Love and lordship like no fellowship.
Meaning: Deep affection and authority cannot coexist in the same relationship without one corrupting the other.
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 and Spanish
- French: Amour et seigneurie ne veulent point de compagnie (literally: Love and lordship like no fellowship)
- Spanish: Ni amor ni señorío quieren compañía (literally: Neither love nor lordship wants company)
More proverbs about Human Nature
- No man loves his fetters, though of gold. — Even luxurious constraints remain oppressive; material comfort cannot compensate for lost…
- No man can flay a stone. — Attempting the impossible wastes effort; some things resist all effort by their very natu…
- A fool may give a wise man counsel. — Even those lacking judgment can occasionally offer valuable advice through chance or simp…
- Every man is either a fool or a physician after thirty years of age. — Experience either teaches you wisdom or your ignorance becomes permanent folly by middle…
- An old fool is the worst of fools. — Inexperience excuses foolishness; years of repeating mistakes demonstrate willful ignoran…
- Better it is to meet a bear bereaved of her whelps, than a fool in his folly. — Confronting a dangerous animal is safer than engaging with someone determined to persist…
From our tongue twisters
- ยักษ์ใหญ่ไล่ยักษ์เล็ก (Yák yài lâi yák lék) — A tonal 'yak / yai / lai / lek' drill that hops across Thai tones in four short beats.
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. — A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
- Бабин біб розцвів у дощ, буде бабі біб у борщ. (Babyn bib roztsviv u doshch, bude babi bib u borshch.) — A bilabial 'b / bib / bor' drill that ends in a very Slavic splash of borscht.