If every one would mend one, all would be mended.
Meaning: Individual responsibility for self-improvement creates collective progress without relying on others to fix systemic problems.
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.
More proverbs about Perseverance
- In the end things will mend. — Patience through hardship yields eventual improvement; time itself becomes the healer of…
- Who would keep a cow when he may have a bottle of milk for a penny! — Owning the burden of providing for something costs more than simply purchasing what you n…
- A wise man changes his mind; a fool never. — Holding firm to wrong beliefs demonstrates stubbornness, while reconsidering based on new…
- A fool may make money, but a wise man should spend it. — Wealth without prudent use becomes meaningless; wisdom lies in strategic, purposeful spen…
- The morning sun never lasts a day. — Early advantages fade without sustained effort; initial success doesn't guarantee lasting…
- A mother's heart never grows old. — Maternal love remains eternally protective and nurturing regardless of children's age or…
From our idioms
- wolf in sheep's clothing — Someone who presents himself as a harmless person, but who has intentions that are not ho…
- apple of one's eye — A person or thing that is precious or loved above all else.
- big cheese — An important, powerful or influential person.