Maxims, proverbs, aphorisms …
I think, therefore I am. (French proverb by Rene Descartes in 1837).
When a lion roars, he does not catch game. (Acholi proverb).
When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. (acholi proverb).
The fool drowns just like a gypsy reaching the riverbank. (Romanian proverb)
(Meaning: many people fail one step before they could have succeeded).
A monkey left behind laughs at the others tail. (Acholi proverb)
(Meaning: when the fox could not reach the grapes she left in disgust saying that they are sour. From a fable by Voltaire).
The first may become the last. (Acholi proverb)
(Meaning: what goes up comes down. The wheel keeps on turning: what is up today, will turn and become down tomorrow and vice-versa).
A boy may cry, but a man has to conceal his pain. (African proverb)
A chameleon can only change its colour but never change its skin. (African proverb)
The gentle cat scratches badly. (Romanian proverb)
(Meaning: don't be fooled by appearances because they may fire back at you painfully).
A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it hatches. (African proverb)
(Meaning: you can - or should be able to - tell a great man apart from a little man the moment you see one).
A village chief should not create a new law when he is angry. (African proverb)
(Meaning: do not make decisions based on angriness).
A child doesn't belong to his father or mother; he belongs to the ancestors. (African proverb)
A clean conscience makes a soft pillow. (African proverb)
A diamond doesn't lose its value due to lack of admiration. (African proverb).
A drunkard is like a whisky bottle: only neck and belly but no head. (African proverb)
A family tie is like a tree: it can bend but it cannot break. (African proverb)
A father never resembles his son. The son resembles the father. (African proverb)
Meaning: remember where you are coming from.
The old man has been there, done that. The youngster should be respectful because there is no guarantee he will reach the day to grow old).
A fish and bird may fall in love but the two cannot build a home together. (African proverb)
(Meaning: a man and a woman may like each other a lot but that does not mean they can build a nest together.
Sad but true).
A fool and water will go the way they are diverted. (African proverb)
(Meaning: someone with no character believes everything he is told).
A fool may chance to put something into a wise man's head. (African proverb)
(Meaning: even a fool has one good thing to say).
A fool throws a stone into the river and ten wise men cannot pull it out of the water. (Romanian proverb)
(Meaning: a stupid person could be so dead wrong that nobody can say anything right about it).
A real friend is someone who knows every thing about you and still wants to be your friend. (African proverb)
A friend who fawns is better than an enemy who smiles. (African proverb)
A friend to everybody is a friend to nobody. (African proverb)
(Meaning: don't forget your loyalties and those loyal to you).
The hen can never sing louder than the rooster. (Romanian proverb)
Put a silk on a goat and it is still a goat. (Self explanitory)
Constant dripping will wear away a stone. (Take note ladies)
Every ass loves to hear himself bray. (Met a few of those in my time)
If you want to lean on a tree, first make sure it can hold you. (Ambede Proverbs)
A child who is to be successful is not to be reared exclusively on a bed of down. (Akan proverb)
A guilty conscience is a hidden enemy. (American Indian Proverb)
Be first at the feast, and last at the fight. (American Indian Proverb)
Listen or thy tongue will keep thee deaf. (American Indian Proverb)
Never criticize a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins. (American Indian Proverb)
Although the snake does not fly, it has caught the hornbill, whose home is in the sky. (Akan proverb)
If all the seeds that fall were to grow, then no one could follow the path under the trees. (Akan proverb)
If an ass goes a-traveling, he'll not come home a horse. (Akan proverb)
It is a fool whose own tomatoes are sold to him. (Akan proverb)
(Meaning: selling ice-cubes to Eskimos.
Selling cucumbers to the gardener).
Marriage is like a groundnut: you have to crack it to see what is inside. (Akan proverb)
The family is like the forest: if you are outside, it is dense; if you are inside, you see that each tree has its own position. (Akan proverb)
The one who asks questions doesn't lose his way. (Akan proverb)
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