Who never climbed, never fell.
Meaning: Avoiding risk entirely guarantees safety but also prevents growth, achievement, and the valuable lessons failure teaches.
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
- Diligence is a good patrimony. — Hard work and industrious habits, inherited or cultivated early, provide more lasting wea…
- Envy never enriched any man. — Coveting others' possessions diverts energy from productive work that builds genuine weal…
- Fault-finders should be fault-menders. — Those quick to criticize others must prove willing to fix problems themselves through act…
- Save me from my friends. — Betrayal by trusted allies causes deeper harm than obvious enemies ever could.
- March grass never did good. — Early spring growth lacks substance; premature gains wither when hardship returns.
- Hasty men never lack woe. — Rushing through decisions creates preventable problems that patient deliberation would ha…
From our idioms
- Un bouc émissaire — A scapegoat — someone blamed for the failings of others.
- Un boute-en-train — The life and soul of the party.
- Ruer dans les brancards — To rebel against constraint or authority.