Even the worst sinners value the good opinions of their fellow men. To gain those good opinions they try to hide their real natures by acting as though they are persons of good repute - and that is... Read more →
Nothing gives us an appetite like hunger. We do not need sauce or other relish to add flovour to even the plainest of food when we are really hungry.
Discord breaks up families. The source of the proverb is Mark, iii, 25, 'house' meaning 'Household'.
It is in the nature of man to look forward to better times, despite set-back and disappointments. The proverb is a quotation from Pope's Essay on Man (1733). Hope springs eternal in the human... Read more →
We should all be optimistic, but ready at the same time to meet trouble and difficulties whenever they arise. The proverb can be found back in Roger L'Estrange's Seneca's Morals (1702) While my... Read more →
When we have to wait indefinitely for our hopes to be realized, we become sad and disillusioned. The full saying is to be found in Proverbs xiii, 12: 'Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when... Read more →
This is one of those proverbs that have remained more common in their original form than in the English translation. It is the French for Evil be to him who evil thinks.
Here 'policy' means 'course of action'. If we have to decide on a course of action, honesty is the best one to follow. It is not a question of morals alone, but of wise choice. Although dishonesty... Read more →
Don't act when circumstances are unfavourable. Wait for a better opportunity of achieving success - and when it comes, seize upon it
Have high ideals. Make it your aim to rise above wordy things. We owe this proverb to Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American philosopher. Here is a condensed version of what he wrote: Everything good in... Read more →
