# The Water Margin - Author: [Shī Nàiān](https://www.leafyquotes.com/shi-naian.md) - Quotes: 38 - Book page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/shi-naian/the-water-margin ## Quotes > Good times don't last forever, all flowers fade. > Disturbing the grass alerts the snake. > If fated, men come together though a thousand li apart. If not, they miss each other though they meet face to face. > You don't know a man till you've fought him. > Luck comes but once, but trouble comes in droves. > When good folk meet, evil men keep their distance. > Soldiers are trained for months for the sake of a few days of battle. > Easily obtained, easily lost; arduously obtained, strongly held. > When the rabbit dies, the fox mourns. All are of the same animal kingdom. > The knot of hatred should be opened, not tightened. > Though you see a friend off a thousand li, sooner or later you must part. > Inner force counts more than outward strength. > Even what you see with your own eyes may not be true. > There's safety only in a stiff backbone. > Three bowls [of our wine] and you can't cross the ridge. > The prettiest papayas are emptiest inside. > For adultery catch the pair, for robbery find the loot, for murder produce the body. > Parents pick the first husband, widows choose the second. > One look at a man's face tells you whether he's prospering or suffering. > The culprit must pay for his wrong, the debtor for his debt. > The pliant rise in the world, the hard invite disaster. > News of good behavior never gets past the door, but a scandal is heard of a thousand li away. > Ecstasy begets tragedy, from misery good fortune springs. > Without coincidence there would be no story. > A magnificent steed gets a dolt for a rider, a charming wife sleeps with an oaf of a husband. > A close neighbor means more than a distant relative. > When the fence is strong no dogs get in. > The winds and clouds in the sky are unfathomable. A man's luck changes in an instant. > Any food when you're hungry, > > When you're cold rags save life; > > Any road when you're frightened, > > When you're poor any wife. > [Lu Zhishen] bent and grasped the lower part of the trunk with his right hand, while his left hand seized it higher up, then gave a tremendous wrench—and pulled the tree from the ground, roots and all! > [Song Jiang] helped anyone, high or low, who sought his aid. [...] He was always making things easy for people, solving their difficulties, settling differences, saving lives. He provided the indigent with funds for coffins and medicines, gave charity to the poor, assisted in emergencies, helped in cases of hardship. And so he was famed throughout the provinces of Shandong and Hebei, and was known to all as the Timely Rain, for like the rain from the heavens he brought succor to every living thing. > Earth can stop the flow of water, generals can cope with enemy troops. > Calamity and happiness have no volition. Man brings them on himself. Go in a flaxen cape to put out a fire and you'll be consumed by flames. > Friends don't last forever! > Money to an official is like blood to a fly. > The importance of human life is vast as the sky! > Meeting a man of fame is better than just hearing his name. > Within the bounds of the four seas, all men are brothers.