Wise men learn by others' harms, fools by their own.
Meaning: Observing consequences that befall others provides instruction without requiring personal suffering.
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 Human Nature
- Man is the head, but woman turns it. — Women's subtle influence often guides decisions that men believe they make independently.
- A man is not so soon healed as hurt. — Wounds to body and spirit require far longer to mend than the swift moment of their infli…
- Hearts may agree though heads differ. — Emotional alignment and shared values matter more than intellectual disagreement in susta…
- Love and a cough cannot be hid. — Genuine affection, like illness, inevitably reveals itself through visible signs despite…
- Every man is best known to himself. — Self-awareness surpasses external judgment; only you know your true intentions, struggles…
- Happy is the man that has a hobby. — Pursuing activities purely for pleasure provides fulfillment and emotional wellbeing beyo…
From our tongue twisters
- Карл у Клары украл кораллы, Клара у Карла украла кларнет. (Karl u Klary ukral korally, Klara u Karla ukrala klarnet.) — A 'kl/kr/r' drama — crime, countercrimes, and consonant clusters all at once.
- Корабли лавировали, лавировали, да не вылавировали. (Korabli lavirovali, lavirovali, da ne vylavirovali.) — One verb, three inflections, pure 'lav/vir' torture — the word grows with every repetitio…
- W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie i Szczebrzeszyn z tego słynie. — The opening of a poem by Julian Tuwim, now Poland's most-quoted tongue twister — the cons…