The sweetest wine makes the sharpest vinegar.

Meaning: Excellence corrupted becomes more destructive than mediocrity ever could.

Origin: From 'A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases' (1870). Public domain.

More proverbs about Wisdom

The worth of a thing is best known by the want of it. — Deprivation reveals true value; we recognize importance only through loss or scarcity.
For want of a nail the shoe is lost; for want of a shoe the horse is lost; for want of a horse the rider is lost. — Small negligences compound catastrophically; ignoring minor problems cascades into comple…
He that is warm thinks all are so. — The comfortable forget others suffer deprivation and misjudge universal experience by the…
He that hath a head of wax must not walk in the sun. — Those with fragile vulnerabilities should avoid situations that expose or exploit their w…
Let the weakest go to the wall. — The vulnerable are sacrificed first when resources or power become scarce or contested.
Where it is weakest there the thread breaketh. — Failure occurs at the point of greatest vulnerability, not where strength exists.

Loading the full interactive collection…