101 Universal Proverbs ~Significant For Wise Minds Proverbs are an essential part of African culture. Which is being passed on from ages to ages and for centuries, which are still used nowadays as our everyday life in sensitive and quality communications; Proverbs are used to illustrate ideas, reinforce arguments and deliver messages of inspiration, consolation, celebration and advice mostly in traditional occasions, precisely in Nigeria. The one and unforgettable Nigerian great author late Chinua Achebe once wrote: Proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten. Yes ! ...So here are 101 Proverbs that are highly significant and useful to our daily living and communications: 1, If a man hasnt discovered something he will die for, he isnt fit to live. ~ Martin Luther king jr. 2, We can forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; but the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the Light. 3, Fire dies for lack of woods, if theres no whispering, gossip stops. 4, Hate can not drive out hate, only Love can do that. 5, Good can exist without evil, whereas evil can not exist without good. 6, Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise, but seek what they Sought. 7, To know God is the best knowledge, And to serve God is the best achievement !!! 8, Once you know a vindictive character, avoid it like a snake 9, A good Leader always looks for What is wrong and not Who is wrong 10, A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger ~Proverbs 15:1. 11, Its only a tree that was told it will be cut down, and it stood still the next day. From Achebe: 12, We cannot trample upon the humanity of others without devaluing our own. The Igbo, always practical, put it concretely in their proverb Onye ji onye nala ji onwe ya: He who will hold another down in the mud must stay in the mud to keep him down. 13, Nobody can teach me who I am. You can describe parts of me, but who I am - and what I need - is something I have to find out myself. 14, One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised. 15, When suffering knocks at your door and you say there is no seat for him, he tells you not to worry because he has brought his own stool. 16, A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. They all have food in their own homes. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. ...(Just like what the Bible says.... Hebrews 10:25). 17, when we are comfortable and inattentive, we run the risk of committing grave injustices absentmindedly. 18, Then listen to me, he said and cleared his throat. Its true that a child belongs to its father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mothers hut. A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say that mother is supreme. Is it right that you, Okonkwo, should bring your mother a heavy face and refuse to be comforted? Be careful or you may displease the dead. Your duty is to comfort your wives and children and take them back to your fatherland after seven years. But if you allow sorrow to weigh you down and kill you, they will all die in exile. 19, When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk. 20, Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten. ...(Na So ) 21When the elderly ones in a house travel, the younger ones quickly grow in experience. 22. Patience can cook a stone. 23. “You are either alive and proud or you are dead, and when you are dead, you can’t care anyway.”- Steven Biko. 24. One who causes others misfortune also teaches them wisdom. 25. If you think you are too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent a night with a mosquito. 26. “Traveling- it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller”- Ibn Battuta. 27. When the c*ck crows, it signals a new day… Good Morning. 28. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” -Nelson Mandela (NO WONDER SOME PEOPLE ARE FIGHTING IT) 29. Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. 30. “For tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” – African quote 31. When brothers fight to the death, a stranger inherits their father’s estate. 32. “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.” – Nelson Mandela 33. Marriage is like a groundnut; you have to crack it to see what is inside. 34. Only the tortoise knows what is hidden in its sh3ll. 35. You learn how to cut down trees by cutting them down. 36. The sheep with a strong master sleeps with his tail outside the house ~safety. 37. The falling of dry leaves on top of a tree is warning to other leaves on the tree…So be careful, never celebrate other people downfall 38. Nobody is born wise. ~ African quote (Even King Solomon) 39. If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work, then every woman in Africa would be a millionaire – George Monbiot 40. “When the heart overflows, it comes out through the mouth” ~ Ethiopian quote (Just as the Bible Says... Matthew 12:34. Luke 6:45) 41. To run is not necessarily to arrive. 42. “Hold a true friend with both your hands” Nigerian Quote 43. “For Africa to me… is more than a glamorous fact. It is a historical truth. No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place.” – Maya Angelou 44. “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”- Desmond Tutu 45. A goat is never pronounced innocent if the judge is a leopard. 46. “A man does not wander far from where his corn is roasting.” 47. Pretend you are dead and you will see who really loves you. – African quote 48. Home affairs are not talked about on the public square. 49. Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth. – Muhammad Ali 50. If you are filled with pride, then you will have no room for wisdom 51. “The remedy against bad times is to have patience with them” 52. “Do not tell the man who is carrying you that he stinks” 53. “Ashes fly back into the face of him who throws them” 54. Do not try to fight a lion if you are not one yourself. 55. To have a good enemy, choose a friend: he knows where to strike. 56. Everybody has been young before, but not everybody has been old before. 57. To love the king is not bad, but a king who loves you is better. 58. “The lion does not turn around when a dog barks. 59. He who is carried on another’s back does not know how far the journey is. 60. “Whether the knife falls on the melon or the melon on the knife, the melon suffers” 61. “Wisdom does not come overnight” 62. If you refuse to be made straight when you are green, you will not be made straight when you are dry. 63. The f00l speaks, the wise man listens. 64. “Quarrels end, but words once spoken never die” 65. He who earns calamity, eats it with his family. 66. “It is the calm and silent water that drowns a man” 67. Not to know is bad. Not to wish to know is worse. 68. To get lost is to learn the way. (Onye nefughi uzo, anaghi amata uzo ) 69. “Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth.”- Wole Soyinka 70. Ears that do not listen to advice, accompany the head when it is chopped off. 71. One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.”- Chinua Achebe 72. To give a monkey water is not the problem, but collecting back the cup. 73. When the crocodile smiles, be extra careful 74. The lion that kills is the one that does not roar 75. When the mouse laughs at the cat, there is a hole nearby 76. A happy man marries the girl he loves, but a happier man loves the girl he marries. 77. A single bracelet does not jingle. 78. Brothers love each other when they are equally rich. 79. If we stand tall it is because we stand on the backs of those who came before us. 80. If you close your eyes to facts, you will learn through accidents. 81. If the dynamic display of power & strenght of a Lion means nothing to you, then call cat to do the same in front of Lion. 82. By the time the f00l has learned the game, the players have dispersed. 83. A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. 84. No man at the point of death, ever regretted of being a Christian ~Rev. Chidi Okoroafor. 84. Theres no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires ~ Nelson Mandela. 85. A full stomach makes a happier heart. 86. Faith is taking the step even when you dont see the stairs ~ Martin Luther King jr. 87. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people ~Proverbs 14:34. 88. Gladness does not come from what you have, but what you are. 89. Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you ~Exodus 20:12. 90. There are three days in a mans life: 1, Birthday 2, Wedding day 3, Death day We are not too old to celebrate the first, and the last we are not around ~Indian old man. 91. Are you among the people saying Christianity is in the heart now think about it, if the early church members only have their Christianity in the heart then how would the name Christians come in the first place ? (Acts 11:26, 26:28, 1Peter 4:16). 92. Its better to be stupid than to be f00lish, cos stupidity is momentary while f00lishness lingers. 93. Your Word is You, so mind what you say. 94. Todays swagger can be tomorrows stagger, get wise! 95. In serving the wicked, expect no remarks and be thankful if you escape injury for your pain ~Aesops Fables. 96. A bird at hand is worth two in the bush. 97. He, who marries a woman only for her beauty, has ignored a major part of what makes a woman. 98. Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. ~Proverbs 31:6-7(NIV) 99. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. ~Proverbs 30:31(NIV) 100. A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed--without remedy. ~Proverbs 29:1(NIV) 101. By justice a king gives a country stability, but one who is greedy for bribes tears it down. ~Proverbs 29:4(NIV)
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 14:18:02 +0000
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