Netherlandish Proverbs 17

"What can smoke do to iron?" 

There is no point in trying to change the unchangeable. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 16

"He has more in him than an empty herring." 

There is more to it than meets the eye. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 15

"The herring hangs by its own gills." 

You must accept responsibility for your own actions. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 14

"To get the lid on the head." 

To end up taking responsibility. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 13

"To fry the whole herring for the sake of the roe." 

To do too much to achieve a little. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 12

"The herring does not fry here." 

It's not going according to plan. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 11

"Shear them, but do not skin them." 

Do not press your advantage too far. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 10

"One shears sheep, the other shears pigs." 

One has all the advantages, the other none. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 9

"To put your armor on." 

To be angry. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 8

"To be armed to the teeth." 

To be heavily armed. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 7

"To bell the cat." 

To carry out a dangerous or impractical plan. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 6

"The sow pulls the bung." 

Negligence will be rewarded with disaster. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 5

"One foot shod, the other bare." 

Balance is paramount. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 4

"To bang one's head against a brick wall." 

To waste one's time on an impossible task. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 3

"Never believe someone who carries fire in one hand and water in the other." 

To be two-faced and to stir up trouble. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 2

"To be a pillar-biter." 

To be a religious hypocrite. 

Netherlandish Proverbs 1

"To be able to tie even the devil to a pillow."

Obstinacy overcomes everything. 

Netherlandish Proverbs

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Netherlandish Proverbs (1559) 

Also called The Folly of the World, this large and detailed painting illustrates over a hundred different traditional Dutch sayings, 

I return to it regularly so I might both laugh and cry at the vanity and the silliness of the human condition. As with all proverbs, the comedy and the tragedy help to teach me valuable lessons about life. 

The specific listing of proverbs in this series is taken from Rainer and Rose-Marie Hagen. 

Here are also two links to online interactive versions: 

http://bruegel.analog.is 

http://s3.imagediver.org/topic/album/4294b0e/the_dutch_proverbs/1/index.html