Cold of complexion, good of condition.
Meaning: Temperamental coldness in personality often accompanies moral virtue and sound character.
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
- Open confession is good for the soul. — Acknowledging wrongdoing relieves the psychological burden of guilt and shame.
- He may well be contented who needs neither borrow nor flatter. — Financial independence and honest self-reliance free you from degrading dependence on oth…
- Call me cousin; but cozen me not. — Familiarity and kinship don't justify deception; treat relatives honestly despite closene…
- Many a good cow hath had a bad calf. — Good parentage cannot guarantee virtuous offspring; heredity alone does not determine cha…
- Of all crafts, to be an honest man is the master-craft. — Honesty requires greater skill and discipline than any technical profession.
- Crafty evasions save not the truth. — Clever dodging and indirect answers ultimately fail to conceal what is genuinely real.