Nature Cliparts

Proverbs About Nature



Nature abhors a vacuum
This idea was first expressed by Plutarch as early as the first century AD and is much quoted today. It means that any natural deficiency tends to be made good. Its application is, therefore, very wide indeed. Since marriage is natural, if a woman in her prime loses her husband, she will tend to marry again, as nature abhors a vacuum.



One touch of nature makes the whole world kin
In general usage this proverb means that the show of a fundamental human emotion, or even human weakness, often has the effect of bringing people closer together. The quotation comes from Shakespeare's tragedy, Troilus and Cressida.




Self-preservation is the first law of nature
We often use this as an excuse for our own selfish conduct -- for 'looking after number one'.



Proverbs About Night



If you sing before breakfast, you will cry before night
If you start the day in too joyful mood, the good spirits are unlikely to last the day. This is the warning of the pessimist.




Red sky at night
Red sky at night, shepherd's delight: Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning.
A piece of weather lore that dates back to the sixteenth century, this is reasonably true for other countries besides Britain, as a very red sunset is usually followed by a fine day, whilst a very red sunrise often foretells a break in the weather.



Proverbs About Stars



Hitch your wagon to a star
Have high ideals. Make it your aim to rise above worldly things.
We owe this proverb to Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American philosopher. Here is a condensed version of what he wrote:
Everything good in man leans on what is higher. All our strength and success in the work of our hands depend on our borrowing the aid of the elements... I admire the skill which, on the seashore, makes the tides drive wheels and grind corn, and which thus engages the assistance of the moon, like a hired hand. Now that is the wisdom of a man, in every instance of his labour, to hitch his wagon to a star, and see his chore done by the gods themselves... Hitch your wagon to a star. Let us not flag in paltry works which serve our pot and bag alone... Work rather for those interests which the divinities honor and promote -- justice, love, freedom, knowledge, utility.



Through hardship to the stars
Here 'stars' is synonymous with fame or renown. It is a translation of the Latin proverb, Per aspera ad astra, and means that the road to fame is rough and difficult. An alternative version, Per ardua and astra, which means the same thing, is the motto of the Royal Air Force and is rarely used in its English translation. A similar proverb is No Cross, No Crown.