I'll not change a cottage in possession for a kingdom in reversion.
Meaning: Keeping what you securely own now matters more than chasing uncertain future rewards.
Origin: From 'A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases' (1870). Public domain.
More proverbs about Human Nature
- Don't cry out before you're hurt. — Avoid raising alarms or expressing distress prematurely when danger hasn't actually mater…
- Once a use and ever a custom. — Repeated actions solidify into habits that become difficult to break or question.
- They love dancing well that dance among thorns. — Those who find joy in difficult circumstances demonstrate true resilience and optimism.
- He that waits for a dead man's shoes may go long enough barefoot. — Relying on inheritance or another's misfortune for your welfare courts poverty and hardsh…
- What one man despises, another craves. — Individual values differ so radically that one person's rejection becomes another's treas…
- Every man for himself, and God for us all. — Self-interest and communal welfare coexist; individual responsibility doesn't negate coll…
Loading the full interactive collection…