Robert Christy, comp. Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages. 1887.

Sword

A captain’s sword must be tied to his heart, his heart fixed to his head and conducted by his judgment.Spinola.

A leaden sword in an ivory scabbard.

A good swordsman is never quarrelsome.French.

A sword anointed with honey.Latin.

An inch in a sword or a palm in a lance is a great advantage.Spanish.

He that is master of a sword can best plead about boundaries.Lysander.

He who has his sword is master of himself, i.e., can take his own life.Cato the Younger.

He who has the longest sword is always thought to be in the right.

He who plays with a sword plays with the devil.Gallician.

Keep your sword between you and the strength of a clown.

Leave not a sword in the hand of an idiot.Latin.

Ne’er put a sword in a woodman’s hand.

One sword keeps another in the scabbard.German, Danish.

Put not a naked sword in a madman’s hands.

Scandenberg’s sword must have Scandenberg’s arm.

The palate kills more than the sword.

The rusty sword and empty purse plead the performance of covenants.

The sword and the ring according to the hand that bears them.Spanish, Portuguese.

The sword from heaven above falls not down in haste.

The sword is not to be used against him who asks forgiveness.Turkish.

The sword keeps the peace of the land.Danish.

The sword knows no friends.German.

Those who refuse the sword must renounce the sceptre.Gibbon.

When the sword is in the mouth you must caress the sheath.Danish.