Much would have more, and lost all.
Meaning: Greed for additional wealth risks losing what one already possesses through reckless overreach.
Origin: From 'A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases' (1870). Public domain.
More proverbs about Wisdom
- Where music is no harm can be. — Harmony and artistic expression create spaces where malice and cruelty cannot take root.
- When a musician hath forgot his note, he makes as though a crumb stuck in his throat. — A performer caught in error masks the mistake with deliberate distraction rather than adm…
- It's no use looking for musk in a dog's kennel. — Seeking valuable qualities in fundamentally unsuitable places wastes effort and guarantee…
- They are as mute as fishes. — Silence, whether enforced or chosen, leaves no trace of knowledge, intention, or presence…
- To look for a needle in a pottle of hay. — Searching for something impossibly small in an overwhelming mass of material wastes effor…
- You must ask your neighbour if you shall live in peace. — Living peacefully requires understanding and maintaining good relations with those closes…
Loading the full interactive collection…