African Proverb Quotes

See the bear in his own den before you judge of his conditions.

Tis easy to see, hard to foresee.

Only when you have crossed the river can you say that the crocodile has a lump on his snout.

When you are 16 there is no fear whatsoever. As you get older you play in more important games and that is when you start thinking about what will happen if you win or lose.

It gets really tricky giving advice. The older I get, the less advice I give.

Never insult an alligator until after you have crossed the river.

Prostration is our natural position. A worm-like movement from a spot of sunlight to a spot of shade, and back, is the type of movement that is natural to men.

You can observe a lot by watching.

Take the word of experience, I speak the truth: inaction is safest in danger.

Yes, once—many, many years ago. I thought I had made a wrong decision. Of course, it turned out that I ha been right all along. But I was wrong to have thought I was wrong.

Man is a recording animal.

The ancients called happy those who learned caution from the danger of others...as wax receives its impression from a seal, so the character of human life is shaped by example

Any 6 year old’s hindsight is better than a President’s foresight.

What is cowardice in the young is wisdom in the old, but all the same one can be ashamed of wisdom.”

I hope, George, that you know what you're doing.

Don’t taunt the alligator until after you have crossed the creek.

We must look a long time before we can see.

The benefit of hindsight is we only really talk about those things that did work out.

It's never a done deal until it's a done deal.

I used to make snap judgments, moved quickly. It's more important to be thoughtful, think of the consequences of your decisions.

Sometimes you want to ease into the situation and maybe sit in the back row for a while and allow time to get adjusted and then speak up.

I think we should learn from our mistakes.

As I walked in the woods to see the birds and squirrels, so I walked in the village to see the men and boys; instead of the wind among the pines I heard the carts rattle. In one direction from my house there was a colony of muskrats in the river meadows; under the grove of elms and buttonwoods in the other horizon was a village of busy men, as curious to me as if they had been prarie-dogs, each sitting at the mouth of its burrow, or running over to a neighbor's to gossip. I went there frequently to observe their habits.

Here's the thing about luck...you don't know if it's good or bad until you have some perspective.

The only thing better than "hands-on" experience is hands-off experience - enough experience to understand that some things will turn out better if left alone.