|
Proverbs: Don't stand by the water and long for fish. Go home and make a net. Sunshine all the time makes a desert. A man must plough with the oxen he has. Be on a horse when you go in search of a better one. Before you beat a dog, find out who its master is. Every man has his value. Cheap things are not good, good things are not cheap. Defeat isn't bitter if you don't swallow it. Do not tear down the east wall to repair the west. Don't use good iron for nails, nor good men as soldiers. Easy to keep the castle that was never besieged. (Avoid unnecessary conflict, even though well defended. Also:
Though you live near a forest, do not waste firewood.) Resentment is like drinking poison, and hoping the other person will die from it. He that has no silver in his purse, should have silver on his tongue. He who cannot agree with his enemies is controlled by them. (Think chess, where you are forced into acting a certain way, even though it seems like a free choice) He who sacrifices his conscience to ambition burns a picture to obtain the ashes. If a string has one end, then it has another end. (No effect without a cause) If there is a strong general, there will be no weak soldiers. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. One dog barks at something, the rest bark at him.
(criticism often comes back on us) 'One step at a time' is good walking. (Also:) To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping. The one who first resorts to violence shows that he has no more arguments. The best time to plant a tree was years ago. The second best time is today. (also: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.) The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. There are two perfectly good men, one dead, and the other unborn. (also: he whos is without sin should cast the first stone) Those who do not study are only cattle dressed up in men's clothes. (on claiming credit:) Victory has a hundred fathers but defeat is an orphan. Virtue becomes a wife; beauty becomes a concubine. Want something long enough, and you don't. When you fall into a pit, you either die or get out. When you want to test the depths of a stream, don't use both feet. (meaning that if you are unsure, then don't commit) Under capitalism man exploits man; under socialism the reverse is true. (that's for Jopaku!) The woman cries before the wedding and the man after. Love enters a man through his eyes, woman through her ears. A known mistake is better than an unknown truth. (better means more useful) Ask the experienced rather than the learned. He who plants thorns must never expect to gather roses. Think of how you can get out before you enter. In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Ask my comrade, who is as great a liar as myself. By working in a smithy one becomes a smith.
|
