He giveth twice who gives in a trice.
Meaning: Quick generosity prevents the recipient's anxiety and disappointment, making one gift feel like two.
Origin: The Roman writer Publilius Syrus wrote that he doubly helps the needy who gives quickly, and the Latin was later polished into bis dat qui cito dat — he gives twice who gives quickly. Francis Bacon quoted it in 1617. A prompt gift is worth double a slow one.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, and German
- French: Qui tôt donne, deux fois donne (literally: He gives twice who gives in a trice)
- Spanish: Quien da presto, da dos veces (literally: He gives twice who gives in a trice)
- German: Wer schnell gibt, gibt doppelt (literally: He who gives quickly gives double)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- Men strain at gnats, and swallow camels! — Obsessing over trivial faults while tolerating serious wrongs reveals misplaced moral pri…
- Better go about than fall into the ditch. — Taking an indirect, longer route safely beats risking catastrophe through the shortest pa…
- Gold goes in at any gate, except Heaven's. — Wealth opens worldly doors but cannot purchase spiritual salvation or divine favor.
- The gown is hers who wears it, and the world is his who enjoys it. — Possession belongs to those who actively use something, not merely own it formally.
- While the grass grows the steed starves. — Delay in acting allows opportunities to slip away while waiting for ideal conditions that…
- Grass grows not upon the highway. — Constant traffic wears away growth; neglected paths flourish while heavily used routes re…
From our tongue twisters
- Ibsens ripsbusker og andre buskvekster. — An 'sb / sk / busk' cluster trap that jams the tongue between the bushes.
- Rødgrød med fløde. — The legendary soft-d and rounded 'ø' test — the phrase Danes use to spot a non-native ins…
- Nồi đồng nấu ốc, nồi đất nấu ếch. — A tonal drill that swaps vowels and tones (đồng/đất, ốc/ếch) while the rhythm stays stead…