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English speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: Folk Sayings, Famous Quotes or Proverbs on Love and Marriage
A
o Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
o All are good lasses, but whence come the bad wives?
o All is fair in love and war. Or, All's fair in love and war. (Meaning: In the pursuit of love, rules are made to be broken.).
o Anyone who thinks the way to a man's heart is through his stomach is aiming ten inches too high.
B
o Beauty is only skin-deep.
o The best things in life are free.
o A big wife and a big barn will never do a man harm.
o Boys will be boys.
o Building relationships is like fermenting wine. You may crush the grapes with ample efforts and give them enough warmth at the inception. Yet the wine will age at its own leisurely pace.
C
o Charity begins at home.
D
o Discreet wives have neither eyes nor ears.
E
o Every Jack has his Jill (Meaning: There's someone for everyone somewhere.).
o Every Jack has his Jill; if only they can find each other.
F
o Faint of heart never won fair lady (Meaning: Cowards don't get pretty women. And/or those who don't have courage don't get ahead).
o Familiarity breads contempt (Meaning: The longer one lives with an individual, the easier it is to dislike him/her).
o Fear is stronger than love.
o The female of the species is more deadly than the male.
G
o Good men are hard to find.
o A good spouse and heealth is a person's best wealth.
o Goodness is better than beauty.
H
o Happy wife, happy life.
o Happy is the bride that the sun shines on.
o He that marries for money will earn it.
o He that marries for wealth sells his liberty.
o Heaven had no rage like love to hatred turned, nor Hell a fury like a woman scorned.
o Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned (which is merely a spark compared to the Sun as a measure of the power of God's wrath)
o Home is where the heart is.
o Husband and dog missing -- 25 cents reward for dog.
I
o If loving her would be a sin, I wish to sin for the rest of my life.
o If you hate storm and strife lead a bachelor's life.
o If you want praise, die. If you want blame, marry.
o Infatuations are aplenty. Love is rare.
o If you want to be criticized, marry.
o It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
o It is cheaper to keep her.
o It takes two to make a quarrel.
o It takes two to tango.
o If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were.
K
o Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwords.
L
o Love conquers all.
o Love does much, money does everything.
o Love is a bridge between two hearts.
o Love is an ideal thing, marriage the real thing.
o Love is blind.
o Love is not finding someone to live with, it's finding someone whom you can't live without.
o Love laughs at locksmiths.
o Love makes the world go round.
o Love sees no faults.
o Love will find a way.
o Lovers' quarrels are soon mended.
o Lucky in cards, unlucky in love.
M
o A man's home is his castle.
o A man who marries twice is a two-time loser.
o Many love triangles are really wreck-tangles.
o Marriage equals hell and bankruptcy.
o Marriages are made in heaven.
o Married people need a home of their own.
o Marry a handsome man and you marry trouble.
o Marry in haste, repent in haste.
o A mother-in-law is what you inherit when you marry.
N
o Never love with all your heart, it only ends in breaking.
o Never marry for money. You can borrow it cheaper.
O
o One hair of a woman draws more than a team of oxen.
o Out of sight... Out of mind.
P
o A poor beauty finds more lovers than husbands.
S
o She that is born a beauty is half married.
o A son is a son 'till he gets him a wife; a daughter's a daughter all her life. Or, A son is a son till he gets him a wife, but a daughter's a daughter the rest of your life.
T
o "There are three faithful friends: an old wife, an old dog and ready money." [Benjamin Franklin]
o There is but one good mother-in-law and she is dead.
o There's life in the old dog yet.
o There's no place like home.
o There's plenty more fish in the sea (Meaning: The sentence is often used to console women when they have been dumped.)
o They who love most are least valued.
o They who love too much who die for love.
o True love never grows old.
o Two things prolong your life: a quiet heart and a loving wife.
W
o The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
o The way to a man's heart is through the ribcage.
o Whoredom and grace ne'er dwelt in one place.
o Where love fails we espy all faults.
o Where the woman wears the beeches, she has a good right to them.
o Where there is no trust there is no love.
o Wishes won't wash dishes.
o Witches and harlots come out at night.
o Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free (Like why marry when you can have sex without marriage or commitment)?
o A woman is like a cup of tea; you'll never know how strong she is until she boils.
o A woman's place is in the home.
o A woman's will is God's will (Meaning: that which a woman wishes, God wishes.)
o A woman's work is never done.
o Women are like different brews of Coffee. Each one of them has her own Aroma and her own way of tantalizing the taste buds. Yet neither is better or worst than either of them, but the one that stands out for you is only a matter of acquired taste.
Y
o You can bear with your own faults, and why not a fault in your wife?
o You cannot weld cake-dough to cast iron, nor a girl to an old man.
o You have to kiss a lot of toads before you find a handsome prince.
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Spanish Speaking Countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: Spanish Proverbs or Folk Sayings on Love and Marriage
B
o Bachelor, a peacock; betrothed, a lion; married, an ass.
o The bacon of paradise for the married man that does not repent.
o Before you marry, watch out, for it is a knot difficult to untie.
o Being friends with one's son-in-law feels as good as the winter sun.
o in English translation: Better to be alone, than to be in a bad marriage.
- Spanish original: Mas vale bien quedada que mal casada.
o Better joy in a cottage than sorrow in a palace.
o A blind man's wife needs no make-up.
o Both mules and women do what is expected of them.
C
o Choose a wife on a Saturday rather than a Sunday. Or, if you want a fine wife, don't pick her on a Sunday.
D
o The day you marry 'tis either kill or cure.
o Don't marry for money, you can borrow it cheaper.
E
o Every woman has something of a witch about her.
F
o The first wife is a broom, and the second a lady.
G
o in English translation: God makes them and they meet each other.
- Spanish original: Dios los cria y elos se juntan.
H
o A handsome man is not quite poor.
o The house does not rest upon the ground, but upon a woman.
o He that marries a widow will often have a dead man's head thrown into the dish.
o He who builds a house or marries is left with an empty purse.
o He who does not honor his wife, dishonors himself.
o He who has a bad wife can expect no happiness.
o He who has a good wife can bear any misfortune or wrong done to him.
o He who goes for from home to marry goes either to deceive or be deceived.
o in English translation: He/She who loves you a lot can make you cry.
- Spanish original: Quien bien te quiere, te hara llorar.
o in English translation: He/she who thinks he/she is the last COKE in the desert.
- Spanish original: Cree que es la ultima coca-cola en el desierio.
o He who marries does well, but he who marries not, better.
I
o in English translation (literally): If your wife wants to throw you off the roof, make sure the roof is as low as possible.
- Spanish original: Si tu mujer quiere tirarte de un tejado, procura que sea uno bajo, mayormente.
L
o Love is like war; begin when you lie and leave off when you can.
o Love, pain and money cannot be kept secret; they soon betray themselves.
M
o The man who does not love a horse cannot love a woman.
o A mistress in a high place is not a bad thing.
o in English translation: Marriage and shroud come from heaven.
- Spanish original: Matrimonio y mortaja del ciel bajan.
o in English translation: A mother-in-law would be bitter even if made of sugar.
o Spanish original: Suegra ni aun de azucar es buena.
o in English translation: Much as I like you, puppy, but not enough to give you bread.
- Meaning: You're not that attractive and I'm not that desperate.
- Spanish original: Tanto te quiero perrito, pero pa' pan muy poquito.
N
o Never advise anyone to go to war or to marry.
o in English translation: No one should stick his hands between married couples or brothers.
- Meaning: No one should try to interfere in family matters.
- Spanish original: Entre casados y hermanos, ninguno meta las manos.
o No woman can make a wise man out of a fool, but every woman can change a wise man into a fool.
O
o The old wife, if she does not serve for a pot, serves for a cover.
o One wedding brings another.
o The only chaste woman is the one who has not been chased.
R
o Rather have a husband with one eye, than a son.
o A rose too often smelled loses its fragrance (Meaning: A "loose woman loses her charm).
o
o Smoke, a dripping roof, and a scolding wife, are enough to drive a man out of his life.
T
o Take hold lightly; let go lightly. This is one of the great secrets of felicity in love.
o Take in laundry before you take in partners.
o Talk as you go, husband, to the gallows.
o There is no answer for God out of my house, and What have you to do with my wife?
o in English translation (literally): They lived happily and ate partridge (and didn't give me any).
- English equivalent: And they lived happily ever after.
- Spanish original: Vivieron felices y comieron perdices (y a mi no me dieron).
o in English translation (literally): Two breasts pull more than two wagons.
- Meaning: The ability of women to get things in their favor due to their beauty and sexuality.
- Spanish original: Dos tetas tiran mas que dos carretas.
W
o The wedding feast is not made with mushrooms only.
o The well-dressed woman draws her husband away from another woman's door.
o What is whispered in your ear tell not to your husband.
o When our daughter is married sons-in-law are plenty.
o Where there is love there is pain.
o A widow with big breasts must be either married, buried or sent to a nunnery.
o The wife of a shoemaker and the horse of a blacksmith have the worse shoes.
o in English translation: A woman's place is in the home.
- Spanish original: La mujer honrada la pierna quebrada y en casa.
o in English translation (literally): A woman's pubic hair pulls more than a tractor.
- Meaning: The ability of women to get things in their favor due to their beauty and sexuality.
- Spanish original: Pelo de cuca jala mas que un tractor.
| Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #1519481
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French speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: French Proverbs or Folk Sayings on Love and Marriage
A
o in English translation: After the love, the repentance.
- French original:Apres l'amour, le repentir.
o in English translation: At night all cats are gray.
-Meaning: When the lights are out (i.e., in bed) women all look the same.
- French original: La nuit tous les chats sont gris.
B
o in English translation: Big Corvette, small willie.
- Meaning: A French-Canadian saying that pokes fun of men who drive big cars, suggesting they are compensating for having a short penis.
- French original: Grosse Corvette, petite quequette.
C
o The clever wife makes her husband an apron.
o Choose a wife with your ears, not your eyes.
D
o A deaf husand and a blind wife are always a happy couple.
E
o in English translation: Eat your fish while it is fresh, marry your daughter while she is young.
o French original: Mange ton poisson a present qu'il est frais, marie ta fille a present qu'elle est jeune.
F
o in English translation: Far from the eyes, far from the heart.
- Meaning: Out of sight, out of mind.
- French original: Loin des yeux, loin du coeur.
o Fortune is a woman; if you neglect her today do not expect to regain her tomorrow.
H
o [Sarcastic] Happy is the man who has a beautiful spouse close to an abbey.
o He that tells his wife everything must be newly married.
o He who has a wife is sure to have strife.
o He who marries for love is happy at night, and unhappy during the day.
o in English translation (literally) The heart that sighs does not have what it desires.
- French original: Coeur qui soupire n'a pas ce qu'il desire.
I
o in English translation (literally): It'S loving too much when one dies of it.
- Meaning: They love too much who die for love.
- French original: C'est trop aimer quand on en meurt.
L
o Life is never long enough for a coquette.
o in English translation (literally): Look for the woman.
- Meaning: A woman is probably at the heart of the quarrel.
- French original: Cherchez la femme.
o in English translation: Love and poverty do bad housework together.
- French original: L'amour et la pouvrer font ensemble mauvais manage.
o Love can be a violent emotion for some.
o Love does much, but money does all.
o Love is often the fruit of marriage.
o Love is the dawn of marriage and marriage is the sunset of love.
o Love makes the time pass. Time makes love pass.
o in English translation: Lucky in cards, unlucky in love.
- French original: Heureux au jeu, malheureux en amour.
M
o The man has neither sense nor reason who leaves a young wife at home.
o Marriage is a lottery.
o Marriages are written in heaven.
o Married today, married tomorrow.
N
o in English translation: Never coward shall have fair lady for a friend.
- Meaning: Faint heart never won fair lady.
- French original: Jamais couard n'aura belle amie.
O
o in English translation: One always returns to his first love.
o French original: On revient toujours a ses premieres amours.
o in English translation: One does not go to the mill with the beauty of one's wife.
- Meaning: One can't trade in a wife's beauty for food.
- French original: On ne va pas avec la beaute de sa femme au moulin.
o One should choose a wife with the ears, rather than with the eyes.
P
o The pleasure of love lasts but a moment. The pain of love lasts a lifetime.
o The prettiest girl in the world can only give what she has
S
o Smoke, floods and a troublesome wife are enough to drive a man out of his life.
T
o in English translation (literally). That which a woman wishes, God wishes.
- Meaning: A woman's will is God's will.
- French original: Ce que femme veut, Dieu le veut.
o in English translation (literally) There is more than one donkey at the fair called Martin.
- English equivalent: There's plenty more fish in the sea.
- French ORIGINAL: Il y a plus d'un ane a la foire qui s'appellent Martin or Tous les anes ne s'appellent pas Martin.
o in English translation: There is no Jenny who does not find her donkey.
- Meaning: every Jack has his Jill.
- French original: Il n'y a pas d'anesse que ne trouve son ane.
o There is no perfect marriage, for there are no perfect men.
o To eat and drink, and sleep together, is marriage, methinks.
o To make a happy couple, the husband must be deaf and the wife blind.
o To regain her tomorrow.
o Try to reason about love and you will lose your reason.
W
o When a man's friend marries, all is over between them.
o With an old husband's hide one buys a young one.
o in English translation (literally) A woman laughs when she can and weeps when she wants.
- French original: Femme rit quand elle peut et pleure quand elle veut.
o Where rosemary grows the wife wears the trousers.
o Where there's music there can be love.
o Who loves well, punishes well.
Y
o You can't marry a hen and a fox (Meaning: Different strokes for different folks).
| Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #835452
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German speaking countries | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: German Proverbs or Folk Sayings on Love and Marriage
F
o For an old man to marry is like wanting to harvest in the wintertime.
o in English translation (literally): If you want to score, you have to know how to smile.
- Meaning: If you keep this bad mood, you'll never find a girlfriend.
- German original: Wer poppen will, mub lacheln konnen.
I
o in English translation: In the night all cats are gray.
- Meanings: Polite version: Used when explaining why you could not discern one thing from the other.
Impolite version: If it is late enough and I am drunk enough I don't care what my one-night-stand looks like.*
- German original: Bei nacht sind alle katzen grau.
L
o in English translation: Like and like love to join.
- English equivalent: Birds of a feather stick together.
- GERMAN original: Gleich und gleich gesellt sich gern.
O
O in English translation: Old love does not rust.
- English equivalent: Old flames never die.
- German original: Alte liebe roster nicht.
o in English translation (literally): On old pots you learn cooking (Meaning) Older women can teach you a lot in bed.
o An old man who takes a young wife invites Death to the wedding.
T
o Two souls, one thought. Two hearts, one beat.
Y
o A young wife is an old man's dispatch horse to the grave.
o A young woman with an old husband is a wife by day and a widow by night.
* Notes from Wikipedia | Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #835558
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Corsica | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: Italian Proverb or Folk Saying on Marriage -- Corsica
o in Italian (Dialect): A chi nasce bella, nasce maritata.
o in English: Those who are born beautiful, are born married.
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Around the World | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: The following list of proberbs about love and marriage was taken from the book, "Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages" classified by subject, arranged alphabetically, compiled by Robert Christy (New York: Putnam's Sons, 1887).
Bachelor.
1. Bachelor, a peacock, betrothed a lion, married
an ass. Sp,
2. A bachelor's bed is the pleasantest. Cicero.
3. An old bachelor is only the half of a pair of
scissors. Ben, Franklin.
4. Bachelors' wives and maids' children are well
Taught.
5. Commend a wedded life, but keep thyself a
bachelor.
6. Hold your hands off other folks' bairns till
you get some of your own.
7. If you trust a man let him be a bachelor ; let
him be a bachelor. George Eliot,
8. Marriage has its pains, but a bachelor's ' life
has no pleasures. {Africa).
9. Praise a wife, but remain a bachelor. Ital,
10. Who would avoid all strife, should be a
bachelor.
11. Wisely I say, I am a bachelor. Shaks
12. Whoever is free from wrangling is a bachelor.
St. Jerome,
BEAUTY
1. A fair face may be a foul bargain.
2. A fair face may hide a foul heart.
3. A fair face is half a portion^
4. A fair face will get its praise though the
owner keep silent. Dan.
5. A pretty face is as good as a drummer. Ger,
6. A pretty face is half a dowry. Ger.
7. A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Keats.
8. All orators are dumb when beauty pleadeth.
Skaks.
9. All that's fair must fade. Ital.
10. Beauties without fortune have sweethearts
plenty but husbands none at all.
11. Beauty and charity have always a mortal
quarrel between them.
12. Beauty and folly are often companions.
Fr., Ital.
13. Beauty and folly are sisters. Ger,
14. Beauty and understanding go rarely together.
Ger.
15. Beauty blemished once forever's lost. Shaks.
16. Beauty carries its dower in its face. Dan.
17. Beauty comes not by forcing. Turk.
18. Beauty doth varnish age. , Skaks,
19. Beauty draws more than oxen.
20. Beauty draws us with a single hair. Pope.
21. Beauty in the unworthy is poison in a casket
of gold. Tamil
22. Beauty is a frail advantage. Ovid,
23. Beauty is a good letter of introduction. Ger,
24. Beauty is a witch against whose charms faith
melteth into blood. Shaks.
25. Beauty is as good as ready money. Ger,
26. Beauty is but dross if honesty be lost. Dutch.
27. Beauty is but skin deep.
28. Beauty is worse than wine ; it intoxicates both
the holder and the beholder. Zimmerman.
29. Beauty is no inheritance.
30. Beauty is one of God's gifts. Lewes,
31. Beauty is potent but money is morje potent.
32. Beauty is the eye's food and the soul's sor-
row. Ger.
33. Beauty is the subject of a blemish.
34. Beauty is the wife's best dowry.
35. Beauty is truth, truth beauty.
36. Beauty lives with kindness. Shaks.
37. Beauty may have fair leaves but bitter fruit.
38. Beauty opens locked doors. Ger.
39. Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold.
40. Beauty ? the fading rainbow's pride. Halleck.
41. Beauty vanishes, virtue endures. Ger.
42. Beauty will buy no beef.
43. Beauty without bounty avails not
44. Beauty without modesty is infamous. Ger,
45. Beauty without understanding is vain talk.
Ger.
46. Beauty without virtue is a curse. '
47. Beauty without virtue is a rose without fra-
grance. Ger. Dan.
48. Beauty's tears are lovelier than her smiles*
Campbell.
49. Good looks buy nothing in the oiarket.
50. Health and wealth create beauty.
51. How goodness brightens beauty.
Hannah Moore.
52. It is not the greatest beauties that inspire the
most profound passion. Fr.
53. Man cannot divide beauty into dollars.
Polish,
54. One cannot live on beauty. Ger,
55. One does not put beauty in the kettle, Ger.
56. Over the greatest beauty hangs the greatest
ruin.
57. She that is born a beauty is half married.
58. She who is born a beauty is born betrothed.
Ital
59. She who is born handsome is born married.
60. The beautiful are never desolate, but some
one always loves them. Bailey.
61. The beautiful is always true. Fr.
62. The beetle is a beauty in the eyes of its
mother. African Negro^
63. The very autumn of a form, once fine retains
its beauties.
64. We seize the beautiful and reject the useful.
La Fontaine.
65. Without the smile from partial beauty won,,
Say what were man? a world without a sun.
Bride.
1. A bonny bride is soon buskit. Scotch.
2. A rich bride goes young to the church. Ger.
3. A sad bride makes a glad wife. Dutch.
4. All is well, for if the bride has not fair hair she
has a fair skin. Dutch.
5. At the wedding feast the least eater is the
bride. Sp.
6. Happy is the bride the sun shine is on,
And the corpse the rain rains on.
7. He that has luck leads the bride to church.
Dutch.
8. He that is an enemy of the bride does not
speak well of the wedding. Sp.
9. He who has the luck brings home the bride. Ger.
10. How shall the enemy of the bride speak well
of the wedding. Sp.
11. The weeping bride makes a laughing wife.
Ger.
12. There's no handsome woman on the wedding
day except the bride. Por.
t. Damage suffered makes you wise (or knowing), but seldom rich. Dan.
Daughter-in-law.
1. A clever daughter-in-law cannot cook without
ice. Chinese.
2. As long as I was a daughter-in-law, I never
had a good mother-in-law, and as long as I was a
mother-in-law, I never had a good daughter-in-law.
Sp.
3. Daughter-in-law hates mother-in-law. Ger.
4. I say it to you, daughter, hear it, daughter-in-
law. Italy, Sp,
5. I see by my daughter-in-law's eyes when the
devil takes hold of her. Gallician,
6. My daughter-in-law tucked up her sleeves and
upset the kettle into the fire. Sp,
Matrimony.
I. A deaf husband and a blind wife are always
a happy couple.
2. A growing moon and a flowing tide are lucky
times to marry in.
3. A hawk's marriage ? the hen's the better
bird.
4. A hog has eaten the fine pear. {Said what an
ugly man marries a fine woman?) M, Greek.
5. A man finds himself seven years older the
day after his marriage. Lord Bacon.
6. A man may woo whar he will, but wed whar
he is wierd.
7. A man is newly married who tells his wife
everything.
8. A man is not to be known till he takes a wife.
Fr.
9. A poor wedding is a prologue to misery.
10. A young man married is a man that's marred.
Shaks,
11. Age and wedlock bring a man to his nightcap.
12. Age and wedlock tame man and beast.
13. Age and wedlock we all desire and repent of.
14. Always say "no," and you will never be married.
15. An ill marriage is a spring of ill fortune.
16. An impudent face never marries. Ger.
17. An office is the shoeing-horn to marriage. Ger.
18. As comfortable as matrimony.
19. As your wedding ring wears, you'll wear off
your cares.
20. Before you marry have where to tarry. Ital.
21. Be sure before you marry,
Of a house wherein to tarry. Sp,
22. Before you marry beware, for it is a knot difficult to untie. Sp,
23. Before you marry have a house to live in,
fields to till, and vines to cut. Sp,
24. Better be half hanged than ill wed.
25. Better have an old man to humor than a
young man to break your heart.
26. But depth of judgment most in him appears,
Who wisely weds in his maturer years. Pope.
27. Cupid is blind to everything save pin money.
Punch.
28. Do not buy a carrier's ass, nor mar)* an inn-
keeper's daughter. Sp.
29. Do you want to see a wolf with young (an
insatiable plunderer) marry your daughter? Sp.
30. Domestic happiness, the only bliss of paradise that has survived the fall. L Estrange,
31. Early marriages are to be deprecated, especially for men. Bea,
32. Either marry very young or turn monk very
young. M. Greek,
33. Every one sings as he has the gift and marries
as he has the luck. Par,
34. For better, for worse, they have married me.
sp.
35. Go down the ladder when thou marriest a wife, go up when thou chooseth a friend. Hebrew.
36. Grief still treads upon the heels of pleasure,
Married in haste we may repent at leisure. Cawper.
37. Hasty marriage seldom proveth well. Shaks,
38. Hasty marriages seldom turn out well. Ger.
39. He can't demand a fiitch of bacon at Dun-
mow. {An allusion to a custom in the manor of littie Dunmow, England.
A couple who had been married a year without repenting it could demand a flitch of bacon under the charter of the convent of Dunmow.)
40. He has a great fancy to marry that goes to
the devil for a wife.
41. He has great need of a wife who marries mamma's darling.
42. He hath tied a knot with his tongue that he
cannot untie with all his teeth.
43. He that cannot find wherewith to employ
himself let him buy a ship or marry a wife. Sp.
44. He that goes far to marry goes to be deceived
or to deceive.
45. He that is needy when he is married shall be
rich when he is buried.
46. He that marries a daw eats meikle dirt.
47. He that marries ere he be wise will die ere he
thrive.
48. He that marrieth for wealth sells his liberty.
49. He that marrieth for love hath good nights
and bad days. Fr,
50, He that would the daughter win, must with
the mother first begin.
51. He who fain would marry, in choice should
not tarry. Ger.
52. He who is about to marry should consider
how it is with his neighbors.
53. He who marries a beauty marries trouble.
54. He who marries does well, but he who re-
mains single does better. Ger.
55. He who marries ill is long in becoming widowed. Sp.
56. He who would the daughter win
With the mother must begin. Ger,
57. Honest men marry soon, wise men not at all.
58. How thrice wretched is he who marries when
he is poor. Greek,
59. Humble wedlock is better than proud virginity. Augustine.
60. I'll marry and eat the prime of the pot and
sit down first. Sp.
61. If marriages are made in heaven you had but
few friends there. Scotch.
62. If one will not another will, so are all maidens
married.
63. If thou wouldst marry wisely, marry thy equal.
Ovid.
64. If thy estate be good, match near home and
at leisure ; if weak, far off and quickly.
65. If you wish to marry suitably, marry your
equal. Ovid.
66. In marriage cheat who can.
67. It goes ill with the house when the hen sings
and the cock is silent. Sp.
68. It is a sad house where the hen crows louder
than the cock.
69. It is a silly flock where the ewe bears the
bell.
70. It is better to marry a quiet fool than a
witty scold.
71. It is hard to wife and thrive both in a year.
72. It is unlucky to marry in May. Ovid,
73. Keep your eyes wide open before marriage
and half shut after.
74. Let every one marry an equal. Dan Quixote.
75. Like blood, like age, and like goods make the
happiest marriage.
76. Make haste when you are purchasing a field,
but when you are to marry a wife be slow.
77. Make the happiest marriage.
78. Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage. Shaks.
79. Many a one for land, takes a fool by the hand.
80. Marriage and hanging go by destiny.
81. Marriage at first, like a knock on the elbow
is peculiarly painful, but the pain lasts only a little
while.
82. Marriage in haste we may repent at leisure.
Congreve.
83 Marriage in the blood is seldom good. Ger.
84. Marriage is a lottery.
85. Marriage is heaven or hell. Ger.
86. Marriage is honorable but housekeeping a
shrew.
87. Marriage is the bloom or blight of all men's
happiness. Byron.
88* Marriage is the mother of the world and pre-
serves kingdoms, and fills cities, churches and
heaven itself. Jeremy Taylor.
89. Marriage with peace is the world's paradise,
with strife this life's purgatory.
90. Marriages are made in heaven.
91. Marriages are not as they are made but as
they turn out. Ital.
92. Marriages are written in heaven.
93. Married to-day, married to-morrow. Fr.
94. Marry and grow tame. Sp. For.
95. Marry a girl who is your inferior, don't give
your daughter to a superior. Turk.
96. Marry a person in your rank in life.
97. Marry above your match and you get a master.
98. Marry in haste and repent at leisure.
Fr. Ital, Ger,, Dutch.
99. Marry in haste and repent at leisure,
'Tis good to marry late or never.
100. Marry in preference to all other women one
who dwells near thee.
101. Marry! marry! and who is to manage the
house. Sp,
102. Marr, marry, sounds well but tastes ill. For,
103. Marry me without delay mother, for my face
is growing wrinkled. For.
104. Marry your son when you please, your daughter when you can. Sp. Por. Dan,
105. Marrying is easy but housekeeping is hard.
Ger.
106. Mother, marry me, marry me, or the gulls
will fly away with me.
107. Mother, what Is marriage? " Spinning,
bearing children and crying, daughter." Sp.
108. No pot so ugly as not to find a cover. Ital.
109. Observe the edge and take the linen, observe
the mother and take the daughter. Turk,
110. One marriage is never celebrated but another
grows out of it. Ger,
111. She is well married who has neither mother-
in-law nor sister-in-law by her husband.
112. She that marries ill never wants something to
say for it.
113. She who marries secretly is defamed openly.
114. Single long, shame at last. M, Greek,
115. Some go as far as to say, **No one marries
but repents." Fr,
116. That house is in a bad case, where the distaff
commands the sword.
117. The day upon which you marry, you either
make or mar yourself.
118. The day you marry, 'tis either kill or cure. Sp.
119. The old man who is married, bids death to
the feast. Ger.
120. There is no paradise on earth equal to the
union of love, and innocence. Rousseau.
121. To be tied to the sour apple tree; married to an ill husband.
122. To marry once is a duty, twice a folly, thrice
is madness. Dutch,
123. Wedding and ill wintering tame both man
and beast.
124. Wedlock forced is but a hell, an age of discord and continual strife. Shahs.
125. Wedlock is heaven or hell. Ger.
126. Wedlock rides on the saddle, and repentance
on the crupper.
127. Wedlock without children, a world without a
sun. Ger.
128. Wedlock, a padlock.
129. When an old man marries death laughs. Ger.
130. Who marries between the sickle and the
scythe will never thrive.
131. Who weds a sot to get his cot,
Will lose the cot and get the sot. Dutch,
132. Who weds ere he be wise
Shall die ere he thrives.
133. With an old husband's hide, one buys a young
one. Fr.
134. You have married a beauty, so much the
worse for you. Ital.
135. You have tied a knot with your tongue, but
cannot undo with your teeth.
136. You need not marry, you have troubles
enough without it.
Mother-in-law.
I. A mother-in-law is like the dry rot: far easier
to get into a house than to get it out again. Punch.
2. If my mother-in-law dies, I will fetch somebody to flay her. Por.
3. Mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, ? storm and
hail. Ital.
4. My mother-in-law is dead, my hearth is enlaid. M. Greek.
5. Of all the old women that ever I saw.
Surest bad luck to my mother-in-law.
6. The best mother-in-law is she on whom your
geese feed (on the grass that grows on her grave).
7. The cask full, the mother-in-law drunk. Sp.
8. The guide man's mother is always in the guide
wife's gait (way).
9. The husband's mother is the wife's devil. Ger.
10. The mother-in-law does not remember she
was once daughter-in-law. Sp, Par.
11. The mother-in-law must be entreated and the
pot. must be let stand. Sp.
12. There is no good mother-in-law, but she that
wears a green gown [the turf of the church-yard). Ger.
Son-in-law.
1. A son-in-law of the same village and a ploughing buffalo are overwrought. Tamil.
2. A son-in law's friendship is a winter's sun. Sp.
3. After the daughter is married then comes son-
in-laws a plenty. Fr.
4. I see by my daughter's face when the devil
takes hold of my son-in-law. Ital. Sp,
5. Invite your son-in-law to a fowl and he will
take away the lemon. Sp.
6. The son-in-law's sack is never full. Dan.
7. To a son-in-law and a hog you need not show
the way but once. Sp.
8. Who has gold can choose his son-in-law. Ger.
12. Good signs of rain don't always help de young
crops. American Negro.
13. Hail brings frost with its tail.
14. If St. Within weep, that year the proverb says,
The weather will be foul for forty days.
15. If the weather is fine put on your cloak ; if it
rains, do as you please. Fr.
16. If there be neither snow nor rain,
Then will be dear all sorts of grain.
17. In the wane of the moon a cloudy morning
bodes a fair afternoon.
18. It never thunders but it rains.
19. Never mind the weather, so the wind don't
blow.
20. No weather is ill if the wind be still.
21. On a hot day, muffle yourself the more, Sp.
22. Praise a fine day at night. Ger,, Dan,
23. Rain comes after sunshine, and after a dark
cloud, a clear sky. Dan.
24. The dirt bird (or dirt owl) sings, we shall
have rain.
25. The full moon brings fair weather.
26. *Tis piiy fair weather should do any harm.
27. To a child, all weather is cold.
28. When the wind is in the east.
It's neither good for man nor beast;
When the wind is in the south,
It is in the rain's mouth;
When the wind is in the west,
The weather is at the best.
Wedding Ring.
1. O, how many torments lie in the small circle
of a wedding ring.
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Around the World | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: The following list of proverbs about love and marriage was taken from the book, "CLASSICAL AND FOREIGN QUOTATIONS, LAW TERMS AND MAXIMS, PROVERBS, MOTTOES, PHRASES, AND EXPRESSIONS FRENCH, GERMAN, GREEK, ITALIAN, LATIN, SPANISH, AND PORTUGUESE" [selected] by WM. FRANCIS HENRY KING (LONDON: WHTTAKER and SONS, 1889). The book is available for free at www.archive.org.
61. Adam muss eine Eva haben, die er zeiht was er gethan.
(G.) Prov.
Adam must have an Eve, to blame for what he has done.
195. Frau iiber Bord. (G.) Prov.
All freight lightens, said the skipper, as he flung his wife overboard.
2665. Le divorce est le sacrement de l'adultere. (Fr.) Guichard. Divorce is the sacrament of adultery.
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Around the World | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: The following list was taken from "Aphorisms of Wisdom: or, a Complete Collection of the Most Celebrated Proverbs in the English, Scotch, French, Spanish, Italian, and other languages: Ancient and Modern," collected by Thomas V. Fuller, M.D., (GLASGOW: (R. & D. MALCOLM, 1814).
A fair wife without a fortune is a fine house without furniture.
A great dowry is a bedful of brambles.
A man may love his house and yet not ride on the ridge.
A man must ask his wife's leave to thrive.
A man's best fortune, or his worst, is a wife.
A poor man gets a poor marriage.
A poor wedding is a prologue to misery.
A virtuous woman, though ugly, is the ornament of the house.
A wife is not to be chosen by the eye only.
A woman is to be from her house three times; when she
is christened., married, and buried.
A young whore, an old saint.
A young woman married to an old man, must behave like
an old woman.
All are good maids, but whence come the bad wives?
As spiteful as an old maid.
Age and wedlock bring a man to his night-cap.
Age and wedlock tame man and beast.
Age and wedlock we all desire, and repent of.
At weddings and funerals, friends are discerned from kinsfolks.
Bachelor's wives, and maid's children are well taught.
Call your husband cuckold in jest, and he'll ne'er suspect you.
Choose a wife rather by your ear than your eye.
Commend not your wife, wine, nor house.
He that is a cuckold, and allows it, may be so for ever.
He that kisseth his wife in the market-place shall have enough to teach him.
He that marries a wife and three children marries four thieves.
He that marrieth for wealth sells his liberty.
Husband, don't believe what you see, but what I tell you.
Husband, you are a cuckold ; Wife, who told you so ?
Husbands are in heaven whose wives chide not.
If marriages are made in heaven, you had few friends there.
If the bed could tell all it knows, it would put many to
the blush.
Marriage and hanging go by destiny.
Marriage is honourable, but housekeeping chargeable.
Marriage leapeth up upon the saddle, and soon after repentance upon the crupper.
Marry your daughters betimes lest they marry themselves.
Marry come up my dirty cousin!
Money makes marriage.
More belongs to marriage than four bare legs in a bed.
Next to no wife a good wife is best.
She that hath an ill husband shows it in her dress.
The rich widow cries with one eye, and laughs with the other.
We bachelors grin, but you married men laugh till your hearts ache.
When the husband drinks to the wife, all would be well;
when the wife drinks to the husband, all is well.
When the husband is fire, and the wife too, the devil easily sets all in a flame.
Who marrieth for love without money, hath merry nights
and sorry days.
Wife and children are bills of charges.
Wife and children are hostages given to fortune.
You need not marry; you have troubles enough without it.
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Around the World | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: The following list of proverbs and quotes on love and marriage were taken from "A BOOK OF QUOTATIONS PROVERBS AND HOUSEHOLD WORDS, a Collection of Quotations from British and American Authors, Ancient and Modem; with many Thousands of Proverbs, Familiar Phrases and Sayings, from all sources, including Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Latin,
French, German, Spanish, Italian, and other Languages" by W. GURNEY BENHAM (PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY & London: CASSELL & Company, 1907). The book is available for free at www.archive.org
A bad husband cannot be a good man.
A fair wife and a frontier castle breed quarrels, (G. H.)
A grunting horse and a groaning wife
seldom fail their master. (B.)
A house made and a man to make.
Choose a house made and a wife to make. (G. H.)
A little kitchen makes a large house. (G. H.)
A man cannot thrive unless his wife let him. (E. Sc.)
Prudent men seek for thrifty women.
A man must ask his wife's leave to thrive. (E.)
A man's best fortune or his worst is his wife.
The day you marry you either kill yourself
or save yourself.
Marriage is heaven and hell. (Germ.)
A married man turns his staff into a stake. (G. H.)
A poor beauty finds more lovers than husbands.
Age and wedlock tame man and beast.
Age and wedlock bring a man to his night- cap. (R)
Wedding and ill-wintering tame both man and beast. (B.)
As your wedding ring wears, so do your
cares. (E.) (Said to be a Somerset proverb.)
Bachelors' wives and maids' children are
always well taught. (E.)
Maidens' bairns and bachelora' wives are
ay well bred. (So.)
Be a good husband, and you will get a
penny to spend, a penny to lend, and a
penny for a friend. (E.)
Choose your wife as you wish your
children to be. {Gaelic.)
Few take wives for God's sake, or for
fair looks.
One should buy a house ready made
and a wife to make. (Fr.)
Wedding's destiny, and hanging likewise.
To hang or wed: both hath one hour;
And whether it be, I am well sure.
Hanging is better of the twain;
Sooner done, and shorter pain.
Happy is the bride the sun shines on, and
the corpse the rain rains on. (Contributed
to Bay's Collection by A. Faschall)
Happy's the wooing that is not long In doing. (R.)
Early marriage, long love. (Genre.)
He that's needy when he is married, shall
be rich when he is buried. (B.)
He that has a wife has a master. (Sc.)
He that marries a widow and three
children marries four thieves. (B.)
He that marries for wealth sells his
liberty. (G. H.)
He that marries late marries ill. (Gr. H.)
He that marries or he is wise will die or
he thrive. (So.)
Husbands are in heaven whose wives chide not. (B.)
Husbands can earn, but only wives can save.
No man can thrive unless his wife will let him. (So.)
Ask your wife's leave to thrive.
I gave the mouse a hole and she is
become my heir. (G. H.)
You a lady, and I a lady, who will put
the sow out. (Span.)
If the husband be not at home, there is nobody. (G. H.)
If your wife be crust, mind that you are
crumb.
If your wife is short, stoop to her.
If youth knew what age would crave
It would both get and save. (R.)
In choosing a wife and buying a sword
we aught not to trust another. (G.H.)
And a good wife that never grumbles.
(B.)
It's good to marry late or never. (E.)
Like blood, like good, and like age
Make the happiest marriage. (K.)
Love makes passion, but money makes marriage. (Jr.)
Love has no luck. (B. Sc.)
Love is blind. (E.)
Maidens should be meek until they be married. (E. Sc.)
Maids want nothing but husbands, but
when they have them want everything.
?(Said to be a Somersetshire proverb.)
Marriages are made in heaven.
Marriage is destiny, made in heaven.
("Mother Bombie," 1594.)
Marriages are made in heaven and completed on earth. (Fr.)
In marriage and in death the devil contrives to have his part.
Marriage, marriage it sounds well but tastes ill.
(Port.)
Marry a widow before she leave mourning. (G. H.)
Marry above your match, and you get a
good master.
Let everyone marry an equal. (Span., Don Quixote.)
Marry first and love will follow.
Marry in haste, repent at leisure.
Marry in haste one repents at leisure. (Germ.)
Marry in Lent, live to repent.
Marry in May, repent away.
Good folks do not marry in May. (Russian.)
The proverbs teach and common people say.
It's ill to marry in the month of May.
{Old Rhyme.)
Marry the daughter on knowing the mother.
Marry your daughters betimes, lest they
marry themselves. (G. H.)
Marrying is easy, housekeeping is hard.
Marriage is honourable, but housekeeping's
a shrew, (R.)
Matchmakers often bum their fingers.
A mill and a wife are always in want of something. (Ital)
My son is my son till he gets him a wife,
But my daughter's my daughter for all
her life. (E.)
The blind man's wife needs no painting. (E.)
The cunning wife makes her husband her
apron. (R.)
The married man must turn his staff into a stake. (E.)
The weeping bride makes a laughing wife.
(From the German.)
The wife is the key of the house. (G. H.)
There are many fair words in the marriage
making, but few in the portion paying. (R.
So.)
Wedlock is a padlock. (B.)
Wedlock is like a place besieged ; those
within wish to get out, those without wish
to get in. [Arabic.)
Who marries between the sickle and scythe will never thrive. (R.)
Who weds ere he be wise, shall die ere he thrive. (R.)
Wife and children are bills of charges.
(E.) (See Bacon, p. 10.).
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The East | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: Proverb or Folk Saying on Marriage
o Don't stay long when the husband is not at home.
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