The leopard cannot change his spots
The accepted figurative meaning of this is that men cannot change their characters, and just as a leopard is born spotted and will always be so,... Read more →
If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch
This is from Matthew, xv, 14. It means that those without knowledge themselves should not try to teach the ignorant. 'He claimed to know a good... Read more →
He cannot speak well that cannot hold his tongue
This teaches the value of silence at times when to speak would do more harm than good.
Give us the tools, and we will finish the job
Winston Churchill said this to the Americans in a broadcast address on February 9th, 1941. The tools were the means by which we could carry on... Read more →
The first blow is half the battle
Whoever gets his blow in first catches his adversary at a disadvantage. Here, for the sake of example, is a description of a football... Read more →
The end justifies the means
This is perhaps one of the most disputed ideas of modern times. The difference between a totalitarian government and a democratic one is ... Read more →
The devil finds work for the idle hands to do
Those who have nothing useful to do and seeks some way of passing the time are liable to drift into wrongdoing.
Catch not at the shadow and lose the substance
This warns us against wasting time on trivial aspects of a matter, because in doing so we may neglect the essential matter itself.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
'Beauty,' the dictionary tells us, 'is a combination of qualities, as shape, proportion, colour, in human face of form, or in other objects,... Read more →
All good things come to an end
Pleasures cannot go on for ever, for all things change, and The best of friends must part.