The collection / 6,437 fragments
Explore passages mentioning character, virtue, honour. Topic suggestions use transparent word matching, not scholarly classification. Reviewed editorial meanings may also connect entries to this topic; those assignments are labelled separately from word matching.
Meaning: An improper incentive can gain access to a decision that ought to depend on fair reasons. The image warns about influence slipping past normal scrutiny, rather than claiming every gift is corrupt or every decision-maker can be bought.
Meaning: An apparently innocent or composed manner can invite scepticism about what someone has done. The butter image is a pointed comment on appearances, not proof that a quiet person is deceptive.
Meaning: Someone understands where their advantage comes from and acts to protect it. The saying often points to self-interest behind a choice, especially when loyalty or agreement brings a benefit.
Meaning: If a criticism or description accurately applies to you, acknowledge it and consider your response. The fitting cap invites self-recognition, but resemblance alone does not make every accusation fair or correct.
Meaning: Take an active part in directing your own decisions. The ship’s captain represents responsibility and agency, without implying that a person controls every circumstance or should reject help, obligations or advice.
Meaning: People may behave differently when the person supervising or restraining them is absent. Reduced oversight can reveal whether rules are being followed from commitment or mainly from fear of consequences.
Meaning: Care and generosity should include the people closest to you. Helping elsewhere does not excuse neglecting responsibilities to those who depend on you in everyday life.
Meaning: Unexpected quiet is treated as a reason to suspect children have done something wrong. The saying plays on an adult’s expectation of activity, but silence alone is not evidence of misconduct; a calm, curious check is fairer than an accusation.
Meaning: Chink evokes money, while stink represents an unpleasant or objectionable cost someone accepts to obtain it. The saying exposes willingness to overlook what is wrong for an advantage, rather than endorsing that willingness or proving that every paid activity is compromised.
Meaning: Someone resembles a parent or another familiar predecessor in character, habits or manner. The image describes a noticeable likeness, which may be affectionate or critical depending on the trait and the speaker’s tone.
Meaning: A place dedicated to good can still face an opposing influence. The paired church and chapel give that tension a religious image.
Meaning: Being physically close to a place of worship does not ensure spiritual sincerity. The saying challenges reliance on outward religious association when conduct does not reflect the values being professed.
Meaning: Polite words can make cooperation easier without requiring money or a large gesture. A respectful request or acknowledgement may help where a harsh manner would create resistance.
Meaning: An impressive appearance does not establish good character or considerate conduct. The bright coat questions an outward sign of status, without making plain clothing a guarantee of virtue or judging people by a different appearance.
Meaning: People may feel especially confident in familiar surroundings or where they have influence. The cock on its own dunghill pictures that local assurance, without proving that confidence is false or that everyone behaves the same way away from home.
Meaning: An unpromising or reserved appearance may conceal a capacity that becomes evident under suitable conditions. The flint image encourages openness to possibility, without guaranteeing hidden talent or requiring someone to prove themselves through pressure.
Meaning: An undertaking is compromised when its guiding purpose is harmful. The devil carrying the colours pictures a troubling cause at the head of the effort.
Meaning: The people you regularly spend time with may reveal something about your interests and choices. Consider how a group influences you, while avoiding judgement based on association alone.
Meaning: An open acknowledgement can reduce the force of an accusation by making the relevant facts clear. It does not guarantee that criticism ends or require accepting an accusation that is untrue.
Meaning: Acknowledging a mistake can begin repairing its effect. An honest admission matters because it creates room for responsibility, though further action may still be needed.
Meaning: Acknowledging a fault openly can help someone face it and seek repair. The saying values honesty about what happened, without requiring every private matter to be disclosed or promising that confession alone resolves its consequences.
Meaning: Managing one’s own impulses or habits can be a significant achievement. Conquest pictures inward effort, encouraging self-direction without requiring harsh self-criticism, denial of legitimate needs or complete control over every feeling.
Meaning: Acting in a way one can honestly defend may provide steadiness under scrutiny. The clear conscience is pictured as a reliable advantage, without making someone’s confidence proof that their actions were fair or beyond question.
Meaning: The saying compares grain cleared by wind with a soul improved through correction. It makes separation of unwanted material an image of moral change.