God tempers the wind to the shorn sheep.
Meaning: Hardship diminishes in proportion to one's vulnerability, or mercy matches misfortune.
Origin: Often assumed to be from the Bible, but it is not. Laurence Sterne made it famous in A Sentimental Journey (1768), and it is older in French: the printer Henri Estienne recorded in 1594 that God measures the cold to the shorn sheep. It means that hardships are made bearable for those least able to endure them.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, and German
- French: A brebis tondue Dieu mesure le vent (literally: God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb)
- Spanish: Dios aprieta pero no ahoga (literally: God squeezes but does not choke)
- German: Gott gibt Kälte nach Kleidern (literally: God gives cold according to clothes)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- Short and sweet like a donkey's gallop. — Brief moments of intensity fade quickly, so appreciate their value without expecting perm…
- Every one can tame a shrew but he that hath her. — Only those outside a difficult relationship can judge or manage it; those within suffer i…
- Few people are out of the reach of slander. — Most individuals lack sufficient obscurity or virtue to escape false accusations and mali…
- Slander leaves a score behind it. — Spoken harm creates lasting damage that the victim carries long after the words fade.
- One hour's sleep before midnight is worth two hours after. — Early sleep aligns with natural circadian rhythms, making pre-midnight rest more restorat…
- There is sleeping enough in the grave. — Excessive rest now wastes precious living time that death will eventually steal forever.
From our idioms
- get a hold of oneself — To get control of oneself; stop being emotional.
- get a hold of someone — To contact someone or communicate with someone, usually by telephone.
- get a hold of something — To acquire or obtain something.