Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.
Meaning: Prolonged unfulfilled expectations erode emotional resilience and breed despair rather than sustenance.
Origin: From the Book of Proverbs (13:12), in the King James Version: "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life." Waiting too long for a hope to come true wears down the spirit.
More proverbs about Human Nature
- If it were not for hope, the heart would break. — Despair without possibility of improvement destroys the human spirit; hope sustains us th…
- A hungry horse makes a clean manger. — A desperate situation compels thorough action where comfort permits negligence.
- A hungry man, an angry man. — Physical deprivation erodes patience and civility, making irritability inevitable.
- In the husband wisdom, in the wife gentleness. — Complementary virtues in partnership: husbands provide rational guidance while wives offe…
- A young man idle, an old man needy. — Neglecting work in youth ensures poverty and hardship in old age.
- Ingratitude is the daughter of pride. — Pride blinds people to others' kindness, making them unable to recognize or acknowledge t…
From our idioms
- in de wieg gelegd zijn — To have a natural talent or aptitude for something from birth.
- knollen voor citroenen verkopen — To swindle or defraud someone by passing off something worthless as valuable.
- brood zien in — To view something as a viable or profitable business opportunity.