We must do as we may, if we cannot do as we would.
Meaning: Pragmatism requires accepting imperfect solutions when ideal circumstances remain beyond our control.
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 doctor and a clown know more than a doctor alone. — Different perspectives, even unconventional ones, reveal truths that expertise alone cann…
- An old doctor, a young lawyer. — Experience in medicine matters more than credentials; youth and eagerness matter more in…
- When one door shuts another opens. — Loss creates unexpected opportunities; closing one path often reveals alternatives previo…
- He that's down, down with him. — Mercy vanishes when someone loses power; people instinctively abandon the fallen to suffe…
- Pour not water on a drowned mouse. — Pointless effort wastes resources when the situation is already beyond remedy.
- A drunken night makes a cloudy morning. — Excess indulgence tonight guarantees regret and impaired judgment tomorrow.
From our idioms
- avoir de la tchatche — To be talkative and persuasive, to have the gift of gab.
- tomber à l’eau — To be canceled or abandoned.
- ne plus savoir où donner de la tête — To be overwhelmed with work or demands.