Sumerian Proverbs

Sumerian Proverbs echo the wit of the world’s first cities in Mesopotamia. Born beside canals and ziggurats, they prize clever speech, fair trade, and the hard lessons of work, rulers, and fate.

Do not do evil - you will not be in eternal fear. (Sumerian Proverb)
If you lie and then tell the truth, the truth will be considered a lie. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
Who can compete with righteousness? It creates life. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
What has submitted will exhibit resistance. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
He who possesses many things is constantly on guard. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
Possessions are flying birds -- they never find a place to settle. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
Things may be traded in the city but it is the fisherman who brings in the food supply. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
A heart never created hatred; speech created hatred. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
A plant as sweet as a husband does not grow in the steppe. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
Girl, your brother cannot choose for you; whom do you choose? Girl, your brother is like me. A brother should let you live as would I. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
Marrying is human. Having children is divine. (Sumerian Proverb)
When I married a malicious husband, when I bore a malicious son, an unhappy heart was assigned to me. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
Let me tell you about my fate: it is an insult. Let me explain it to you: it is a disgrace. Were I to tell my neighbour about my fate, he would heap insults upon me. I looked into the water. My destiny was drifting past. I was born on an ill-fated day. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
He who knows how to move around becomes strong. He will live longer than the sedentary man. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
If a scribe knows only a single line but his handwriting is good, he is indeed a scribe! View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
What kind of a scribe is a scribe who does not know Sumerian? View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
A chattering scribe's guilt is great. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
A scribe who does not know how to grasp the meaning -- from where will he produce a translation? View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
Tell a lie and then tell the truth: it will be considered a lie. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
Furrows are pleasant to a threshing ox. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
Once I had escaped the wild bull, the wild cow confronted me. (Sumerian Proverb)
One should not remove what belongs to my mistress Inana. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
The good thing is to find it; the bad thing is to lose it. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
For his pleasure he got married. On his thinking it over he got divorced. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
He who destroys houses destroys silver. He who destroys a house destroys gold. View proverb
Sumerian Proverb
More Sumerian Wisdom in Wikiquote