Quotations - Words of Wisdom 2

Many collections categorize quotations, but I prefer (on the whole) not to so that the reader is free to interpret things as they wish. Often we can then end up with something very different from the original context the quote came from, which might be annoying for its originator but abstraction is a valid form of art and a good starting point for exploration. I collect them as a reference for inspiration.


This time, I've collected a few Japanese proverbs. What I like about sayings is the thoughts they provoke. They trigger a poem, short story, a painting, sculpture, a piece of music; some stand as profound truths, some as a source of inspiration, some a comfort. They can stimulate reflection and act as vehicles for learning more about ourselves. Some even turn into mottos and mantras to live our lives by. And then there are some, that are so quirky, you wander what they've about at all.

"A good sword is the one left in its scabbard." 

"Laughter cannot bring back what anger has driven away. "

"One kind word can warm three winter months." 

"One who smiles rather than rages is always the stronger." 

"The crow that mimics a cormorant is drowned." 

"The day you decide to do it is your lucky day."

"The reverse side also has a reverse side." 

"The pebble in the brook secretly thinks itself a precious stone."

"The smallest good deed is better than the grandest good intention."

"If you believe everything you read, better not read." 

"The tongue is but three inches long, yet it can kill a man six feet high." 


"The tongue is more to be feared than the sword."


"To wait for luck is the same as waiting for death."


"Wisdom and virtue are like the two wheels of a cart."


"The go-between wears out a thousand sandals." 


"The beggar's work is pure profit."


"Better the arrow pierce your breast than your back."


"To teach is also to learn."


"You can know ten things by learning one."


"If he works for you, you work for him."


"If we didn't have ordinary men, how could we tell the great ones?"


"Lazy people have no spare time."


"Don't plug your ears when you go to steal a bell."


"Bad and good are intertwined like rope." 


"Darkness reigns at the foot of the lighthouse."



"Forgiving the unrepentant is like drawing pictures on water."



"If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master."



"If you understand everything, you must be misinformed."



"Every extra thing you own is extra trouble."


"In the mountains we forget to count the days."


"Affinity is a mysterious thing, but it is spicy!" 


"The naked man never mislays his wallet."


"It is a beggar's pride that he is not a thief." 


"Knowledge without wisdom is a load of books on the back of an ass."



"Once uttered, words run faster than horses."


"The old forget. The young don't know."


"A pig used to dirt turns its nose up at rice."