Great Throughts Treasury

"Charity begins with ones near and dear ones."

"Common sense is not in one's head nor does age bring it. It is the result of considered thought."

"Camels slip in their own urine."

"Death comes alike to the miser and the generous man."

"Death on a full belly is better than a life of hunger."

"Desire a man's disposition, and a lion's heart."

"Cowards cause harm to brave men."

"Death is certain, but a grave and a shroud are doubtful."

"Destiny is a saddled donkey, he goes wherever you lead him."

"Don't lay yourself out over old men, they die, and young ones forget."

"Don't dance without the drum."

"Don't look at the cock on his dunghill, but on your plate."

"Do not tyrannize over anyone, else it will happen with you too."

"Donkey foals are loaded according to their size."

"Don't cram all five fingers into your mouth at once."

"Don't throw pearls into the cowshed."

"Don't go in front of the brave or behind a mule."

"Don't put your fingers into every hole. Or you will get stung someday."

"Don't teach ducklings how to dive."

"Embarks on a tour of the ocean in a paper boat."

"Even the bears on the hills have their flirtations."

"Either a brave man wields the sword, or one red from grief (i.e., desperate)"

"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you're a vegetarian."

"Example is more than advice."

"Every rose has a thorn as its friend."

"Facts speak plainer than words."

"Everyone thinks his own grave too narrow."

"For a man, either a swift flight or a swift blow."

"First know yourself, then betroth yourself."

"Friendship is good with the noble, not with the base."

"From hearts to hearts are ways."

"From the full vessel something [easily] spills over."

"Go twice on a road, but not twice with a statement."

"God will remain, friends will not."

"Gain is from offspring, or from the plough."

"Great works are wrought by great hands; for if they (the hands) are small, they are stayed."

"He had burnt his mouth with the porridge, and was making death gasps."

"Good soup is made from good meat."

"Guard yourself from ignorance, for it is dishonor both in religion and the world."

"He who places any hope upon the fabric of this world,"

"He is so proud that an elephant could not carry his pride."

"I would rather be a childless mother, than that you should run from the battle-field."

"However much you cook tripe it will still taste horrible."

"If a donkey goes to Mecca, when he returns he is the same donkey."

"If [some] one speaks the truth, his words are better than his silence, but he who invents falsifications, his silence is better than his speech."

"If a hare be made a beast of burden what sort of a load will it carry?"

"If a man say to you, "A dog has carried off your ear," would you go after the dog or put your hand to your ear?"

"If the silk be old, you won't make even a donkey's pack-saddle from it."

"If porridge were good, it would sell in the Bazaar."

"If the truth comes out the land of lies will be burnt up."