We now present the reader with a collection of Eastern Proverbs, which we apprehend may be useful for comparison or illustration with those of Solomon. They are selected from a large number, not as the best or most striking, but as such that require no explanation. Except a few from Burckhardt’s Arabic Proverbs, none of them have before appeared in English.
Arabic Proverbs.
The sage in his native place is like gold in the mine.
Better to have a wise enemy than a foolish friend.
The beginning of anger is foolishness, and its end repentance.
Temperance is a tree whose root is contentment with little, and whose feast is calmness and peace.
Wisdom is better than riches: wisdom guards thee, but thou hast to guard thy riches. Riches diminish in the using; but wisdom increases in the use of it.
Every day of thy life is a leaf of thy history.
Life is like unto a fire: it begins in smoke and ends in ashes.
One single day of a wise man, is worth more than the whole life of a fool.
There are two kinds of intelligence: That which nature gives, and that which education confers; without the former the latter is useless. What avails the light of the sun to him whose eyes are shut up?
If any one tells you that a mountain has changed its place, believe it: But if any one says that a man has changed his character, believe it not.
Measure the water’s depth before you plunge into it.
Vinegar given is better than honey bought.
Experience is the key of knowledge; as credulity is the gate of error.
If the moon be with thee, what needest thou care about the stars?
The beetle is a beauty in the eyes of its mother.
Throw not a stone into the well from which thou drinkest.
A borrowed cloak imparts no warmth.
A well is not to be filled with dew.
The dirt of labor is better than the saffron of indolence.
Take me by the hand today, I will take thee by the foot to morrow.
That is thy world wherein thou findest thyself.
They prepared me, they girded me, but I have not strength for war.
A tree that yieldeth thee shade, do not order it to be cut down.
Who seeks for wealth without (previous) wealth, is like him who carries water in a sieve.
When the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve.
The value of every man consists in what he does well.
Be diligent, and God will send profit.
The day blots out the word of the night.
How many are the roads that lead not to the heart.
On the day of victory no weariness is felt.
A day that is not thine own, do not reckon it as of thy life.
Him whom good cannot mend, evil will not mend.
In every head is some wisdom.
If thou canst not take things by the head, take them by the tail.
A scholar of bad life is like a blind man holding a torch, by which he gives others light, but cannot himself see.
Riches increase in proportion as we give to those that need.
White hairs are death’s harbingers.
All things were difficult before they were easy.
Ignorance is injustice to the world.
Fear those who fear thee.
To be rich is to be content with little.
The more you hope, the more you suffer.
Three things are only known on three occasions—valor in war, wisdom in wrath, and friendship in need.
Turkish Proverbs.
Those who sow thorns can reap only prickles.
There are two things which no man can fixedly regard: the sun and death.
That which the pen of destiny has written, all the arts of men cannot efface. God alone is above all.
A thousand robbers are not able to strip an honest man naked.
The hand that gives is always above that which receives.
Is it ill with thee in life? Imitate the traveller who, amid the discomforts of a bad khan, reflects that he has only to pass the night there.
An egg today is better than a chicken tomorrow.
It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves. We have all sufficient strength to bear the evils which befall others.
Speak not of stones to a fool, lest thou remind him to throw them at thy head.
A good man carries his heart on his tongue; a prudent man carries his tongue in his heart.
When the chariot is broken, there are always men to point out the right road.
There are no accidents so unfortunate that discreet men may not turn to advantage; nor any so fortunate that imprudent men may not turn to their prejudice.
Persian Proverbs.
The man who returns good for evil, is as a tree which renders its shade and its fruit even to those who cast stones at it.
A man passes for a sage when he seeks for wisdom; but if he thinks he has found it, he is a fool.
The diamond fallen into the dunghill, is not the less precious; and the dust raised by high winds to heaven, is not the less vile.
An ass which bears its burden, is of more worth than a lion which devours men.
Patience is a tree whose roots are bitter, but the fruit is very sweet.
The ignorant man in the midst of riches, is like an earthen vessel covered with gold: the learned man in the midst of poverty, is like a precious stone enchased in vile metal.
Ten poor men can sleep tranquilly upon a mat; but two kings are not able to live at peace in a quarter of the world.
Indian Proverbs.
The heavens give rain to the earth; but the earth returns only dust to the heavens.
Men of evil character resemble earthen vessels, easy to break and hard to mend; but good men are like golden vases, broken with difficulty and easily repaired.
A diamond with some flaws is still more precious than a pebble that has none.
Contemn no one. Regard him who is above thee as thy father; him who is thine equal as thy brother; and him who is below thee as thy son.
Interested friends are like the dogs in public places, who like the bones, but care little for those who throw them.
The bread stolen by the wicked changes to ashes in his mouth.
The familiarity of the great is dangerous; it is a fire by which many have been burned.
Chinese Proverbs.
He who can govern himself is fit to govern the world.
A bushel of pearls is of less [real] worth than a pint of rice.
A hut of reeds with mirth therein, is better than a palace wherein there is grief.
Happiness is like a sunbeam, which the least shadow intercepts, while adversity is often as the rain of spring.
The hearts of the wise have seven ventricles.
The water that bears the ship is the same that engulfs it.
The doctrine which enters only into the eye or the ear, is like the repast that one takes in a dream.
Set a seal upon thy lips, and guard thy heart with the same watchfulness as the ramparts of a city.
All the virtues are in peril when filial piety gives way.
The tree dies not for want of branches and leaves, but for lack of nourishment to its roots.
The industrious woman arranges continually her movables; the industrious scholar deranges continually his books.