The Devil is the enemy of proverbs ("Der Teuffel ist den Sprichwortten — Proverbs

"Maxims are the condensed good sense of nations."

"The supposed wisdom of proverbs is mainly imaginary. As a rule, proverbs go in pairs which say opposite things. The opposite of More haste, less speed is A stitch in time saves nine. The opposite of Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves, Penny wise, pound foolish. The opposite of Two heads are better than one, is Too many cooks spoil the broth. And so on. The great advantage of a proverb in argument is that it is supposed to be incontrovertible, as embodying the quintessential sagacity of our ancestors. But when once you have realised that proverbs go in pairs which say opposite things you can never again be downed by a proverb; you merely quote the opposite."

"Ill tell the names and sayings and the places of their birth, Of the seven great ancient sages so renowned on Grecian earth, The Lindian Cleobulus said, "The mean was still the best"; The Spartan Chilo, "Know thyself," a heaven-born phrase confessed. Corinthian Periander taught "Our anger to command," "Too much of nothing," Pittacus, from Mitylenes strand; Athenian Solon this advised, "Look to the end of life," And Bias from Priene showed, "Bad men are the most rife"; Milesian Thales urged that "None should eer a surety be"; Few were their words, but if you look, youll much in little see."

"Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked."

"All the world over, proverbs run in pairs, and pull both ways: for the most part one neutralizes, by contradiction, the other."

"The wise man learns from the mistakes of others, the fool must learn from his own."