AMBITION
- Better be first in a village than second in Rome. # Bolje biti prvi u selu no poslednji u gradu.
- Better ride a poor horse than go afoot. * Better ride on an ass that carries you than on a horse that throws you. # Bolje je i na najgorem konju jahati nego pešice ići.
- Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion. # Bolje na mačku glava, nego na lavu rep. * Bolje je biti pevac jedan dan nego kokoš mesec.
- Man cannot/does not live by bread alone. # Čovek ne živi o samom hlebu.
- If you run after two hares, you will catch neither. # Ko dva zeca goni, nijednog ne uhvati.
- Ask and it is given. # Ko kuca, tome se i otvara. * Kucajte, i otvoriće vam se.
- Nothing seek, nothing find. # Ko ništa ne probira, ništa i ne dobija.
- The higher they fly, the harder they fall. * The highest tree has the greatest fall. * The higher the mountain, the greater descent. # Ko visoko leti, nisko pada.
- He who begins many things, finishes but few. * Too much of ought is good for nought. # Mnogo hteo, mnogo započeo.
- A big head has a big ache. * The bigger the head, the larger the headache. # Veća glava, više glavobolje.
BAD LUCK
- An unhappy man’s cart is easy to overturn. # Da ne pade na leđa, razbio bi nos.
- The bread never falls but on its buttered side. * If anything can go wrong, it will. (Murphy’s law). # Hleb uvek pada na namazanu stranu.
- Misfortunes never come singly. * Troubles come double. * It never rains but it pours. (Lat. Calamitas nulla sola). # Nesreća nikad ne dolazi sama.
- Mischief comes without calling for. # Nesreću ne treba zvati.
IDLENESS
- The dog that is idle barks at his fleas. # Besposlen pop i jariće krsti. * Besposlen Mujo i fišeke savija.
- The sleepy fox has seldom feathered breakfast. # Ko hrče, ne srče.
- They must hunger in frost that will not work in heat. # Ko leti planduje, zimi gladuje.
- An idle youth, a needy age. * Young idler, an old beggar. * A young man idle, an old man needy. # Ko se ne muči u mladosti, kuku mu u starosti!
- Idleness is the root of all evil. # Nerad pothranjuje poroke.
- Who is more busy than he that has least to do. * The tongue of idle persons is never still. # Trla baba lan da joj prođe dan.
GOD
- For a web begun God sends the thread. # Bog govori: pomozi se sam, pomoći ću ti i ja.
- God’s wheels grind slow but sure. # Bog je spor, ali je dostižan.
- God is no respecter of persons. # Bog ne gleda ko je ko.
- God is a sure paymaster. # Bog nikome dužan ne ostaje. * Bog ne plaća svake subote. * Bog ne sudi svaki osmi dan.
- When one door shuts, another opens. # Bog zatvori jedna vrata a otvori stotinu.
- If God does not give us what we want, he gives us what we need. # Bog zna šta je bolje. * Bog znade šta valjade.
- Man does what he can, and God what he will. * Man proposes, God disposes. # Čovek nalaže, a Bog raspolaže.
- God makes and man shapes. # Čovek snuje, a Bog odlučuje.
- Where God has his church, the devil will have his chapel. * God sends corn and the devil mars the sack. # Dobar je Bog, ali su i đavoli jaki.
- From your lips to God’s ears. # Iz tvojih usta u božije uši.
- God helps them that help themselves. # Ko se čuva i Bog ga čuva.
- God moves in a mysterious way. # Čudni su putevi gospodnji.
- Heaven takes care of children, sailors and drunken men. # Pijana i dete Bog čuva.