A thing of beauty is a joy for ever
This is the first line of Endymion by John Keats and extols the idea of beauty. However depressed we may be, ‘Some shape of beauty moves away the pall... more →
The squeaky wheel gets the grease
This is an American proverb used to convey the idea that the most noticeable (or loudest) people are the ones most likely to get attention and resources. Someone else or another issue might be more pressing or in dire need, but the fact is that the noise makes it impossible to ignore the squeaky wheel. The people that complains or protests the loudest attracts attention and service.
It is also used in the variant of “The squeaky wheel gets the oil”.
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A thing you don’t want is dear at any price
If you don’t want an article, however cheap it may be, it is dear because it is useless to you. This is a warning against the temptation to buy... more →
Things are seldom what they seem
As Buttercup and Captain Corcoran sing in H.M.S. Pinafore: Things are seldom what they seem, Skim milk masquerades as cream. The moral is contained in... more →
Things done cannot be undone
See What’s done cannot be undone.
Think not on what you lack as much as on what you have
This teaches contentment. Count your blessings, not your wants.
Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones
The lesson this proverb teaches is that people whose own conduct is open to criticism should not criticise the conduct of other’s who may retaliate by... more →
Those whom the gods love die young
This springs from a belief in an after life that is better than this life. On this assumption a person who dies young is luckier than one who dies old. The... more →
Through hardship to the stars
Here ‘stars‘ is synonymous with fame or renown. It is a translation of the Latin proverb, Per aspera ad astra, and means that the road to fame... more →
Through obedience learn to command
We must learn to obey orders before we are qualified to give them. This means the same as He that cannot obey cannot command.
