Think of ease, but work on.
Meaning: Comfort tempts idleness, yet sustained effort alone transforms aspiration into achievement.
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 Perseverance
- Tis hard to sail o'er the sea in an egg-shell. — Fragile vessels cannot survive harsh conditions; attempting impossible tasks with inadequ…
- Everything hath an end, and a pudding hath two. — Even desserts that seem endless eventually conclude, and some things finish twice—once ea…
- There's never enough where nothing's left. — Hoarding depletes resources faster than sharing them, making scarcity worse for everyone.
- Tis a hard battle where none escapes. — In conflicts where everyone suffers losses, victory itself becomes meaningless and costly.
- He had need rise betimes that would please everybody. — Rising early cannot satisfy conflicting demands; some desires are inherently incompatible.
- You should never touch your eye but with your elbow. — Protecting your eyes requires maintaining impossible distance from contamination.
From our compliments & insults
- Testa di rapa — A blockhead who isn't thinking.
- Du hast doch einen Vogel — You're a bit out of your mind.
- Du gehst mir auf den Keks — You're getting on my nerves.