He who stays in the valley will never get over the hill.
Meaning: Comfort in familiar circumstances prevents growth and progress beyond current limitations.
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.
Equivalents in French
- French: Qui reste dans la vallée ne passera jamais la montagne (literally: He that stays in the valley will not get over the hill)
More proverbs about Perseverance
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- He that goes far from home for a wife, either intends to cheat or will be cheated. — Marrying a stranger from distant lands invites deception, whether intentional fraud or na…
- There is one good wife in the country, and every man thinks he hath her. — Every husband believes his own wife is uniquely virtuous, blinding him to her actual flaw…
- Happy is he who hath sown his wild oats betimes. — Early indulgence in youthful excess prevents restless regret and wasted energy in later,…
- A wilful man never wants woe. — Stubbornness breeds its own suffering—those who insist on their way invite the consequenc…
- Willows are weak, yet they bend other wood. — Flexibility and gentleness can overcome rigidity; what appears fragile often proves stron…
From our compliments & insults
- Tienes menos luces que un barco pirata — You're really not the brightest.
- Eres más lento que el caballo del malo — You're painfully slow — the villain's horse never catches the hero.
- Testa di rapa — A blockhead who isn't thinking.