Proverbs from Different Cultures - B's and C's

[Thorae]

Belgian Proverb(s)
"Experience is the comb that nature gives us when we are bald."

"Don't make use of another's mouth unless it has been lent to you."

Biblical Proverb(s)
"He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent."

"Great men are not always wise."

"Don't run too far, you will have to return the same distance."

"He that is of a merry heart hasth a continual feast."

"Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee."

Bolivian Proverb(s)
"A quarrel is like buttermilk, the more you stir it, the more sour it grows."

Bosnian Proverb(s)
"Who lies for you will lie against you."

Bulgarian Proverb(s) (WHERE IS DRAGOMIR??)
"Seize opportunity by the beard, for it is bald behind."

Burmese Proverb(s)
"Beware of a man's shadow and of a bee's sting."

Cherokee Proverb(s)
"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."

Chinese Proverb(s)
"He who is drowned is not troubled by the rain."

"Be the first to the field and the last to the couch."

"Use power to curb power."

"When you drink water, remember the spring."

"A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials."

"With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown."

"If you stand straight, do not fear a crooked shadow."

"I dreamed a thousand new paths... I woke and walked my old one."

"Never do anything standing that you can do sitting, or anything sitting that you can do lying down."

"There are two perfect men, one dead and the other unborn.

"The great question is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with failure."

"If you bow at all, bow low."

"Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come."

"Enough shovels of earth... a mountain. Enough pails of water... a river."

"To know the road ahead, ask those coming back."

"The palest ink is better than the best memory."

"If you must play, decide on three things at the start. The rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time."

"A book holds a house of gold."

"A closed mind is like a closed book, just a block of wood."

"He who hurries can not walk with dignity."

"When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them."

"When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other."

"A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections."

"Deal with the faults of others as gently as with your own."

"The man who comes with a tale about others has himself an ax to grind."

"Each generation will reap what the former generation has sown."

"A thorn only defends the rose, harming only those who would steal the blossom."

"A filthy mouth will not utter decent language."

"The man who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out."

"Those who do not read are no better off than those who cannot."

"If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow."

"Practice no vice because it's trivial... Neglect no virtue because it's so."

"Sour, sweet, bitter, pungent, all must be tasted."

"One dog barks at something, the rest bark at him."

"There is many a good man to be found under a shabby hat."

"The beginning of wisdom is calling things by their right names."

"Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere."

"He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever."

"Enjoy yourself. It's later than you think."

"Be not afraid of going slowly; be only afraid of standing still."

"Deep doubts, deep wisdom; small doubts, little wisdom."

"Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it."

"Raise your sail one foot and you get ten feet of wind."

"Do not remove a fly from your friend's head with a hatchet."

"Unless we change direction, we are likely to wind up where we are headed."

"With true friends... even water drunk together is sweet enough."

"A book is like a garden carried in the pocket."

"Do not employ handsome servants."

"A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study."

"In reviling, it is not necessay to to prepare a preliminary draft."

"Do good, reap good; do evil, reap evil."

"Listen to all, plucking a feather from every passing google, but follow no one absolutely."

"If you get up one more time than you fall you will make it through."

"Climb mountains to see the lowlands."

"Behind an able man there are always other able men."

"After three days without reading, talk becomes flavorless."

"May you always live in interesting times."

"The best soldiers are not warlike."

"Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."

"If you suspect a man, don't employ him. If you employ him, don't suspect him."

"Never write a letter while you are angry."

"If you are rich, you speak the truth. If you are poor, your words are but lies."

"Married couples tell each other a thousand things without speech."

"One should be just as careful in choosing one's pleasures as in avoiding calamities."

"Happiness is like a sunbeam, which the least shadow intercepts, while adversity is often as the rain of spring."

"If heaven made him, earth can find some use for him."

"Keep your broken arm inside your sleeve."

"The man who does not learn is dark, like one walking in the night."

"A wise man makes his owns opinions, an ignorant man follows the public opinion."

"A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song."

"A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers."

"Take a second look... It costs you nothing."

"If you see in your wine the reflection of a man not in your range of vision, don't drink it."

"If you always give, you will always have."

"He who cannot agree with his enemies is controlled by them."

"A fool judges people by the presents they give him."

"Habits are cobwebs at first; cables at last."

"Those who have free seats at a play hiss first."

"Dig the well before you are thirsty."

"To believe one's dreams is to spend all of one's life asleep."

"A thousand cups of wine do not suffice when true friends mean, but half a sentence is too much when there is no meeting of minds."

"An inch of time cannot be bought with an inch of gold."

"I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand."

"Judge not the horse by his saddle."

"When you want to test the depths of a stream, don't use both feet."

"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself."

Colombian Proverb(s)
"He who must die, must die in the dark, even though he sells candles."

Cuban Proverb(s)
"Cheese, wine, and a friend must be old to be good."

"A love that can last forever takes but a second to come out."

"A lie runs until it is overtaken by the truth."

Czech Proverb(s)
"Do not protect yourself by a fence, but rather by your friends."

"Do not always expect good to happen, but do not let evil take you by surprise."

"Anger is the only thing to put off until tomorrow."

"The big thieves hang the little ones."

"When you go to buy, use your eyes, not your ears."

[Shuckle]

The chinese sure do love their proverbs.

[harry89]

I would like to add here some more different language proverbs
French Proverb
Battre le fer pendant qu'il est chaud.
to strike while the iron is hot.

German Proverb
Alle Sünden in eine münden.
English Meaning:: All sins flow into one

Hindi Proverb
Bandar kya jaane adark ka swaad
English Meaning : someone who cannot understand cannot appreciate.

Latin Proverb
crede quod habes, et habes
Believe that you can do