He who offers his back should not complain if it is beaten.
He who serves the Tsar cannot serve his people.
Hold your children with your heart but teach them with your hands.
Honor goes to God; the priests get the bacon.
Hypocrites kick with their hind feet while licking with their tongues.
I need not fear my enemies because the most they can do is attack me. I need not fear my friends because the most they can do is betray me. But I have much to fear from people who are indifferent.
Ice in spring is treacherous; new friendships are seldom sure.
If God listened to every shepherd's curse, our sheep would all be dead.
If God sends you meal, the devil takes the sack.
If Jesus Christ comes to help me, I laugh at the angels.
If a poor man finds a penny, it is probably a false one.
If age and experience came at birth, We would have neither youth nor mirth.
If everyone were a gentleman, who would make the mills work?
If men could foresee the future, they would still behave as they do now.
If one hand were the other they would both want to be clean.
If rubles fell from heaven the poor would have no bag.
If the family is together, the soul is in the right place.
If the fool has a hunchback no one remarks about it; if a wise man has a boil everybody talks about it.
If the peasant doesn't hear the thunder he won't make the sign of the cross.
If the pocket is empty, the judge is deaf.
If you are a host to your guest, be a host to his dog also.
