ProverbPerseverance
English origin16th c.
English origin16th c.Faint heart never won a fair lady.
Meaning: Romantic success requires courage; passive timidity guarantees failure in matters of love.
Origin: Current in English by the 16th century; William Camden recorded it in 1614. It urges suitors to be bold, and Gilbert and Sullivan turned it into a comic song in Iolanthe (1882).
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, and Polish
French: Jamais honteux n’eut belle amie (literally: Faint heart never won fair lady)
Spanish: Quien no se arriesga, no pasa la mar (literally: He who takes no risk does not cross the sea)
Japanese: 虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず (Koketsu ni irazunba koji wo ezu) (literally: If you do not enter the tiger's den, you will not get the tiger cub)
German: Wer nicht wagt, der nicht gewinnt (literally: Who doesn't dare doesn't win)
Italian: Chi non risica non rosica (literally: Whoever doesn't risk doesn't nibble)
Polish: Do odważnych świat należy (literally: The world belongs to the brave)
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