is good rowing with set sail. (Dutch)
It is good sailing with wind and tide. (Dutch)
It is safest sailing within reach of the shore. (Dutch)
One should learn to sail in all winds. (Italian)
Raise your sail one foot and you get ten feet of wind. (Chinese)
Sail while the breeze blows: wind and tide wait for no man. (Danish)
Set your sail according to the fair wind. (French)
Too many sailors sink the ship. (Egyptian)
You are not a sailor until your boat has been under full sail. (Irish)
You cannot sail as you would, but as the wind blows. (Danish)

Saint
All are not saints who go to church. (Italian)
All saints do not work miracles. (Italian)
Don’t believe him a saint until you have seen his miracles. (Spanish)
Every saint has his festival. (Italian)
Little saints also perform miracles. (Danish)
Saint cannot if God will not. (French)
Saints appear to fools. (Portuguese)
Saints don’t fill the belly. (Portuguese)
Saints fly only in the eyes of their disciples. (Indian)
The father of a saint, the son of a sinner. (Spanish)
The saint who works no cures has few pilgrims at his shrine. (French)
To every saint his candle. (French)
We pray to God to give us saints, but not too many. (Spanish)

Satiety
Satiety causes disgust. (German)
Satiety has killed more men than hunger. (Roman)

Salt
Salt never calls itself sweet. (Jamaican)
Salt seasons everything. (Roman)
Salt seasons tainted meat, but what if the salt is tainted? (Persian)
Salt spilt is never all gathered. (Spanish)

Salvation
He that will not be saved needs no preacher. (German)
No sin, no salvation. (Russian)
Save and lift up those in sorrow and difficulties. (Chinese)
The first step toward salvation is the recognition of sin. (Roman)
Who cannot work out his salvation by heart will not do it by book. (French)

Salve
There is a salve for everything. (German)
There’s a salve for every sore. (English)

Sandpiper
Every sandpiper praises its own swamp. (Russian)

Sap
No sap from a dry tree. (Unknown)

Sarcasm
Praise undeserved is sarcasm in disguise. (Irish)

Satan
Ol’ Satan couldn’t get along without plenty of help. (American)

Satisfy, Satisfaction
He is rich that is satisfied. (French)
I being satisfied, the world is satisfied. (Italian)
No one is satisfied with his lot. (Roman)
Satisfaction is natural wealth. (Japanese)

Sauce
It is the sauce that makes the fish edible. (French)
What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. (French)

Save, Saving
A penny saved is a penny earned. (English)
For age and want save while you may, no morning sun lasts all day. (American)
Better to save than to spend. (Irish)
Give nine, save ten. (Kurdish)
He that does not save pennies, will never have pounds. (English)
He who eats and puts by, has sufficient for two meals. (Spanish)
He who saves in little things, can be liberal in great ones. (German)
He who saves, finds. (Spanish)
He who would save, should begin with the mouth. (Danish)
If you eat it up at supper, you cannot have it for breakfast. (Spanish)
Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves. (English)
Mind the pence and save a pound. (English)
Money saved is as good as money gained. (Danish)
Put by for a rainy day. (Egyptian)
Save while your sack is full. (Croatian)
Saving is a greater art than gaining. (German)
Saving is getting. (French)
Who saves when he gets has when he needs. (Finnish)

Say, Saying
Beware what you say, when and to whom. (Roman)
Everybody says it, nobody knows it. (Danish)
He acts wisely who says little. (Roman)
He that says what he should not, will hear what he would not. (Danish)
He who says nothing never lies. (Italian)
It is better to say nothing than not enough. (Roman)
It is difficult to say what is common in a distinct way. (Roman)
Nothing can be said that has not been said before. (Roman)
Of what does not concern you say nothing, good or bad. (Italian)
Say before they say. (Spanish)
Say but little, and say it well. (Irish)
Say it tomorrow if you have something to say. (Japanese)
Say little and listen much. (Greek)
Saying is one thing, doing another. (Italian)
Tell it well, or say nothing. (Spanish)
The one who says much is likely to say too much. (Yoruban)
The one who says what he likes will hear what he does not like. (Roman)
There can be nothing said now that has not been said before. (Roman)
There is much distance between saying and doing. (Mexican)
When you say one thing, the clever person understands three. (Chinese)
Who says little has little to answer for. (German)

Sayings
All old sayings have something in them. (Icelandic)

Scald
When you’re scalded by the hot, you blow on the cold. (Yiddish)

Scales
Good scales bring good customers. (Greek)
Just scales and full measure injure no man. (Chinese)

Scandal
Scandal is like an egg: when it hatches it has wings. (African)

Scar
He laughs at scars who never felt a wound. (German)
He who scratches a scar is twice wounded. (Russian)

Scarce
Scarce things are prized. (Roman)

Scatter, Scattering
If the cattle are scattered the tiger seizes them. (Burmese)
Scattering is easier than gathering. (Irish)
Strike the shepherd and scatter the sheep. (the Bible)
What one gathers, another scatters. (German)

Scent
An empty cask retains the scent of the wine that filled it. (Irish)

Scheme, Scheming
The best...

Table of contents

• COVER PAGE
• TITLE PAGE
• COPYRIGHT PAGE
• PREFACE
• REFERENCES AND SOURCES
• WORLD PROVERBS
• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• Y
• Z