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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAl, ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 1 2 



The order is rich and the friars are few. ("The 

 benefits are great and there are few to share 

 them.") 

 The outside door is the servant of the house.'" 

 Let him who isn't dancing, carry the child. 

 One lilies to take his almoco early better than his 



jantar late. 

 The truth you don't always tell. 

 One dances in keeping with the music. ("One 



accommodates himself to circumstances.") 

 For him who understands, half a word is enough.'" 

 He who robs a thief has a hundred years of pardon. 

 He whom God ajuda (helps) is better off than he 



who ccdo madritga (gets up very early). 

 He paid for the slave and also for the pipe. ("He 



paid more than it was worth.") 

 He's a caipira who cuts on both sides. ("He's a 



shrewd caipira.) 

 The cahoclo's '" book is a deck of cards. 

 He is full of fingers (confused, embarrassed). 

 The thing stank like a burnt horn. 

 That is a thing from the time of the owfo (very 



ancient). 

 Marriage puts sense into a man. 

 To marry (casur) is not a dress coat (casaca) that 

 one hangs on a peg. ("Marriage Is a serious 

 affair; you only marry once.") 

 The face does not hide what the heart feels. 

 To a festa or a baptism you do not go unless you 



are invited."' 

 The river runs to the sea. ("Money seeks the rich 



man.") 

 A bird doesn't forget its old nest. 

 He who sees only the face, does not see the heart. 

 With one grain after another, the hen fills her crop. 

 The best watch is the stomach. 

 Love is paid with love. 



Water that has passed on doesn't turn the mill. 

 The obligation of him who owes is to pay. 

 Punishment sometimes delays, but it will not fail 



(to come). 

 Create fama (fame) and lie down in a cama (bed). 

 ("After one has got a reputation, he doesn't have 

 to exert himself. He can live on his reputation." ) 

 In this world, he who walks least, flies. ("Every- 

 one is taking as much advantage as he can of 

 everyone else. Tou must be alert. You may 

 think someone is a fool, but he may turn out to 

 be an eagle [a 'sharp one'].") 

 For every fool who is born, there are a hundred 



"sharp ones." 

 Today, fools are born dead. 



"' A phrase used on the occasion of expelling a person from 

 one's home. 



"=' So well-known Is this proverb that only half the sentence 

 Is customarily employed : "For him who understands . . ." 



™ A term with variant meanings In Biazil. In the sense in 

 which it is used here, it is syonymous with caipira. (See 

 Caipira versus Cidadao, p. 108. 



*»By "a festa or a baptism," Is meant any festive event. 



He who hits, forgets ; but he who is hit, remembers. ' 

 Economy is the basis of filth. ("If you don't spend 

 any money at all, you will live in want." Modi- 

 fication of the proverb "Economy is the basis of 

 prosperity.") 

 The eye of the owner fattens his animals. 

 Necessity puts the rabbit on the jump. 

 The best seasoning is hunger. 

 A woman has as much strength in her tongue as an 



ox puts on the yoke. 

 Dirty clothes are washed at home. 

 Only the crawtish goes backwards. 

 Of the doctor and the lojico (insane), everyone has 

 uiii pouco (a little). ("Everyone knows some 

 remedy for illness to suggest to others ; he also, 

 at certain times in his life, is not entirely sane.") 

 To God, nothing is Impossible. 



A rope always parts where the strands are weakest. 

 Using a pipe makes the mouth crooked. 

 He who knows everything, knows nothing. 

 Water doesn't run up hill. 

 Some people live to eat; others eat to live. 

 Training begins in the cradle. 

 If the horse is a gift, you don't look at its teeth. 

 Soft water that drops on a rock long enough bores 



right through it. 

 That which is prohibited is always the best. 

 The hen of your neighbor is always fatter. 

 J'ustice begins at home. ( "When you have to judge, 



you should judge yourself.") 

 To speak is like silver ; to keep silent is like gold. 

 He who waits, always obtains (what he desires). 

 The truth sometimes takes time but it always comes 



out. 

 A person who is not content with a little, will not 



be content with much. 

 The alterations were worse than the sonnet. ("The 

 attempt to correct the error only aggravated it.") 

 There are evils which come for one's good. 

 There is no smoke without fire. 

 Far from the eyes, far from the heart. 

 Better late than never. 



It is better to walk alone than in bad company. 

 It is better to prevent than to cure. 

 It is better to have too much than not enough. 

 He who cares, goes himself ; he who does not care, 



sends someone else. 

 The walls have ears. 



There is no mush on his tongue. ("He doesn't 

 hesitate to tell you what he thinks about you, 

 whether it be good or bad.") 

 The voice of the people is the voice of God. 

 From the thorn is born the rose. ("Everything 

 that is good one gets by suffering. After a time 

 of adversity comes a time of satisfaction.") 



As in other parts of Brazil,^ a few sayings now 

 current in tlie coinnuinity reflect experiences and 



'"' See, for Instance, Pierson, 1942, p. 362. 



