The best mirror is an old friend
Meaning: True friends who have known us for a long time see us most clearly and honestly.
Origin: From George Herbert's Outlandish Proverbs (1640), a collection of foreign sayings gathered by the English poet and priest, later reissued as Jacula Prudentum. An old friend, it says, shows you yourself more truthfully than glass does — flaws included.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, and Japanese
- French: Le meilleur miroir est un vieil ami (literally: The best mirror is an old friend)
- Spanish: El mejor espejo es un viejo amigo (literally: The best mirror is an old friend)
- Japanese: 最高の鏡は古い友人だ (Saikō no kagami wa furui yūjin da) (literally: The best mirror is an old friend)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- He who fights with monsters should look to it that he does not become one — In struggling against evil, we risk adopting the very characteristics we oppose.
- Wisdom begins in wonder — Curiosity and a sense of amazement at the world are the foundations of all knowledge.
- He who is everywhere is nowhere — Trying to do too many things at once means accomplishing nothing properly.
- Do not go where the path may lead; go where there is no path and leave a trail — True innovation and leadership mean forging your own way rather than following the crowd.
- A nail is driven out by another nail — New habits, relationships, or ideas can effectively replace and eliminate old ones.
- The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook — True wisdom includes knowing which details and offenses are not worth your attention or e…
From our idioms
- Costar un ojo de la cara — To be outrageously expensive.
- No hay tu tía — There's no way around it; nothing can be done.
- Estar de Rodríguez — To be a husband left working in town while the family is on holiday.