Desert and reward seldom keep company.
Meaning: Virtue without recognition tests whether you act from integrity or merely for praise.
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 Perseverance
- One must sometimes hold a candle to the devil. — Pragmatic compromise with unsavory people or situations may be necessary to achieve impor…
- Diligence is the mother of good fortune. — Consistent hard work creates the opportunities that appear to others as mere luck or chan…
- He who would enjoy his friend's dinner should not look into the kitchen. — Willful ignorance of unpleasant details preserves pleasure in the final result.
- If you wish a thing done, go; if not, send. — Delegating tasks to others risks poor execution; important matters demand your personal a…
- Think of ease, but work on. — Comfort tempts idleness, yet sustained effort alone transforms aspiration into achievemen…
- Tis hard to sail o'er the sea in an egg-shell. — Fragile vessels cannot survive harsh conditions; attempting impossible tasks with inadequ…
From our tongue twisters
- Didon dîna, dit-on, du dos d'un dodu dindon dont le dodu dos dodine. — A 'd' / 'din' / 'dod' avalanche that seems designed to jam the tongue in third gear.
- Zehn zahme Ziegen ziehen zehn Zentner Zucker zum Zoo. — A sustained 'z' / 'ts' drill — every word starts with the same affricate.
- Wenn Fliegen hinter Fliegen fliegen, fliegen Fliegen Fliegen nach. — Fliegen means 'flies' (insects), 'to fly', and 'flying' — all at once, relentlessly.