Dezhnev Senior's Aphorisms

• He who is needed must learn to endure flattery.
• If asking politely is useless, take.
• A pawn is the most important piece on the chessboard -- to a pawn.
• Small can be beautiful: An eagle may at times go hungry; a pet canary, never.
• Life is pleasant Death is peaceful. It is the transition that is troublesome.
• We are always certain that the decision we have just made is wrong.
• No voyage is dangerous to the one who waves good-bye from the shore.
• The greatest difficulty comes at the start. It's called "getting ready.“
• If the current flow is taking you where you want to go, don't argue.
• If you want to know whether water is boiling, don't test it by hand.
• Going there may be most of the fun -- but only if you get there in the end
• In life, unlike chess, the game continues after checkmate.
• The wall that says "Welcome, stranger" has never been built
• Those who say "A penny for your thoughts" are usually being overgenerous
• If you want to hear, you must begin by listening.
• Good company robs even death of some of its terrors.
• Once the sun sets, it grows dark; don't let that catch you by surprise.
• If trouble were as easy to get out of as into -- life would be one sweet song.
• The trouble with triumph is that you may be on the other side.
• In the true triumph, however, there are no losers.
• If you must pull a tooth, it is mistaken kindness to pull it slowly.
• Apes were invented because politicians were needed
• The trouble with economizing is that it can be very expensive.
• What counts is the person, not the name.
• The body knows what it needs. That's why some things taste good.
• A woman who doesn't fuss has no faults.
• Bad news has the wings of an eagle, good news the legs of a sloth.
• To get a human being takes a moment of pleasure, but to get a horse costs money
• It is good to be at the head of the table, even if only one other sits with you and there is but a bowl of cabbage soup to share.
• The truly wise trapeze artist does not inspect his nails in mid-jump.
• Since we all must die, what better can we ask for than a quick and sudden death?
• It is slower, but better, to creep along the downward path than to leap over the cliff.
• No knife could be honed as sharp as a woman's tongue
• If you find a gold key without a lock, don't throw it away. The gold is also sufficient
• To want peace and quiet above all else is to hope for death
• Only simpletons go to fortune-tellers. Who else would be in such a hurry to hear bad news?
• It is only when a child has learned to hold still that it can be considered a creature of sense
• Half an imagination is worse than none at all
• My proverbs may have bored you, but now you can look forward to hearing them no more, so that you will mourn me less and, therefore, suffer les
• People are ready enough to laugh at you. Don't make funny faces in order to encourage them
• The time for offense is when a man, once he has cooled down, repeats an insult he has offered in his rage
• On tomorrow's feast, we can starve today
• Almost right is no better than wrong.
• Between not enough and too much is a hair's breadth.
• There is no point in trying to teach a thief to steal.
• The sure thing about anything that goes without saying is that someone is bound to say it.
• There is no drink like pure water, provided one realizes that it is alcohol that is the purifying agent.
• To be saved from the jaws of a wolf by a hungry bear is no great cause for gratitude.
• The most exciting part of any trip is reaching home again.
• The longer it takes to get to a point, the blunter it turns out to be.
• If the words of a wise man are few, they are nevertheless worth listening to.
• Later is usually too late.
• There is no duress like one's own conscience and it is that which makes life so needlessly bitter.
• If you are dangling from a rope over an abyss, don't bother snatching at a coin that falls out of your pocket.
• Anyone can hunt a bear fearlessly when the bear is absent.
• Life would be unbearable if death were not worse yet.
• If you have nothing to lose, gamble freely.
• The most frightening phrase in the Russian language is "That's odd.”
• It is more important to know the thing than the name.
• Vehemence, my little son, is no guarantee of truth.
• Eating too much kills more quickly than eating too little.
• If only one course of action is possible, there is no difficulty in deciding what to do.