Soldiers in peace are like chimneys in summer.
Meaning: Idle warriors without conflict become useless burdens, their skills and purpose rendered irrelevant during times of peace.
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 Wisdom
- A fat sorrow is better than a lean one. — Sharing grief with others diminishes its burden; isolation amplifies even minor sorrows.
- When sorrow is asleep, wake it not. — Avoid reopening old wounds or painful memories that have faded with time.
- Sorrow comes unsent for, and, like the unbidden guest, brings his own stool. — Uninvited suffering arrives on its own terms, requiring no preparation and creating its o…
- "Sour grapes," as the fox said when he could not reach them. — Dismissing something as worthless once you've failed to obtain it masks disappointment th…
- Every sow to her own trough. — Animals fed separately avoid conflict; individuals should focus on their own portion rath…
- Who sows in May gets little that way. — Late planting yields poor harvests; timing matters as much as effort in agriculture and l…