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| A Dios rogando y con el mazo dando—Praying to God and smiling with the hammer. | 1 |
| A los bobos se les aperece la Madre de Dios—The mother of God appears to fools. | 2 |
| A mucho hablar, mucho errar—Talk much, err much. | 3 |
| A puñadas entran las buenas hadas—Good luck pushes its way (lit. gets on) by elbowing. | 4 |
| A quien tiene buena muger, ningun mal le puede venir, que no sea de sufrir—To him who has a good wife no evil can come which he cannot bear. | 5 |
| A tu hijo, buen nombre y oficio—To your son a good name and a trade. | 6 |
| Adó sacan y non pon, presto llegan al hondon—By ever taking out and never putting in, one soon reaches the bottom. | 7 |
| Al enemigo, si vuelve la espalda, la puente de plata—Make a bridge of silver for the flying enemy. | 8 |
| Al fin se canta la Gloria—Not till the end is the Gloria chanted. | 9 |
| Aquel pierde venta que no tiene que venda—He who has nothing to sell loses his market. | 10 |
| Arde verde por seco, y pagan justos por pecadores—Green burns for dry, and just men smart (lit. pay) for transgressors. | 11 |
| Ares, no ares, renta me pagues—Plough or not plough, you must pay rent all the same. | 12 |
| Associate with the good, and you will be esteemed one of them. | 13 |
| Bachelor, a peacock; betrothed, a lion; wedded, an ass. | 14 |
| Be silent, or say something better than silence. | 15 |
| Bien predica quien bien vive—He preaches well who lives well. | 16 |
| Bien sabe el asno en cuya cara rabozna—The ass knows well in whose face he brays. | 17 |
| Bien sabe el sabio que no sabe, el nescio piensa que sabe—The wise man knows well that he does not know; the ignorant man thinks he knows. | 18 |
| Bien sabe la vulpeja con quien trebeja—The fox knows well with whom he plays tricks. | 19 |
| Bien vengas, mal, si vienes solo—Welcome, misfortune, if thou comest alone. | 20 |
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| Buen siglo haya quien dijó bolta—Blessings on him that said, Right about face! | 21 |
| Buey viejo sulco derecho—An old ox makes a straight furrow. | 22 |
| Burlaos con el loco en casa, burlará con vos en la plaza—Play with the fool in the house and he will play with you in the street. | 23 |
| Cada qual hablé en lo que sabe—Let every one talk of what he understands. | 24 |
| Cada uno es hijo de sus obras—Every one is the son of his own works; i.e., is responsible for his own acts. | 25 |
| Casa hospidada, comida y denostada—A house which is filled with guests is both eaten up and spoken ill of. | 26 |
| Ciencia es locura si buen senso no la cura—Knowledge is of little use if it is not under the direction of good sense. | 27 |
| Cobra buena fama, y échate á dormir—Get a good name, and go to sleep. | 28 |
| Cobre gana cobre que no huesos de hombre—Money (lit. copper) breeds money and not man’s bones. | 29 |
| Como cant a el abad, asi responde el monacillo—As the abbot sings, the sacristan answers. | 30 |
| Con agua pasada no muele molino—The mill grinds corn with water that has passed. | 31 |
| Con dineros no te conocerás, sin dineros no te conocerán—With money you would not know yourself; without it, no one would know you. | 32 |
| Con el Rey y con la Inquisicion, chitos—With the King and the Inquisition, hush! | 33 |
| Cosa mala nunca mucre—A bad thing never dies. | 34 |
| Costumbre hace ley—Custom becomes law. | 35 |
| Crea el cuervo, y sacarte ha los ojos—Breed up a crow and he will peck out your eyes. | 36 |
| Dádivas quebrantan peñas—Gifts dissolve rocks. | 37 |
| Da ventura a tu hijo, y echa lo en el mar—Give your son luck and then throw him into the sea. | 38 |
| Dame donde me asiente, que yo me haré donde me acueste—Give where I may sit down, and I will make where I may lie down. | 39 |
| De hambre a nadie vi morir, de mucho comer a cien mil—I never saw a man die of hunger, but thousands die of overfeeding. | 40 |
| Dead men open living men’s eyes. | 41 |
| Defienda me Dios de my—God defend me from myself. | 42 |
| Del agua mansa me libre Dios; que de la recia me guardaré yo—From smooth water God guard me; from rough, I can guard myself. | 43 |
| Desque nací lloré, y cada dia nace porqué—I wept as soon as I was born, and every day explains why. | 44 |
| Dios es el que sana, y el médico lleva la plata—Though God cures the patient, the doctor pockets the fee. | 45 |
| Dios me dé contienda con quien me entienda—God grant me to argue with such as understand me. | 46 |
| Do falta dicha, por demas es diligencia—Diligence is of no use where luck is wanting. | 47 |
| Do not talk Arabic in the house of a Moor. | 48 |
| El agujero llama al ladron—The hole tempts the thief. | 49 |
| El amor verdadero no sufre cosa encubierta—True love suffers no concealment. | 50 |
| El corazon manda les carnes—The heart bears up the body. | 51 |
| El corazon no es traidor—The heart is no traitor. | 52 |
| El dar es honor, y el pedir dolor—To give is honour; to lose, grief. | 53 |
| El dia que te casas, ó te matas ó te sanas—The day you marry, it is either kill or cure. | 54 |
| El diablo saba mucho, porque es viejo—The devil knows a great deal, for he is old. | 55 |
| El mal que de tu boca sale, en tu seno se cae—The evil which issues from thy mouth falls into thy bosom. | 56 |
| El mal que no tiene cura es locura—Folly is the one evil for which there is no remedy. | 57 |
| El malo siempre piensa engaño—The bad man always suspects some knavish intention. | 58 |
| El pan comido, la compañia deshecha—The bread eaten, the company dispersed. | 59 |
| El pie del dueño estierco para la heredad—The foot of the owner is manure for the farm. | 60 |
| El que trabaja, y madra, hila oro—He that labours and perseveres spins gold. | 61 |
| El rey va hasta do poede, y no hasta do quiere—The king goes as far as he may, not as far as he would. | 62 |
| El rio pasado, el santo olvidádo—The river (danger) past, the saint (delivery) forgotten. | 63 |
| El sabio muda consejo, el necio no—The wise man changes his mind, the fool never. | 64 |
| El tiempo cura el enfermo, que ne el ungnento—It is time and not medicine that cures the disease. | 65 |
| El villano en su tierra, y el hidalgo donde quiera—The clown in his own country, the gentleman where he pleases. | 66 |
| En boca cerrada no entra mosca—Flies don’t enter a shut mouth. | 67 |
| En cada tierra su uso—Every country has its own custom. | 68 |
| En el rio do no hay pezes por demas es echar redes—It is in vain to cast nets in a river where there are no fish. | 69 |
| En salvo está el que repica—He is in safe quarters who sounds the alarm. | 70 |
| Enjoy your little while the fool is seeking for more. | 71 |
| Entienda primero, y habla postrero—Hear first and speak afterwards. | 72 |
| Erase que se era—What has been has been. | 73 |
| Escuchas al agujero; oirás de tû mal y del ageno—Listen at the keyhole; you will hear evil of yourself as well as your neighbour. | 74 |
| Fiar de Dios sobre buena prenda—Trust in God upon good security. | 75 |
| Folly is the most incurable of maladies. | 76 |
| Fortune turns round like a mill-wheel, and he that was yesterday at the top lies to-day at the bottom. | 77 |
| Fraile que pide por Dios pide por dos—The friar who begs for God begs for two. | 78 |
| Gato maullador nunca buen cazador—A mewing cat is never a good mouser. | 79 |
| Giving alms never lessens the purse. | 80 |
| Gloria vana florece, y no grana—Glory which is not real may flower, but will never fructify. | 81 |
| God assists those who rise early in the morning. | 82 |
| God does not smite with both hands. | 83 |
| God grant you fortune, my son, for knowledge avails you little. | 84 |
| God made us, and we admire ourselves. | 85 |
| Goza tû de tu poco, mientras busca mas el loco—Enjoy your little while the fool is in search of more. | 86 |
| Gran victoria es la que sin sangre se alcanza—Great is the victory that is gained without bloodshed. | 87 |
| Hablar sin pensar es tirar sin encarar—Speaking without thinking is shooting without taking aim. | 88 |
| Hay buena cuenta, y no paresca blanca—The account is all right, but the money-bags are empty. | 89 |
| He is a fool who empties his purse, or store, to fill another’s. | 90 |
| He preaches well who lives well. | 91 |
| He that has no head needs no hat. | 92 |
| He who loses wealth loses much, who loses a friend loses more, who loses his spirits loses all. | 93 |
| He who would bring home the wealth of the Indies must carry the wealth of the Indies with him. | 94 |
| He whose work is on the highway will have many advisers. | 95 |
| Herradura que chacotea clavo le falta—A clattering hoof means a nail gone. | 96 |
| Hilo y aguja, media vestidura—Needle and thread are half clothing. | 97 |
| Hizonos Dios, y maravillámonos nos—God made us, and we admire ourselves. | 98 |
| Hombre pobre todo es trazas—A poor man is all schemes. | 99 |
| Hurtar el puerco, y dar los pies por Dios—To steal the pig, and give away the feet for God’s sake. | 100 |
| If folly were a pain, there would be crying in every house. | 101 |
| Il sabio muda conscio, il nescio no—A wise man changes his mind, a fool never. | 102 |
| Il villano en su tierra, y el hidalgo donde quiera—The clown in his own country, the gentleman where he pleases. | 103 |
| In frosty weather a nail is worth a horse. | 104 |
| Ir por lana, y volver trasquilado—To go for wool and come back shorn. | 105 |
| It is courage that conquers in war, and not good weapons. | 106 |
| Jest so that it may not become earnest. | 107 |
| Jurado ha el vano de lo negro no hacer bianco—The bath has sworn not to wash the black man white. | 108 |
| Justa razon engañar el engañador—It is fair to cheat the cheater. | 109 |
| Justicia, mas no por mi casa—Justice by all means, but not in my own house. | 110 |
| Kill, and thou shalt be killed, and they shall kill him who kills thee. | 111 |
| La buena vida padre y madre olvida—Prosperity forgets father and mother. | 112 |
| La verdad es hlia de Dios—Truth is the daughter of God. | 113 |
| La verdad es sempre verde—Truth is always green. | 114 |
| Las manos blancas no ofenden—White hands cannot harm one. | 115 |
| Late children are early orphans. | 116 |
| Let him who sleeps too much borrow the pillow of a debtor. | 117 |
| Let that which is lost be for God. | 118 |
| Listeners never hear good of themselves. | 119 |
| Lo ageno siempre pia por su dueño—What is another’s always chirps for its master. | 120 |
| Lo que hace el loco á la derreria, hace el sabio á la primeria—What the fool does at length the wise man does at the beginning. | 121 |
| Lo que no acaece en un año, acaece en un rato—A thing that may not happen in a year may happen in two minutes. | 122 |
| Love abounds in honey and poison. | 123 |
| Madruga y verás, trabaja y habrás—Rise betimes, and you will see; labour diligently, and you will have. | 124 |
| Marry and grow tame. | 125 |
| Mas vale buen amigo que pariente primo—A good friend is better than a near relation. | 126 |
| Mucho sabe la zorra, pero mas el que la toma—The fox is cunning, but he is more cunning who takes him. | 127 |
| Mudar costumbre a par de muerte—To change a custom is next to death. | 128 |
| Nace en la huerta lo que no siembra el hortelano—More grows in the garden than the gardener ever sowed there. | 129 |
| Necio es quien piensa que otros no piensan—He is a fool who thinks that others don’t think. | 130 |
| Neither sign a paper without reading it, nor drink water without seeing it. | 131 |
| No diga la lengua par do pague la cabeza—The tongue talks at the head’s cost. | 132 |
| No hay dulzura sin sudor—No sweetness without sweat. | 133 |
| No hay tal razon como la del baston—There is no argument like that of a stick. | 134 |
| No leaf moves but as God wills it. | 135 |
| No mata la carga sino la sobrecarga—Not the load, but the overload kills. | 136 |
| Obreros a no ver dineros a perder—Not to watch your workmen is to lose your money. | 137 |
| One “Take this” is better than two “I will give you.” | 138 |
| Palabra de boca, piedra he honda—A word from the mouth is as a stone from a sling. | 139 |
| Palabra y piedra suelta no tiene vuelta—A word and a stone once launched cannot be recalled. | 140 |
| Poco dâno espanta, y mucho amansa—A little loss alarms one, a great loss tames one down. | 141 |
| Por mucho madrugar, no amanéce mas aina—Early rising does not make the day dawn sooner. | 142 |
| Puridad de dos, puridad de Dios; puridad de tres, de todos es—A secret between two is God’s secret; but a secret between three is all men’s. | 143 |
| Quando Dios amanece, para todos amanece—When God’s light rises, it rises for all. | 144 |
| Quando el Español canta, ó rabia, ó no tiene blanca—If a Spaniard sing, he’s either mad or without money. | 145 |
| Quando vierás tu casa quemar llegate á escalentar—When thou seest thy house in flames, go warm thyself by it. | 146 |
| Quien da la suyo antes de morir aparajese a bien sufrir—Who parts with his own before he dies, let him prepare for death. | 147 |
| Quien larga vida vive mucho mal vide—To live long is to see much evil. | 148 |
| Quien mas sabe mas calla—Who knows most says least. | 149 |
| Quien no va á carava, no sabe nada—He who does not mix with the crowd knows nothing. | 150 |
| Quien se muda, Dios le ayuda—God assists him who reforms himself. | 151 |
| Quien tiene arte, va por toda parte—Who has a trade may go anywhere. | 152 |
| Quixadas sin barbas no merecen ser honradas—Chins without beards deserve no honour. | 153 |
| Riñen las comadres y dicense las verdades—Gossips quarrel and tell the truth. | 154 |
| Sanan llagas, y no malas palabras—Wounds heal, but not ill words. | 155 |
| Sirve a señor, y sabras que es dolor—Serve a great lord, and you will know what sorrow is. | 156 |
| The hare leaps out of the bush where we least look for her. | 157 |
| The king goes as far as he may, not as far as he would. | 158 |
| The wife that expects to have a good name / Is always at home as if she were lame; / And the mind that is honest, her chiefest delight, / Is still to be doing from morning till night. | 159 |
| The wise man knows that he does not know; the ignoramus thinks he knows. | 160 |
| “This comes of walking on the earth.” The Spanish swell, as he picked himself up from the ground. | 161 |
| Uno levanto la caza, y otro la mata—One starts the game, and another carries it off. | 162 |
| What is much desired is not believed when it comes. | 163 |
| When God gives light he gives it for all. | 164 |
| When the ass is given thee, run and take him by the halter; and when good luck knocks at the door, let him in, and keep him there. | 165 |
| Where there is no hook, to be sure there will hang no bacon. | 166 |
| Where wilt thou go that thou wilt not have to plough? | 167 |
| Where you see your friend, trust to yourself. | 168 |
| While a man gets he never can lose. | 169 |
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