Chose promise, chose due
A thing promised is a thing owed.
Долг платежом красен, а займы отдачею.
The beauty of a debt is its payment
Alternative translation: A debt is beautiful when it is paid off, and loans when repaid.
Pacta sunt servanda
Agreements must be kept (an important principle of international law)
口說無憑
Spoken words are no guarantee.
Your word is your bond
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
- Brutus in Julius Caesar, Act 4, Scene 3 by William Shakespeare
Chinese: 趁熱打鐵
Thai: ตีเหล็กเมื่อแดง
Hindi: लोहा गरम हैं. मार दो हथौड़ा.
Irish: buail an t-iarann te
Swahili: Fua chuma wakati kingali moto
Image: Elimu Yetu teachers visit to Shanga Foundation, Arusha, Tanzania
Ukitaka kwenda haraka, nenda peke yako, ukitaka kwenda mbali, nenda na wenzako
If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together
Rome ne fu[t] pas faite toute en un jour
from Li Proverbe au Vilain, published around 1190
Modern French: Rome ne s'est pas faite en un jour
Rome wasn't built in a day
冰凍三尺,非一日之寒
Three feet of ice is not the result of one cold day
Chan ann leis a’ chiad bhuille a thuiteas a’ chraobh
It is not with the first strike that the tree will fall
Image credit: Screenshot from 3D virtual tour of Kilwa Kisiwani created by Zamani Project
Don't judge a book by its cover.
Appearances are deceiving.
All that glitters is not gold
高嶺の花 Hana yori dango - Dumplings over flowers