01Undated
As the twig is bent the tree's inclined.Traditional · English / proverb
Meaning: Early influences may leave a lasting direction in someone’s habits. The inclined tree develops the bent-twig image, without proving that a person cannot change or that upbringing explains every later choice.
↗02Undated
A child may have too much of his mother's blessing.Traditional · English / proverb
Meaning: Affection can become excessive indulgence when it prevents a child from learning limits or acting independently. The saying questions how care is expressed, rather than suggesting that a child needs less love.
↗03Undated
Children are certain cares, but very uncertain comforts.Traditional · English / proverb
Meaning: Caring for children brings responsibilities, while the comfort a parent hopes to receive from them cannot be guaranteed. The saying contrasts present duties with uncertain future expectations, rather than defining children as a debt owed to adults.
↗04Undated
Men dream in courtship but in wedlock wake.Traditional · English / proverb
Meaning: The saying contrasts idealised expectations during courtship with everyday experience in marriage. It invites attention to ordinary responsibilities before a commitment, but its gendered and absolute framing should not imply that marriage inevitably disappoints or that affection is merely illusion.
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