proverb · Traditional
No disagreement is to be happy.
The absence of disagreement is equated with happiness. The saying presents harmony as a desirable condition.
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216 matching explanations
proverb · Traditional
No reply is best.
The saying ranks giving no reply as the best response. It values restraint in an unspecified exchange.
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Nothing dries up sooner than tears.
The saying pictures visible tears ending quickly. A careful reading separates that outward change from the feelings and needs that may continue underneath.
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Of sufferance comes ease.
Bearing a temporary difficulty can sometimes lead to relief. The saying values endurance while leaving open whether tolerating the situation is actually helpful.
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On painting and fighting look aloof off.
The saying recommends looking at painting and fighting from a distance. It gives two different activities one instruction to stand apart.
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Once you locked the door you are the emperor in your own home.
A locked door making someone emperor at home pictures privacy as a space of personal authority. The saying values a degree of independence within one’s dwelling.
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One ill word asketh another.
A hurtful remark can provoke another and start an escalating exchange. Notice when a reply is adding to the conflict instead of addressing the matter that caused it.
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One pair of heels is often worth two pair of hands.
Leaving a confrontation can sometimes serve better than trying to overcome it by force. Heels represent getting away and hands represent fighting or struggling, without determining what any particular emergency requires.
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Out of debt, out of danger.
Settling an obligation can remove one source of worry or exposure. The repeated “out of” makes release from debt sound like release from danger.
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Pardon all men, but never thyself.
Be generous toward others while taking your own conduct seriously. The absolute refusal of self-pardon needs to be tempered with responsibility and self-compassion.
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Patience is a plaister for all sores.
Patience can soften the discomfort of delay or difficulty. The plaster image presents it as a help, while the claim that it treats every sore is an exaggeration.
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Peace is better than the most just war.
Peace preferred even to a war called most just gives avoiding conflict a strong moral priority. The saying questions the costs hidden by a justified-war label.
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Peace is the fruit of activity, not of sleep.
Peace described as the fruit of activity rather than sleep gives constructive effort a role in a valued calm. The saying questions peace being treated as mere inactivity.
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Peace with fear is not true peace.
Peace accompanied by fear denied the name of true peace distinguishes calm appearance from a secure or willing condition. The saying questions order maintained through intimidation.
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Persuasion is better than force.
The saying ranks persuasion above force. It prefers reaching understanding or agreement to compelling compliance.
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Pocket an injury.
To pocket an injury is to swallow an offence without answering it openly. That restraint can sometimes prevent an unnecessary quarrel, but the phrase should not require concealing harm or tolerating repeated mistreatment.
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Remove the tale-bearer and contention ceaseth.
A person who carries inflammatory stories between others can prolong a quarrel. The saying suggests addressing that source of conflict, without promising that excluding one person resolves every dispute or justifies suppressing a legitimate concern.
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Revenge a wrong by ignoring it.
Ignoring a wrong is presented as a form of revenge. The saying replaces active retaliation with withholding attention or response.
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Rome did not create a great empire by counsel. Rome did it by killing all those who opposed them.
Rome’s empire attributed to killing opponents rather than counsel gives conquest a stark coercive explanation. The saying presents violence as the basis of power.
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Say well or be still.
The instruction offers speaking well or remaining still as alternatives. It asks a speaker to consider the quality of a contribution before making it.
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Scald not your lips in another man's pottage.
Be careful about becoming entangled in another person’s difficulty and suffering consequences that are not yours to take on. The hot-food image encourages judgement about involvement, rather than forbidding useful help.
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Seclusion is better than bad company.
Seclusion preferred to bad company gives distance an advantage over a harmful relationship. The saying values choice in companionship.
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Short reckonings are soon cleared.
Small or promptly addressed accounts are easier to settle than accumulated ones. Short reckonings picture the value of resolving obligations before they become tangled.
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Silence is golden.
The saying gives silence the value of gold. It praises restraint as something precious rather than treating every pause as an absence.
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