Rodgers Dictionary of Proverbs
It is better to be in hell with a wise man than
in heaven with an idiot.
It is better to be kind to our neighbors than
to cross the world to offer incense to our
ancestors.
It is better to be lied about than to lie.
It is better to be loved than feared.
It is better to be married to an old lady than
to remain unmarried.
It is better to be naked in your place than to
be a pasha with strangers.
It is better to be poor and live long than to
be rich and die young.
It is better to be right than in the majority.
It is better to be safe than sorry.
It is better to be the first on one's race than
the last.
It is better to be the hammer than the anvil.
It is better to be the head of a chicken than
the rear of an ox.
It is better to be the head of a mouse, then
the tail of a lion.
It is better to be the object of jealousy, than
of pity.
It is better to be the victim of injustice than
to be unjust yourself.
It is better to be threatened by the sword of a
Turk than by the pen of a German.
It is better to be without a book than to
believe it entirely.
It is better to be without a wife for a bit than
without tobacco for an hour.
It is better to be without a wife for a minute
than without tobacco for an hour.
It is better to begin in the evening than not
at all.
It is better to bend than break.
It is better to blow than burn your mouth.
It is better to blush than to keep the concern
in your heart.
It is better to build bridges than walls.
It is better to buy dearly than to hunger
direly.
It is better to carry stones with a wise man
than accept the meal of a madman.
It is better to conceal one's knowledge than
to reveal one's ignorance.
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It is better to cut off the head that has no
pride.
It is better to deal with a whole fool than
half a fool.
It is better to die in revenge than to live on
in shame.
It is better to die young at home than to die
old in a hospital.
It is better to do things when you can pre-
vent them than to cry when you are al-
ready suffering and nothing can be done
anymore.
It is better to dwell in a corner of the
housetop, than with a brawling woman
in a wide house.
It is better to eat a hyena than be eaten by it.
It is better to eat bread with love than fowl
with grief.
It is better to enjoy what we possess than to
hanker after other things.
It is better to exist unknown to the law.
It is better to fear, something than to get
frightened.
It is better to feed one cat than many mice.
It is better to finish something than begin.
It is better to fly than to remain in disgrace.
It is better to get fillers often than forints
seldom.
It is better to give away the wool than the
sheep.
It is better to give than to lend and it costs
about the same.
It is better to give than to receive.
It is better to go home and make your net
than to gaze longingly at the fish in the
deep pool.
It is better to have a husband without love
than jealous.
It is better to have bread left over than to
run short of wine.
It is better to have less thunder in the mouth
and more lightning in the hand.
It is better to have no law than not enforcing
it.
It is better to have part of a man than no
man at all.