Persian Proverbs

He who want a rose must respect the thorn.

He who wants content cannot find an easy chair.

I used to feel sorry for myself because I had no shoes until I met a man who was dead.

A thief is a king till he’s caught.

A thief knows a thief as a wolf knows a wolf.

A bad wound heals but a bad word does not.

A broken hand works, but not a broken heart.

A broken sleeve holdeth the arm back.

A stone thrown at the right time is better than gold given at the wrong time.

Be a lion at home and a fox abroad.

By a sweet tongue and kindness, you can drag an elephant with a hair.

Courteous men learn courtesy from the discourteous.

Courtesy is cumbersome to them that ken it not.

Courtesy on one side can never last long.

Do little things now; so shall big things come to thee by and by asking to be done.

Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs thistles?

Epigrams succeed where epics fail.

Every man goes down to his death bearing in his hands only that which he has given away.

Go as far as you can see, and when you get there you’ll see further.

Go and wake up your luck.

Go further and fare worse.

He gives a party with bath-water.

He gives him roast meat and beats him with the spit.