A wise man gets learning from those who have none.

Learning from your mistakes is often painful but usually effective: no one wants to repeat a painful experience. The school of hard knocks tries and tests us and we graduate with honors in proportion to our bruises. But what if there was an easier way?

Instead of taking all the hard times yourself why not just observe others taking the blows of their follies and you can avoid what they have done. Learn to be observant and note what works for others and what does not.

Trial and error constitutes a wasteful method, try thinking first, says the proverb and you can add other people's trials and errors to that.

Look not for musk in a dog’s kennel

Most sensible people would probably rather not go sniffing in a dog’s kennel but if they did they would expect a horrible pong, not the pleasant scent of a musk rose.

This proverb is telling us to be realistic in our expectations. We have a tendency to want things to be as we wish them whereas reality can de disagreeable. Many people build a view of the world that is rose-tinted, ignoring facts that don’t suit them and tending to expect hope to triumph over experience.

You have to be strong, face reality and learn how to deal with it. Hiding your head in the sand is not an option.

The sting of a reproach is the truth of it

When someone tells you off you are likely to react with annoyance if not outright anger: who are they to be telling you? No one likes to be put in their place but what if we deserve it?

This saying is suggesting that we are most likely to be put out when the criticism is accurate and apt. Being confronted with a truth concerning your failings can be a shock especially if your error has never been made known to you before, and you realise that it is true.

Your first instinct is defensive and you are likely to hotly deny the accusation but on quiet reflection you might see that the reproach was justified, and it is a wake up call for you to mend you ways.

We all make mistakes, it is part of the learning process, the important thing is to take the lesson and progress. In a few years' time it will probably be you telling off some junior for the exact same fault!

There is God's poor and the Devil's poor

God's poor are the deserving poor -- those who have worked as hard as they could, practised thrift and gone hungry rather that get into debt. Unfortunately, life tends to be nine parts cards one part skill, so, with good intent and effort it is still possible to find yourself in dire straits. Bad luck can affect anyone.

The Devil's poor are those who are feckless, careless with money, spendthrift and expect others to carry and keep them when they have lost the lot. If they have money they squander it on drink, drugs, gambling and any other vice that catches their attention. They lack discipline and character and will tend to end up poor no matter what they are given.

Who suffers the most when they have reached rock bottom -- the person who tried, suffered and struggled or the one who merrily indulged to excess? Sadly it would seem to be the person who has put in every effort but still failed. It must be quite difficult to avoid being bitter especially if your neighbour is recounting stories of the excesses that led to his plight.

One can but hope that God takes care of his own, eventually.

Little strokes fell great oaks

An insurmountable problem confronts you. But who said it was insurmountable? History is full of stories where people beat all the odds, overcome the impossible and go on to win the day.

When confronted by a seemingly impossible or overwhelming problem try to break it down into manageable chunks. The way to fell a large tree is not to give it one huge blow but one chip at a time. Then you can shout timber! before standing back to appreciate your success.

It is the accumulation of regular actions over a period of time that adds up and makes a difference. Impatient people want things now but their far-sighted cousins know the value of a little energy expended daily to achieve a lot. Patience is a virtue and everything comes to those who wait especially if they put in steady effort. The credit crunch came about because too many people wanted it all now and weren't prepared to save bit by bit towards their goal.

The drip of water will wear away the hardest stone. Learn to be patient and persevering and gradually you will see success. Rome wasn't built in a day. The longest journey starts with the first step. Sharpen your tools and get going.

Loans and debts make worry and frets

This is a fairly obvious statement; if you owe money there is always the fear that something will happen to reduce your income. If you fail to pay up on time there will be penalties and eventually you might lose your assets. When you awake in the "wee small hours" and what if scenarios start running unbidden in your mind the proverb: neither a borrower nor a lender be seems like solid advice.

The person who gives a loan has the corresponding worry: "What if I don't get the money back?" As they say: If you owe a hundred and you can't pay you are in trouble. If you owe a million and can't pay the lender is in trouble.

In the modern economy, credit is essential for most people as they need to buy things now not in twenty-years time when they have saved up the money. To borrow to invest in a business or buy an essential can make good sense if you have carefully worked out the risk. To borrow to finance a luxury you do not really need is not wise. Previous generations would probably have called it sinful.

If something can go wrong it will go wrong so it is prudent to assume some setbacks and give yourself a safety margin.

They seldom live well who think they shall live long

Saving for your old age was once a common thing but the development of pensions contributed to by employers eased the need for this. People scrimped and scraped and went without for fear of a penurious old age. This meant going without many of the pleasures of the moment in order to put something by for the future.

Whilst thrift can be a praiseworthy virtue the warning here is that it can lead to meanness and extremes of self denial that make life less enjoyable. Many people in the western economies who had the habit of saving into a bank account, as their forefathers had encouraged them, lost out heavily in the 1970's when governments allowed monetary expansion to cause runaway inflation. Old fashioned values were turned upside down as those who had saved saw their money's value drop and those who had borrowed saw the amount of their debt decline as they paid it off with inflated currency.

Although saving is sensible it pays to be wary where you keep your savings in order to maintain their value. Traditionally gold has been a good, long term store of value but it pays no dividend.

You can, of course, opt for the "short life but a merry one" philosophy and, who knows, the government might bail you out at the finish especially if all the good times boosts your longevity. You might end up being subsidised by the poor, hardworking, hard-saving souls who die young with the effort. Such is life!

There is no pot so bad but it finds its lid

This could refer to people finding their match in the field of matrimony. It is often surprising to see some relationships and to wonder what on earth did she see in him or vice versa.

There is a science to how people match up and we all tend to recognise when a couple are a good match and when they are not. Some unlikely pairings seem to work and this might be down to the easy going nature of the individuals or it is based on mutual need. The man wants a good looking girl, the woman wants a good provider, and they are willing to overlook other incompatibilities. They don’t belong together but they rattle along somehow.

Lucky indeed are the couple who naturally match, and whose circumstances are in perfect harmony -- where the pot and lid have been made for each other.

One fair day in winter makes not birds merry

Nor does a single swallow make it summer. Here we are being cautioned not to jump to conclusions on the basis of flimsy evidence.

Birds start singing in spring as that is the time of pairing up and defending a territory; they do not sing to celebrate the weather becoming pleasanter. It is a form of false logic to think so:

Birds sing because the weather is pleasant.
This is a pleasant day
Therefore the birds will sing.

This is false because the premise "birds sing because the weather is pleasant" is incorrect; it is a mistaken assumption that the weather alone is the cause.

This type of muddled thinking is responsible for many human ills and miseries as people act in good faith on wrong ideas. Humans might sing on a pleasant day because it makes them happy but it does not follow that birds will be the same, though the pleasantness of the day might act as a stimulus.

One head cannot hold all wisdom

In this day and age of information overload this probably seems very obvious; not even the mighty Google can manage it.

This proverb seems like a variant of: two heads are wiser than one. Humans are designed to work in groups with a leader who co-ordinates and directs. This makes the group stronger and more effective than a loose bunch of enthusiasts who pull in different directions and end up quarrelling.

We live in a time of increasing specialisation where individuals know a great deal about ever-narrowing fields of study. This is where proverbs can be particularly valuable as they attempt to condense much experience and knowledge into a short pithy statement.

As William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, put it: "The Wisdom of Nations lies in their Proverbs, which are brief and pithy. Collect and learn them… They are notable measures and directions for human life. You have Much in Little; they save time and speaking, and on occasion may be the fullest and safest answers."

One hand is enough in a purse

This might seem especially true if you are a Scotsman (as I am) for more reasons than one!

This saying is a warning as to how arguments over money can be a major source of trouble. One of the main causes of matrimonial break up is arguments over income and expenditure. If you want a long and happy relationship it is essential to have clear agreement over finances and to honour them. Most men seem genetically programmed to save and scrimp whilst women have an urge to spend. In a well-matched relationship this should have a balancing effect but it often just leads to rows. This proverb is perhaps suggesting that one person should be the main decision taker, and commonsense would indicate that this should be the most prudent one.

A major source of business failure is a lack of respect for the keeping of good accounts. It is essential that money is spent wisely and accounted for. Too many cooks spoil the broth and too many people lavishing a company’s money on unproductive activities will soon result in ruin. Clear policies on handling cash flow and expenditure will help you sleep at night and ensure that when you come to retirement there won’t be a black hole where your savings should be.

This saying might also be warning of the folly of being overgenerous to others. Charity begins at home: if you are a soft touch and let your heart rule your head you could soon be poor. A fool and his money are soon parted.

Solitude is often the best society

Human beings are naturally social animals; we belong in a group and it is within the tribe, clan, workplace or family that we find our identity. We tend to define ourselves by our relationships with others -- our place in the pecking order, our friends, our enemies. We need others and they need us; but not all the time.

There comes a point in all lives when we need to be alone. Time to think and be free of distractions. Time to hurt and heal when we cannot cope with the daily stress. Thinkers and creative people often need to withdraw from everyday society in order to work without the demands of social obligations. To devote your entire mind to a problem or produce a creative work a time of withdrawal is often essential.

We have many examples from the days of monks and hermits who sought spiritual salvation in private contemplation and meditation. Eccentric scientists and inventors have lived recluse-like lives obsessed by the requirements of total concentration, and regarding the intruder as a threat.

Excesses of this can lead to mental breakdowns as the individual loses contact with reality, so it doesn't do to go to extremes.

One of the most delightful withdrawals is that of the poet who seeks solitude and inspiration from Nature but soon returns to delight all society with the beauty of words, images and form.

"For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils."

Daffodils: William Wordsworth (1770-1850).

What everyone says must be true

Or is it?

The Wisdom of Crowds (by James Surowiecki) has been a popular book in recent times where the author put forward the view that the cumulative opinions of a large group of people tends to get the right answer to problems. Perhaps in some circumstances they do. But anyone who has been around any time will know that what everyone is saying can sometimes be wrong.

Stock market manias tend to happen when the herd has become convinced that some item is a sure fire winner and you have to have it. Common-sense flies out the window and people suspend disbelief because they want the story to be true. Just as we made ourselves believe in fairy tales when we are young because we wanted to experience the thoughts and emotions of the story so, in adult life, we want to believe the impressive person who tells us we are all going to be rich.

If it is too good to be true it usually isn't. Always be wary of something you desperately want to be true; try to have it checked out in every rational way possible.

Remember, the folk who make the most money in stocks tend to be those who take a contrarian view at the right time.

The wound that bleedeth inwardly is most dangerous

This can be taken as straight forward medical advice but like all proverbs has several layers of meaning.

A sensitive individual suffering a slight can brood silently on the perceived insult and fall to plotting revenge. The sad cases of gunmen opening up on fellow students could be an example of this. To allow perceived slights and wrongs to fester and grow poisonous is not good for the balance of the mind.

People need to be able to express their sense of grievance and find a solution. Good, open, honest debate is a useful method of identifying problems and enables corrective action to be taken. The trouble is, most people leave things too late and by then it has become critical. The boil must be lanced. It is useful to remember: A trouble shared is a trouble halved.

The pain of lost love can "bleed inwardly" but what is done is done. It is OK to mope a bit whilst readjusting your thoughts and emotions but that can't go on for ever. Write a sad poem, share the sorrow with friends, they have probably been there, or play a sad song -- then get on with life. There will be better times ahead.

Humor is also a good way of diffusing tension: a timely joke, or helping the over serious to learn to laugh at themselves, is psychologically very healthy. As the say: Laughter is the best medicine.

Work won't kill but worry will

Stress, high blood pressure, ulcers, heart attacks, nervous breakdowns can all be linked to stress. The stressed individual has difficulty sleeping, leading to tiredness, making it difficult to cope, causing more stress -- the classic vicious circle. Where you have genuine problems then positive worrying, i.e. thinking out how to deal with them, is good. Stay constructive and seek advice. Proverbs such as: Where there's a will there's a way; Trial and error constitute a waste of time, try thinking first and It is always darkest before the dawn, can help you to get perspective.

The thing to avoid is worrying about stuff you can't do anything about. Letting little niggles prey on your mind and blowing the problem out of all proportion, should be avoided. Why worry, you'll die if you do and you'll die if you don't? a cheerful optimist once told me. Ask yourself: will what you are currently worrying about matter in a week's time or a month or two? Chances are you will have totally forgotten about it by then.

Work of the wrong sort probably can kill, so, if you are in a totally unsuitable job perhaps you should worry about it -- and then take remedial action.

The worth of a thing is best known by the want

This is a generalisation of the more specific and well known: You never miss the water till the well runs dry. We normally take a lot of things for granted: parental affection, partner's faithfulness, job, bus service, etc. and its true importance is only felt when something goes wrong. It is then that we realise just how relevant and important the missing factor is to our lives and well-being.

This idea also touches upon the basic economic law of supply and demand. Scarcity pushes up prices and increasing supply lowers them. Some of the strange and unexpected behaviour of the stock and commodity markets can be explained by this simple law.

The word "want" has two meanings: "a lack of" or "a desire for", and the originator of the saying is using a play on words plus alliteration to emphasise the point.

They say so" is half a lie

This saying appears to be referring to the use of quotations where you might back up an argument by referring to the wit or wisdom of someone who is regarded as an authority. But it may more precisely be referring to the habit we have of remembering something heard or read and using it to excuse, qualify or back up a statement. "They" being the collective wisdom of everybody and anybody who has expressed an opinion.

When we are trying to persuade someone to a course of action we might say: "Well they say it is a good thing." We perhaps doubt our own wisdom and are relying on the authority of others. However, in our heart of hearts we might not agree with "They" but are willing to deploy their opinions as a means of convincing the other party or of winning an argument.

From a defensive point of view you should ask who exactly are "they" and why, when and where did they say what they said. Your antagonist will probably be left floundering trying to remember just where they came across the opinion, if they really did.

Pride comes before a fall

What is pride? A feeling of self-importance? A sense of being a bit better than others? We all feel it at sometimes and it can be a healthy thing if we are separating ourselves from those whose ways really are appalling. But if it is just false pride we are empty fools puffed up with our own self importance.

Pride in a job well done is a rewarding state of mind when we know that something we did is to a high standard and our peers acknowledge it. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with that, in its proper time and place. So where does the "fall" bit come in?

If you have become complacent and start to enjoy being superior to others you set yourself up for disappointment when someone bigger and better than you comes along, and your prestige takes a tumble. Suddenly you are yesterday's person, and all your greatness shrivels.

The poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley, expressed it very well in his poem:

OZYMANDIAS I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!
"Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

He that buys what he does not want must often sell what he does want

This is a caution against being careless with money. The first "want" being used in the sense of "need" and the second "wish to have". If you squander your money on unnecessary purchases you will likely end up losing that which you would rather keep. Ask any bankrupt.

The world's economy at the present time is reeling as a result of too many people living beyond their means and using credit to subsidise an extravagant lifestyle. You need to learn to cut you coat according to your cloth and live within your means. Neither a borrower nor a lender be is a wise old saying that recognises the foolishness and potential danger of debt.

Whilst being debt free is an excellent goal there can be times when borrowing makes sense. The important thing is to look ahead and consider what might go wrong. What happens if you lose your job, if illness strikes or unexpected demands arise on your income? Life can never be risk free but you must be prepared to face the consequences of your actions.

When things are at their worst they will mend

This might just be wishful thinking, after all this is based on retrospective judgements. Looking back after a traumatic time you might think that it was at the moment you thought it impossible to go on that salvation occurred. But what if it hadn't? Would you have found further reserves and managed to stumble along for longer? There is no way you can know that.

However, this saying is useful as a way of keeping your spirits up when all seems lost or unbearable. It is always darkest before the dawn is much the same idea. No matter what the difficulties and dangers we must always struggle on and hope that the crisis will come to a head and then right itself.

With the aid of other proverbs such as: Where there's a will there's a way and Never say die you must stay positive and have faith in a happy outcome. As they say: Cheer up, the worst seldom happens.
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