Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Meaning: Treat people the way you want to be treated.
Origin: Jesus teaches it in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31), and it has close parallels elsewhere: Confucius says in the Analects not to impose on others what you do not wish for yourself, and the rabbi Hillel taught the same principle. Confucius and Hillel put it negatively; the Gospel version is the positive form now called the Golden Rule.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Ne fais pas à autrui ce que tu ne voudrais pas qu'on te fasse (literally: Don't do to others what you wouldn't want done to you)
- Spanish: Trata a los demás como quieras que te traten (literally: Treat others as you want to be treated)
- Japanese: 己の欲せざる所、人に施す勿れ (Onore no hossezaru tokoro, hito ni hodokosu nakare) (literally: Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself)
- German: Was du nicht willst, dass man dir tu, das füg auch keinem andern zu (literally: What you do not want done to you, do not do to anyone else either)
More proverbs about Morality
- Don't bite the hand that feeds you — Don't harm those who help you.
- People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones — Don't criticize others if you have the same faults.
- The road to hell is paved with good intentions — Good plans are worthless without follow-through.
- The truth shall set you free — Honesty and truth lead to liberation.
- To err is human, to forgive divine — Making mistakes is natural; forgiving them is noble.
- Live and let live — Be tolerant of others' choices and lifestyles.
From our idioms
- Estar como una cabra — To be completely crazy.
- Tirar la casa por la ventana — To spare no expense; to go all out.
- Meter la pata — To make a blunder or put your foot in it.