proverb · Traditional
Hearts may agree though heads differ.
People can care for one another while disagreeing in thought or judgement. A difference of opinion need not erase shared affection, respect or purpose.
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proverb · Traditional
Hedges have eyes, and walls have ears.
People or activity can be noticed in places that appear sheltered, and speech can travel beyond its intended audience. The eyes-and-ears image cautions against assuming surroundings make an action or conversation completely private.
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Help yourself and your friends will like you.
Taking some initiative can make cooperation easier for friends. The saying values active participation, but its approval-based wording should not imply that a person must be self-sufficient or useful to deserve friendship and support.
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Her face was her fortune.
The saying portrays a woman’s appearance as the source of her prospects or advantage. It describes an appearance-based judgement, not a fair measure of her abilities, agency or worth.
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Hidden troubles disquiet most.
An unspoken trouble can be especially unsettling when it cannot be understood or addressed. The saying draws attention to the burden of what remains hidden.
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Hide nothing from thy minister, physician, and lawyer.
The saying urges full disclosure to a minister, physician and lawyer. It gives three trusted roles a shared expectation of being told relevant truths.
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High places have their precipices.
A position that offers advantages can also expose someone to serious consequences. Precipices around a high place warn against overlooking its dangerous edges, rather than treating prominence as proof of security.
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High winds blow on high hills.
A conspicuous position can receive pressure from several directions. The hills exposed to wind picture the demands that visibility may attract, without proving that prominence must cause a fall or that every request deserves an immediate response.
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Him who errs, forgive once, but never twice.
The saying sets a strict limit after a first pardon. It warns against repeatedly overlooking the same conduct, while leaving room to question the blanket rule and distinguish forgiveness from restored trust.
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Hold not with the hounds and run with the hare.
Do not present yourself as committed to incompatible sides without addressing the conflict. Hounds and hare give opposed directions to the same person, without requiring rigid loyalty when circumstances or duties change.
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Home is home, be it ever so homely.
A familiar home can have value even when it is plain or modest. The saying places belonging above impressive appearance, without assuming that every home is safe or telling someone to remain in an unsuitable situation.
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Honesty is the best policy; but he who acts on this principle is not an honest man.
Honesty pursued only for personal advantage is different from honesty valued as a principle. The saying questions a motive that lasts only while truthful conduct appears to pay.
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Honour and ease are seldom bed-fellows.
Public distinction or a demanding responsibility may bring effort that conflicts with an easy life. The bedfellows image highlights a possible tension, without making exhaustion proof of merit or requiring someone to seek recognition.
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Honour blossoms on the grave.
Recognition sometimes arrives only after a person has died. The saying invites attention to whether appreciation could be expressed while that person can receive it.
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Hope humbles more than despair.
The saying claims that hope can make someone more humble than despair does. Expecting something still to come may place a person in a position of waiting or dependence.
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Hope is a good breakfast, but a bad supper.
Hope can help you begin, but it cannot replace the practical result you need by the end. Let optimism support action rather than become the only thing sustaining a plan.
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Horses run after benefices and asses get them.
Those who pursue a reward may be passed over while less suitable recipients obtain it. Question how benefits are assigned without accepting the proverb’s insults as an assessment of people.
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Hunger costs little; daintiness much.
Satisfying a basic need may be simpler than satisfying elaborate preferences. Daintiness represents selectiveness or luxury beyond the need itself.
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Hunger drives the wolf out of the wood.
Urgent need can draw a person out of a familiar or protected place. The wolf image highlights pressure behind an action that may otherwise appear surprising.
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Hunger is the finest sauce.
Something can seem especially enjoyable when it meets a strong need. Hunger is pictured as a seasoning that makes plain food welcome.
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Hunger looks in at the industrious man’s door but dares not enter.
The saying imagines hard work keeping hunger away. Read it as an ideal of secure livelihood rather than proof that effort alone prevents poverty or need.
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Hunger makes hard bones sweet beans.
The saying gives hunger the power to make hard bones seem like sweet beans. Need changes the imagined value of something ordinarily unappealing.
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Hunger makes short devotion.
An immediate bodily need can make it harder to stay absorbed in a devotional practice. The saying contrasts urgent hunger with the attention given to prayer.
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Hunger will break through stone walls.
An urgent unmet need can make a seemingly formidable barrier feel surmountable. Hunger breaking stone walls is an exaggerated picture of desperation or determination.
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