Famine dwells in the house of the quarrelsome.
The thief catches himself.
A lent knife does not come back alone. (i.e. a good deed is never thrown away.)[122]
Compare, for elevation of mind, these Yoruban proverbs with those already noticed as current in Italy:—
He that forgives gains the victory.
He who injures another injures himself.
Anger benefits no one.
We should not treat others with contempt.[123]
On the other hand, ‘If a great man should wrong you, smile on him,’ may be compared with the Arabic advice about dangerous friends, ‘If a serpent love thee, wear him as a necklace;’ or with the Pashto proverb of the same intention, ‘Though your enemy be a rope of reeds, call him a serpent.’
Here are some more proverbs with whose European equivalents everyone will be familiar:—