Better go to bed supperless than to rise in debt.
Meaning: Missing one meal causes less harm than owing money that disrupts your future financial freedom.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
More proverbs about Morality
- A good surgeon must have an eagle's eye, a lion's heart, and a lady's hand. — Surgical excellence demands keen observation, fearless courage, and delicate precision wo…
- Give a thief rope enough and he'll hang himself. — A criminal given freedom eventually exposes himself through his own continued wrongdoing.
- The thief's sorry because he is caught, not because he is the thief. — Criminals regret consequences, not their crimes; remorse born from punishment lacks genui…
- Set a thief to take a thief. — Fighting cunning requires cunning; only a dishonest person understands another's deceptiv…
- When it thunders the thief becomes honest. — Fear of divine punishment temporarily reforms even the most dishonest when facing greater…
- There is a tide in the affairs of man which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. — Seizing opportunities at their peak moment determines success; delay means missing favora…