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| A royal heart is often hid under a tattered coat. | 1 |
| A short cut is often a wrong cut. | 2 |
| A silent man’s words are not brought into court. | 3 |
| A wound never heals so well that the scar cannot be seen. | 4 |
| Beauty carries its dower in its face. | 5 |
| Better suffer for truth than prosper by falsehood. | 6 |
| Better the world know you as a sinner than God as a hypocrite. | 7 |
| Big words seldom accompany good deeds. | 8 |
| Blame is the lazy man’s wages. | 9 |
| Call not the devil; he will come fast enough without. | 10 |
| Care, and not fine stables, makes a good horse. | 11 |
| Children are certain sorrows, but uncertain joys. | 12 |
| Children are the poor man’s wealth. | 13 |
| Correction is good, administered in time. | 14 |
| Daylight will come, though the cock does not crow. | 15 |
| Diligent working makes an expert workman. | 16 |
| Do as others do, and few will laugh at you. | 17 |
| Don’t despise a slight wound or a poor relative. | 18 |
| Earnest and sport go well together. | 19 |
| Efter en god Avler kommer en god Oder—After an earner comes a waster. | 20 |
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| Egen Arne er Guld værd—A hearth of one’s own is worth gold. | 21 |
| Eggs and oaths are easily broken. | 22 |
| En villig Hielper töver ei til man beder—One who is willing to help does not wait till he is asked. | 23 |
| Ene i Raad, ene i Sorg—Alone in counsel, alone in sorrow. | 24 |
| Enough is great riches. | 25 |
| Envy does not enter an empty house. | 26 |
| Even that fish may be caught which resists most stoutly against it. | 27 |
| Every fool thinks himself clever enough. | 28 |
| Every little fish expects to become a whale. | 29 |
| Every little helps, as the sow said when she snapt at a gnat. | 30 |
| Every man carries an enemy in his own bosom. | 31 |
| Every man has his lot, and the wide world before him. | 32 |
| Every man must carry his own sack to the mill. | 33 |
| Every one finds sin sweet and repentance bitter. | 34 |
| Every one rakes the fire under his own pot. | 35 |
| Fader og Moder ere gode, end er Gud bedre—Father and mother are kind, but God is kinder. | 36 |
| Fagerhed uden Tugt, Rose uden Hugt—Beauty without virtue is a rose without scent. | 37 |
| Falsehood is the devil’s daughter, and speaks her father’s tongue. | 38 |
| Favour and gifts disturb justice. | 39 |
| Fine words without deeds go not far. | 40 |
| Flowers are the pledges of fruit. | 41 |
| Follow the customs or fly the country. | 42 |
| Fools need no passport. | 43 |
| Fortune often knocks at the door, but the fool does not invite her in. | 44 |
| Gammel Mands Sagn er sielden usand—An old man’s sayings are rarely untrue. | 45 |
| Give alms, that thy children may not ask them. | 46 |
| Give only so much to one that you may have to give to another. | 47 |
| God gives the will; necessity gives the law. | 48 |
| God help the sheep when the wolf is judge. | 49 |
| God Konge er bedre end gammel Lov—A good king is better than an old law. | 50 |
| God never sends mouths but He sends meat. | 51 |
| Godt Haandværk har en gylden Grund—A good handicraft rests on a golden foundation. | 52 |
| Gold is tried in the fire, friendship in need. | 53 |
| Good counsel is no better than bad counsel, if it is not taken in time. | 54 |
| Great lords have great hands, but they do not reach to heaven. | 55 |
| Guds Raadkammer har ingen Nögle—To God’s council-chamber we have no key. | 56 |
| He is nearest to God who has the fewest wants. | 57 |
| He is not a bad driver who knows how to turn. | 58 |
| He is not yet born who can please everybody. | 59 |
| He must cry loud who would frighten the devil. | 60 |
| He must stand high who would see his destiny to the end. | 61 |
| He who is of no use to himself is of no use to any one. | 62 |
| He who says what he likes must hear what he does not like. | 63 |
| He who tastes every man’s broth often burns his mouth. | 64 |
| He who would be everywhere will be nowhere. | 65 |
| If a beard were all, the goat would be winner. | 66 |
| If the beard were all, the goat might preach. | 67 |
| If you can’t heal the wound, don’t tear it open. | 68 |
| It is a poor horse that is not worth its oats. | 69 |
| It is bitter fare eating one’s own words. | 70 |
| It is good to lend to God and the soil; they pay good interest. | 71 |
| It is time enough to doff your hat when you see the man. | 72 |
| Jest with your equals. | 73 |
| Jo ædlere Blod, jo mindre Hovmod—The nobler the blood, the less the pride. | 74 |
| Jo argere Skalk, je bedre Lykke—The greater knave, the better luck. | 75 |
| Jo mere af Lov, jo mindre af Ret—The more by law, the less by right. | 76 |
| Joy is like the ague; one good day between two bad ones. | 77 |
| Keep your mouth and keep your friend. | 78 |
| Kill no more than you can salt. | 79 |
| Kind words don’t wear the tongue. | 80 |
| Kisses are the messengers of love. | 81 |
| Labour has a bitter root but a sweet taste. | 82 |
| Let a saint be ever so humble, he will have his wax taper. | 83 |
| Let every bird sing its own note. | 84 |
| Love’s plant must be watered with tears and tended with care. | 85 |
| Make yourself an ass, and you’ll have every man’s sack on your shoulders. | 86 |
| Many a one labours for the day he will never live to see. | 87 |
| Many are fain to praise what is right and do what is wrong. | 88 |
| Many have too much, but none enough. | 89 |
| No man is so tall that he need never stretch, nor so small that he need never stoop. | 90 |
| No one falls low unless he attempt to climb high. | 91 |
| No one gets into trouble without his own help. | 92 |
| No one is rich enough to do without his neighbour. | 93 |
| Ofte er Skarlagens Hierte under reven Kaabe—There is often a royal heart under a tattered coat. | 94 |
| Old signs do not deceive. | 95 |
| Ond Gierning har Vidne i Barmen—There is a witness of the evil deed in one’s own bosom. | 96 |
| Ondt bliver aldrig godt för halv værre kommer—Bad is never good till worse befall. | 97 |
| One hand full of money is more persuasive than two full of truth. | 98 |
| One man is born to money, and another to the purse. | 99 |
| Praise a fool and you may make him useful. | 100 |
| Rather an egg to-day than a hen to-morrow. | 101 |
| Rest is good after the work is done. | 102 |
| Riches and favour go before wisdom and art. | 103 |
| Riches are often abused, never refused. | 104 |
| Riches breed care, poverty is safe. | 105 |
| Rust consumes iron, and envy consumes itself. | 106 |
| Sight before hearsay. | 107 |
| Slander expires at a good woman’s door. | 108 |
| Smuler ere og Bröd—Even crumbs are bread. | 109 |
| Store Ord giöre sielden from Gierning—Big words seldom accompany good deeds. | 110 |
| To circumstances and custom the law must yield. | 111 |
| Under white ashes there often lurk glowing embers. | 112 |
| Unwilling service earns no thanks. | 113 |
| Unworthy offspring brag most of their worthy descent. | 114 |
| Vice is learned without a schoolmaster. | 115 |
| Weighty work must be done with few words. | 116 |
| When every one minds his own business the work is done. | 117 |
| When it rains porridge, the beggar has no spoon. | 118 |
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