Today’s Italian proverbs
1) A caval donato con si guarda in bocca = You shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
caval donato = gift horse, something you got but didn’t deserve. guardare in bocca al cavallo = look in the mouth of the horse (because you can see how the horse is old looking his teeth. You are allowed to do such a thing when you are going to buy an horse, but you aren’t allowed when you got the horse as a gift). 2) Chi entra papa in conclave esce cardinale = Who goes pope in conclave comes out cardinal. Said to worn people not to be too much trustful in something that couldn’t happen.
3) Chi troppo in alto sal cade sovente precipitevolissimevolmente (Ludovico Ariosto 1474-1533) = Who goes up too much usualy falls down very quickly. Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, took the young poet under his patronage and appointed him one of the gentlemen of his household. Este compensated Ariosto poorly for his efforts. The only reward he gave the poet for Orlando Furioso, a piece dedicated to him, was the question, "Where did you find so many stupid stories, Master Ludovic?"
4) Chi va al mulino si infarina = Who goes to the flour mill gets floured.
5) Nel paese dei ciechi anche un guercio è re = In the country of blinds, the one who has a single eye is a king.
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