Spanish Wisdom Quotes

"A falta de pan, buenas son tortas."

If there's no bread, cakes will do.

— Anonymous

"A quien madruga, Dios le ayuda."

God helps those who rise early.

— Traditional Proverb

"A rey muerto, rey puesto."

To a dead king, a king installed.

— Traditional Spanish Proverb

"Agua que no has de beber, déjala correr."

Water that you are not to drink, let it flow.

— Anonymous (Traditional Proverb)

"Al mal paso, darle prisa."

When taking a bad step, hurry it up.

— Anonymous (Traditional Proverb)

"Amar es encontrar en la felicidad de otro tu propia felicidad."

To love is to find your own happiness in the happiness of another.

— Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

"Arrieros somos y en el camino nos encontraremos."

We are muleteers, and on the road we will meet.

— Anonymous (Traditional Proverb)

"Aunque la mona se vista de seda, mona se queda."

Even if a monkey dresses in silk, it's still a monkey.

— Tomás de Iriarte

"Bien haya el que inventó el sueño."

Blessed be he who invented sleep.

— Miguel de Cervantes

"Crea fama y acuéstate a dormir."

Build a reputation and go to sleep.

— Traditional Spanish Proverb

"De todas las cosas que he perdido, lo que más extraño es mi mente."

Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most.

— Various (Disputed Origin)

"Dime de qué presumes y te diré de qué careces."

Tell me what you brag about, and I'll tell you what you lack.

— Anonymous

"Donde hay música no puede haber cosa mala."

Where there is music, there can be nothing bad.

— Miguel de Cervantes

"El amor es ciego."

Love is blind.

— Proverb

"El amor no tiene cura, pero es la única medicina para todos los males."

Love has no cure, but it is the only medicine for all ills.

— Unknown

"El amor todo lo puede."

Love conquers all.

— Spanish Proverb

"El amor verdadero no tiene final feliz, porque el amor verdadero nunca termina."

True love doesn't have a happy ending, because true love never ends.

— Anonymous / Widely misattributed to Pablo Neruda

"El amor y la fe se prueban con las obras."

Love and faith are proven by deeds.

— Traditional Proverb

"El infierno está lleno de buenas intenciones."

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

— Proverb

"El que lee mucho y anda mucho, ve mucho y sabe mucho."

He who reads much and walks much, sees much and knows much.

— Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

"El que mucho habla, mucho yerra."

He who speaks a lot, makes many mistakes.

— Traditional Proverb

"El tiempo es el mejor autor: siempre encuentra un final perfecto."

Time is the best author: it always finds a perfect ending.

— Charlie Chaplin

"En tierra de ciegos, el tuerto es rey."

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

— Anonymous (Proverb)

"Entre col y col, lechuga."

Between cabbage and cabbage, lettuce.

— Anonymous

"Genio y figura hasta la sepultura."

Character and style until the grave.

— Anonymous (Traditional Proverb)

"Haz el bien sin mirar a quién."

Do good without looking at who benefits.

— Anonymous (Traditional Proverb)

"Hoy es siempre todavía."

Today is always still.

— Antonio Machado

"La libertad es uno de los más preciosos dones que a los hombres dieron los cielos."

Liberty is one of the most precious gifts that heaven has bestowed upon men.

— Miguel de Cervantes

"La mentira tiene patas cortas."

Lies have short legs.

— Traditional Proverb

"La muerte no llega con la vejez, sino con el olvido."

Death does not come with old age, but with being forgotten.

— Gabriel García Márquez

"La pluma es la lengua del alma."

The pen is the tongue of the soul.

— Miguel de Cervantes

"La poesía es un arma cargada de futuro."

Poetry is a weapon loaded with future.

— Gabriel Celaya

"La verdad adelgaza y no quiebra, y siempre anda sobre la mentira como el aceite sobre el agua."

Truth may be stretched thin, but it never breaks, and it always rises above falsehood like oil on water.

— Miguel de Cervantes

"Ladran, Sancho, señal que cabalgamos."

They're barking, Sancho, a sign that we are on the move.

— Miguel de Cervantes (Attributed)

"Las canas pelan, no aconsejan."

Gray hair reveals age, it doesn't grant wisdom.

— Anonymous

"Lo cortés no quita lo valiente."

Being polite doesn't diminish bravery.

— Traditional Proverb

"Lo único verdadero es el presente."

The only true thing is the present.

— José Ortega y Gasset

"Más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo."

The devil knows more for being old than for being the devil.

— Anonymous (Traditional Proverb)

"Mucha gente pequeña, en lugares pequeños, haciendo cosas pequeñas, puede cambiar el mundo."

Many small people, in small places, doing small things, can change the world.

— Eduardo Galeano

"No hay medicina que cure lo que no cura la felicidad."

There is no medicine that cures what happiness cannot.

— Gabriel García Márquez (Attributed)

"No por mucho madrugar amanece más temprano."

Getting up very early won't make the sun rise any sooner.

— Traditional Spanish Proverb

"Para que nada nos separe, que nada nos una."

So that nothing separates us, let nothing unite us.

— Pablo Neruda

"Siempre hay un roto para un descosido."

There's always a 'broken one' for an 'unstitched one.' (Idiomatically: There's a lid for every pot.)

— Anonymous (Traditional Proverb)