Proverbs are popular concrete sayings which have been passed on from our ancestors and which contain a lot of wisdom in them. They are “long life experiences told in one short sentence.” Some interesting proverbs are discussed below.

GOD MADE THE COUNTRY, MAN MADE THE TOWN

The proverb implies the belief that God reigns supreme. It is He who made the fields, birds and mountains etc; people only added to that by making the buildings and other structures that sit upon God's creations. People only divided the country into, but they never created the country.

EVERY WHY HAS A WHEREFORE

The proverb states that there is an explanation for everything. Just as every action has an equal and opposite reaction, every happening or every event in this world has an explanation behind it. The only thing is we have to sit and ponder over it. If Newton has not pondered over why the apply doesn’t go up, but only goes down, we would not have discovered gravity.

GARDENS ARE NOT MADE BY SITTING IN THE SHADE

If we want to build beautiful gardens, we need to plant the seeds carefully, water them and add the required fertilisers. Similarly, if want to acheive anything, we need to work in that direction. We cannot “sit in the shade” or avoid work in order to get fruitful results. As another proverb runs “No pains, no gains”. We cannot expect gains without taking some amount of pain.

BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER

This proverb implies the importance of the family relations, in other words, blood relations. Even if we are travelling across high seas, it is the blood that connects man more strongly than the water. Hence, the bond created by blood is thicker than that created by water. A responsible and dutiful person gives the highest preference to his/her family.

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL IN THE HUMAN BREAST

Everybody is aware that the one foundation on which the human life runs is hope. Without hope, a person becomes mentally weak and cannot achieve anything. Even a drowning man holds on to a piece of straw, in the hope of survival. Life continues on the one feeling of hope. Here, Alexander Pope seems to be referring specifically to the human belief in life after death, when he says:

‘Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always to be blest. The soul, uneasy and confined from home, Rests and expatiates in a life to come.’

AN ARMY MARCHES ON ITS STOMACH

This proverb brings out the importance of food in our daily life. A person needs food in order to complete any job successfully.  Food gives him the energy and the enthusiasm required to accomplish the task. An army can do their job well only if their stomach is full. Likewise, any person can do anything, provided he has his stomach full, else his/her concentration will keep diverting.

COMFORT IS BETTER THAN PRIDE

Being comfortable in one’s domain or in one’s field of study, though not as highly acclaimed, is more important than treading an inconvenient area which is more acclaimed,  just for the sake of self esteem and style. In other words, do what is comfortable to you, not what is held in high esteem by the people. If you are comfortable in a small house, be there; there is no rule that you need to stay in a big house. Always, be yourself as you cannot be somebody else.

KNOWLEDGE IN YOUTH IS WISDOM IN AGE

What you learn when in young will be invaluable as you grow old. Hence, concentrate in gaining as much knowledge as possible when you are young. Knowledge is indeed power and this would aid you in your life experiences as you become older.

IF WISHES WERE HORSES, THEN BEGGARS WOULD RIDE

If all the wishes were granted, then even beggars can comfortably ride a horse and life would be too easy. Hence, wishing for things that cannot or will not happen is of little use. You need to think that the ‘unreachable grapes are sour’ and move along.

STOLEN FRUIT IS THE SWEETEST

It is a known fact that what is forbidden is most tempting to do. A fruit which has been stolen (a forbidden act) tastes sweeter than that which has been bought from the shop. Putting it in another way, in childhood, if the father tells the son not to do a thing, the chances are that the son will do that very thing on the next day.

A KINGDOM IS LOST FOR WANT OF A SHOE

The proverb says that serious consequences may result from trivial omissions or a small negligence. Hence, try to concentrate on the details; do not disregard/ neglect them. What we consider as “minor aspects” in work may cause major problems tomorrow.

A CAMEL IS A HORSE DESIGNED BY A COMMITTEE.

A horse is supposed to be a perfect creature, while a camel is a strange creature-specially to the Europeans. When a committee-meaning too many entities- are engaged to design it(for instance Committee ‘A’ working on the front, Committee ‘B’ on the middle etc), it becomes less perfect as each have their own ideas and visualizations. Hence, everyone should cooperate and work together and not on bits and pieces on our own.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE DIFFERENT TO BE GOOD. YOU HAVE TO BE GOOD TO BE DIFFERENT

This wonderful proverb states that anybody, with the required skill or intelligence can be good. If you want to be different and to stand out, you need to have the skill or intelligence (be good) in the first place.

WHAT BELONGS TO EVERYBODY BELONGS TO NOBODY

A Spanish proverb, this means that the facility which is common to all and is shared by all the members can never be attributed to a single individual. We all use the roads, although we cannot single out anybody as the owner. Similarly, a work which needs to be done by everybody needs to be completed by all.

LOOKERS ON SEE MOST OF THE GAME

A third person is more likely to understand any situation better than the actual parties involved in the situation. That is why a wife and husband who are not able to get along well with each other would, more often than not, go for marriage counselling sessions. Or , if two people are at loggerheads, a third party is generally called for resolution.

NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE SUCCESS

Once you have learned to succeed at something, it will be easier for you to attain more successes. So, take the first step and try to succeed in it; this will help you go forward in life.

PRACTICE THRIFT OR THINGS WILL DRIFT

This only advises people to learn to spend economically and save for future needs. Another related saying is to ‘put not the trust in money but the money in trust.’ This is especially true when you speculate tough times ahead.

ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE IS A RUNAWAY HORSE

Zeal is the eagerness and enthusiasm to do things and every one must possess it in their life. But just having zeal, you cannot reach anywhere; you need to have the requisite knowledge to do those things efficiently. Just like a runaway does more harm than good, so does zeal without knowledge.