James Wood, comp. Dictionary of Quotations. 1899.
Be strong to Brain is always
Be strong, and quit yourselves like men.Bible.
Best time is present time.Proverb.
Be substantially great in thyself, and more than thou appearest unto others.Sir Thomas Browne.
Be sure you can obey good laws before you seek to alter bad ones.Ruskin.
Be sure your sin will find you out.Bible.
Be swift to hear, slow to speak.Proverb.
Bête noir—An eyesore; a bugbear (lit. a black beast).French.
Beter eens in den hemel dan tienmaal aan de deur—Better once in heaven than ten times at the door.Dutch Proverb.
Be thankful for your ennui; it is your last mark of manhood.Carlyle.
Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny.Hamlet, iii. 1.
Be thou assured, if words be made of breath, / And breath of life, I have no life to breathe / What thou hast said to me.Hamlet, iii. 4.
Be thou faithful unto death.St. John.
Bêtise—Folly; piece of folly.Proverb.
Be to her virtues very kind; / Be to her faults a little blind.Prior.
Betrogene Betrüger—The deceiver deceived.Lessing.
Betrügen und betrogen werden, / Nichts ist gewöhnlicher auf Erden—Nothing is more common on earth than to deceive and be deceived.Seume.
Betrug war Alles, Lug, und Schein—All was deception, a lie, and illusion.Goethe.
Bettelsack ist bodenlos—The beggar’s bag has no bottom.German Proverb.
Better a blush in the face than a blot in the heart.Cervantes.
Better a child should be ignorant of a thousand truths than have consecrated in its heart a single lie.Ruskin.
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one.Chinese Proverb.
Better a fortune in a wife than with a wife.Proverb.
Better a fremit freend than a freend fremit—i.e., a stranger for a friend than a friend turned stranger.Scotch Proverb.
Better a living dog than a dead lion.Proverb.
Better an egg to-day than a hen to-morrow.Proverb.
Better an end with terror than a terror without end.Schiller.
Better a toom (empty) house than an ill tenant.Scotch Proverb.
Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.Twelfth Night, i. 5.
Better bairns greet (weep) than bearded men.Scotch Proverb.
Better be at the end o’ a feast than the beginning o’ a fray.Scotch Proverb.
Better be a nettle in the side of your friend than his echo.Emerson.
Better be a poor fisherman than have to do with the governing of men.Danton.
Better be disagreeable in a sort than altogether insipid.Goethe.
Better be idle than ill employed.Scotch Proverb.
Better bend than break.Proverb.
Better be persecuted than shunned.Ebers.
Better be poor than wicked.Proverb.
Better be unborn than untaught.Gaelic Proverb.
Better buy than borrow.Proverb.
Better deny at once than promise long.Proverb.
Better far off, than—near, be ne’er the near’.Richard II., v. 1.
Better far to die in the old harness than to try to put on another.J. G. Holland.
Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay.Tennyson.
Better go back than go wrong.Proverb.
Better go to bed supperless than rise in debt.Scotch Proverb.
Better haud (hold on) wi’ the hound than rin wi’ the hare.Scotch Proverb.
Better is an ass that carries us than a horse that throws us.J. G. Holland.
Better it is to be envied than pitied.Proverb.
Better keep the deil oot than hae to turn him oot.Scotch Proverb.
Better keep weel than mak’ weel.Scotch Proverb.
Better knot straws than do nothing.Gaelic Proverb.
Better lose a jest than a friend.Proverb.
Better mad with all the world than wise all alone.French Proverb.
Better my freen’s think me fremit as fasheous—i.e., strange rather than troublesome.Scotch Proverb.
Better never begin than never make an end.Proverb.
Better not be at all / Than not be noble.Tennyson.
Better not read books in which you make the acquaintance of the devil.Niebuhr.
Better one-eyed than stone-blind.Proverb.
Better one living word than a hundred dead ones.German Proverb.
Better rue sit than rue flit—i.e., regret remaining than regret removing.Scotch Proverb.
Better say nothing than nothing to the purpose.Proverb.
Better sit still than rise and fa’.Scotch Proverb.
Better sma’ fish than nane.Scotch Proverb.
Better suffer for truth than prosper by falsehood.Danish Proverb.
Better ten guilty escape than one innocent man suffer.Proverb.
Better that people should laugh at one while they instruct, than that they should praise without benefiting.Goethe.
Better the ill ken’d than the ill unken’d—i.e., the ill we know than the ill we don’t know.Scotch Proverb.
Better the world know you as a sinner than God as a hypocrite.Danish Proverb.
Better to ask than go astray.Proverb.
Better to get wisdom than gold.Bible.
Better to hunt in fields for health unbought, / Than fee the doctor for a nauseous draught. / The wise for cure on exercise depend; / God never made his work for man to mend.Dryden.
Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.Milton.
Better to say “Here it is” than “Here it was.”Proverb.
Better understand the world than condemn it.Gaelic Proverb.
Better untaught than ill taught.Proverb.
Better wear out than rust out.Bishop Cumberland.
Better wear shoon (shoes) than sheets.Scotch Proverb.
Better wrong with the many than right with the few.Portuguese Proverb.
Between a woman’s “Yes” and “No” you may insert the point of a needle.German Proverb.
Between saying and doing there’s a long road.Proverb.
Between the acting of a dreadful thing / And the first motion, all the interim is / Like a phantasma or a hideous dream.Julius Cæsar, ii. 1.
Between the deil and the deep sea.Scotch Proverb.
Between us and hell or heaven there is nothing but life, which of all things is the frailest.Pascal.
Beware, my lord, of jealousy; / It is the green-eyed monster that doth mock / The meat it feeds on.Othello, iii. 3.
Beware of a silent dog and still water.Proverb.
Beware of a silent man and a dog that does not bark.Proverb.
Beware of a talent which you cannot hope to cultivate to perfection.Goethe.
Beware / Of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in, / Bear ’t that the opposed may beware of thee.Hamlet, i. 3.
Beware of false prophets.Jesus.
Beware of “Had I wist.”Proverb.
Beware of one who has nothing to lose.Italian Proverb.
Beware of too much good staying in your hand.Emerson.
Beware the fury of a patient man.Dryden.
Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet.Emerson.
Be warned by thy good angel and not ensnared by thy bad one.Bürger.
Be wisely worldly; be not worldly wise.Quarles.
Be wise to-day; ’tis madness to defer.Young.
Be wise with speed; / A fool at forty is a fool indeed.Young.
Bewunderung verdient ein Wunder wohl, / Doch scheint ein Weib kein echtes Weib zu sein, / So bald es nur Bewunderung verdient—What is admirable justly calls forth our admiration, yet a woman seems to be no true woman who calls forth nothing else.Platen.
Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.Jesus.
Bezwingt des Herzens Bitterkeit. Es bringt / Nicht gute Frucht, wenn Hass dem Hass begegnet—Control the heart’s bitterness. Nothing good comes of returning hatred for hatred.Schiller.
Bibula charta—Blotting-paper.
Bien dire fait rire; bien faire fait taire—Saying well makes us laugh; doing well makes us silent.French Proverb.
Bien est larron qui larron dérobe—He is a thief with a witness who robs another.French Proverb.
Bien nourri et mal appris—Well fed but ill taught.French Proverb.
Bien perdu bien connu—We know the worth of a thing when we have lost it.French.
Bien predica quien bien vive—He preaches well who lives well.Spanish Proverb.
Bien sabe el asno en cuya cara rabozna—The ass knows well in whose face he brays.Spanish Proverb.
Bien sabe el sabio que no sabe, el nescio piensa que sabe—The wise man knows well that he does not know; the ignorant man thinks he knows.Spanish Proverb.
Bien sabe la vulpeja con quien trebeja—The fox knows well with whom he plays tricks.Spanish Proverb.
Bien vengas, mal, si vienes solo—Welcome, misfortune, if thou comest alone.Spanish Proverb.
Bien vient à mieux, et mieux à mal—Good comes to better and better to bad.French Proverb.
Big destinies of nations or of persons are not founded gratis in this world.Carlyle.
Bigotry murders religion, to frighten fools with her ghost.Colton.
Big words seldom accompany good deeds.Danish Proverb.
Billet-doux—A love-letter.French.
Biography is the most universally pleasant, the most universally profitable, of all reading.Carlyle.
Biography is the only true history.Carlyle.
Birds of a feather flock together.Proverb.
Birds of prey do not flock together.Portuguese Proverb.
Birth is much, but breeding is more.Proverb.
Bis dat qui cito dat—He gives twice who gives quickly.Latin Proverb.
Bis est gratum quod opus est, si ultro offeras—That help is doubly acceptable which you offer spontaneously when we stand in need.Publius Syrus.
Bis interimitur qui suis armis perit—He dies twice who perishes by his own weapons or devices.Publius Syrus.
Bisogna amar l’amico con i suoi difetti—We must love our friend with all his defects.Italian Proverb.
Bis peccare in bello non licet—It is not permitted to blunder in war a second time.Proverb.
Bist du Amboss, sei geduldig; bist du Hammer, schlage hart—Art thou anvil, be patient; art thou hammer, strike hard.German Proverb.
Bist du ein Mensch? so fühle meine Noth—Art thou a man? then feel for my wretchedness.Margaret in “Faust.”
Bist du mit dem Teufel du und du, / Und willst dich vor der Flamme scheuen?—Art thou on familiar terms with the devil, and wilt thou shy at the flame?Goethe’s “Faust.”
Bis vincit qui se vincit in victoria—He conquers twice who, at the moment of victory, conquers (i.e., restrains) himself.Publius Syrus.
Bitin’ and scartin’ ’s Scotch folk’s wooing.Scotch Proverb.
Black detraction will find faults where they are not.Massinger.
Blame is the lazy man’s wages.Danish Proverb.
Blame where you must, be candid where you can, / And be each critic the good-natured man.Goldsmith.
Blanc-bec—A greenhorn.French.
Blasen ist nicht flöten; ihr musst die Finger bewegen—To blow on the flute is not to play on it; you must move the fingers as well.Goethe.
Blasphemy is wishing ill to anything, and its outcome wishing ill to God; while Euphemy is wishing well to everything, and its outcome wishing well to—“Ah, wad ye tak’ a thocht, and men’.”Ruskin.
Blasted with excess of light.Gray.
Bleib nicht allein, denn in der Wüste trat / Der Satansengel selbst dem Herrn des Himmels—Remain not alone, for it was in the desert that Satan came to the Lord of Heaven himself.Schiller.
Bless, and curse not.St. Paul.
Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.Jesus.
Blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it.Bible.
Blessed be he who first invented sleep; it covers a man all over like a cloak.Cervantes.
Blessed be nothing.Proverb.
Blessed is he that considereth the poor.Bible.
Blessed is he that continueth where he is; here let us rest and lay out seed-fields; here let us learn to dwell.Carlyle.
Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.Swift.
Blessed is he who is made happy by the sound of a rat-tat.Thackeray.
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation.St. James.
Blessed is the voice that, amid dispiritment, stupidity, and contradiction, proclaims to us, Euge! (i.e., Excellent! Bravo!).Carlyle.
Blessedness is a whole eternity older than damnation.Jean Paul.
Blessings are upon the head of the just.Bible.
Blinder Eifer schadet nur—Blind zeal only does harm.M. G. Lichtwer.
Blinder Gaul geht geradezu—A blind horse goes right on.German Proverb.
Blindfold zeal can do nothing but harm—harm everywhere, and harm always.Lichtner.
Bloemen zijn geen vruchten—Blossoms are not fruits.Dutch Proverb.
Blood is thicker than water.Proverb.
Blosse Intelligenz ohne correspondirende Energie des Wollens ist ein blankes Schwert in der Scheide, verächtlich, wenn es nie und nimmer gezückt wird—Mere intelligence without corresponding energy of the will is a polished sword in its scabbard, contemptible, if it is never drawn forth.Lindner.
Blow, blow, thou winter wind, / Thou art not so unkind / As man’s ingratitude.As You Like It, ii. 7.
Blow, wind! come, wrack! / At least we’ll die with harness on our back.Macbeth, v. 5.
Blue are the hills that are far from us.Gaelic Proverb.
Blunt edges rive hard knots.Troil. and Cress., i. 3.
Blushes are badges of imperfection.Wycherley.
Blut ist ein ganz besondrer Saft—Blood is a quite peculiar fluid.Mephistopheles in “Faust.”
Boca de mel, coraçaõ de fel—A tongue of honey, a heart of gall.Portuguese Proverb.
Boca que diz sim, diz naõ—The mouth that can say “Yea,” can say “Nay.”Portuguese Proverb.
Bodily exercise profiteth little.St. Paul.
Bœotum in crasso jurares aëre natum—You would swear he was born in the foggy atmosphere of the Bœotians.Horace.
Boiz ont oreilles et champs œillets—Woods have ears and fields eyes.French Proverb.
Bole com o rabo o caõ, naõ por ti, senaõ pelo paõ—The dog wags his tail, not for you, but for your bread.Portuguese Proverb.
Bon accord—Good harmony.Motto.
Bonæ leges malts ex moribus procreantur—Good laws grow out of evil acts.Macrobius.
Bona fide—In good faith; in reality.
Bona malis paria non sunt, etiam pari numero; nec lætitia ulla minimo mœrore pensanda—The blessings of life do not equal its ills, even when of equal number; nor can any pleasure, however intense, compensate for even the slightest pain.Pliny.
Bona nemini hora est, ut non alicui sit mala—There is no hour good for one man that is not bad for another.Publius Syrus.
Bonarum rerum consuetudo est pessima—Nothing can be worse than being accustomed to good things.Publius Syrus.
Bona vacantia—Goods that have no owner.Law.
Bon avocat, mauvais voisin—A good lawyer is a bad neighbour.French Proverb.
Bon bourgeois—A substantial citizen.French.
Bon chien chasse de race—A good dog hunts from pure instinct.French Proverb.
Bon diable—A good-natured fellow.French.
Bon droit a besoin d’aide—A good cause needs help.French Proverb.
Bon gré, mal gré—Whether willing or not.French.
Bon guet chasse maladventure—A good look-out drives ill-luck away.French Proverb.
Bonne épée point querelleur—A good swordsman is not given to quarrel.French Proverb.
Bonne est la maille que sauve le denier—Good is the farthing that saves the penny.French Proverb.
Bonhomie—Good nature.French.
Boni pastoris est tondere pecus, non deglubere—It is the duty of a good shepherd to shear his sheep, not to flay them.Tiberius Cæsar, in reference to taxation.
Bonis avibus—Under favourable auspices.
Bonis nocet quisquis pepercerit malis—He does injury to the good who spares the bad.Publius Syrus.
Bonis omnia bona—All things are good to the good.Motto.
Bonis quod benefit haud perit—A kindness done to good men is never thrown away.Plautus.
Bonis vel malis avibus—Under good, or evil, omens.
Bon jour—Good day.French.
Bon jour, bonne œuvre—The better the day, the better the deed.French Proverb.
Bon marché tire l’argent hors de la bourse—A good bargain is a pick-purse.French Proverb.
Bon mot—A witticism or jest.French.
Bon naturel—Good nature or disposition.French.
Bonne—A nurse.French.
Bonne bouche—A delicate morsel.French.
Bonne et belle assez—Good and handsome enough.French Motto.
Bonne journée fait qui de fol se délivre—He who rids himself of a fool does a good day’s work.French Proverb.
Bonne renommée vaut mieux que ceinture dorée—A good name is worth more than a girdle of gold.French Proverb.
Bonnet rouge—The cap of liberty.French.
Bonnie feathers mak’ bonnie fowls.Scotch Proverb.
Bon poète, mauvais homme—Good as a poet, bad as a man.French.
Bon sang ne peut mentir—Good blood disdains to lie.French Proverb.
Bons et máos mantem cidade—Good men and bad make a city.Portuguese Proverb.
Bons mots n’épargnent nuls—Witticisms spare nobody.French Proverb.
Bon soir—Good evening.French.
Bon ton—The height of fashion.French.
Bonum ego quam beatum me esse nimio dici mavolo—I would much rather be called good than well off.Plautus.
Bonum est fugienda aspicere in alieno malo—Well if we see in the misfortune of another what we should shun ourselves.Publius Syrus.
Bonum est, pauxillum amare sane, insane non bonum est—It is good to be moderately sane in love; to be madly in love is not good.Plautus.
Bonum summum quo tendimus omnes—That supreme good at which we all aim.Lucretius.
Bonus animus in mala re dimidium est mali—Good courage in a bad affair is half of the evil overcome.Plautus.
Bonus atque fidus / Judex honestum prætulit utili—A good and faithful judge ever prefers the honourable to the expedient.Horace.
Bonus dux bonum reddit militem—The good general makes good soldiers.Latin Proverb.
Bonus vir semper tiro—A good man is always a learner.
Bon vivant—A good liver.French.
Bon voyage—A pleasant journey or voyage.French.
Books are divisible into two classes, the books of the hour and the books of all time.Ruskin.
Books are embalmed minds.Bovee.
Books are made from books.Voltaire.
Books cannot always please, however good; / Minds are not ever craving for their food.Crabbe.
Books generally do little else than give our errors names.Goethe.
Books, like friends, should be few and well chosen.Joineriana.
Books still accomplish miracles; they persuade men.Carlyle.
Books, we know, / Are a substantial world, pure and good.Wordsworth.
Boomen die men veel verplant gedijen zelden—Trees you transplant often, seldom thrive.Dutch Proverb.
Borgen thut nur einmal wohl—Borrowing does well only once.German Proverb.
Born to excel and to command!Congreve.
Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.Cicero.
Borrowing is not much better than begging; just as lending on interest is not much better than stealing.Lessing.
Bos alienus subinde prospectat foras—A strange ox every now and then turns its eyes wistfully to the door.Proverb.
Böser Brunnen, da man Wasser muss eintragen—It is a bad well into which you must pour water.German Proverb.
Böser Pfennig kommt immer wieder—A bad penny always comes back again.German Proverb.
Bos in lingua—He has an ox on his tongue, i.e., a bribe to keep silent, certain coins in Athens being stamped with an ox.Proverb.
Bos lassus fortius figit pedem—The tired ox plants his foot more firmly.Proverb.
Botschaft hör’ ich wohl, allein mir fehlt der Glaube—I hear the message indeed, but I want the faith.Goethe’s “Faust.”
[Greek]—Before the act consider, so that nothing foolish may arise out of it.Greek Proverb.
Bought wit is best—i.e., bought by experience.Proverb.
Boutez en avant—Push forward.French.
Bowels of compassion.St. John.
Brag is a good dog, but Holdfast is better.Proverb.
Brain is always to be bought, but passion never comes to market.Lowell.