Politeness wins the confidence of princes.

Politics makes strange bedfellows.

Practice no vice because it's trivial; neglect no virtue because it's so.

Present to the eye, present to the mind.

Priests return to the temple, merchants to the shop.

Pure gold does not fear the smelter.

Raise your sail one foot and you get ten feet of wind.

Rare commodities are worth more than good.

Rather once cry your heart out than always sigh.

Rats know the way of rats.

Reform a gambler . . . cure leprosy.

Rein in the horse at the edge of the cliff.

Reshape one's foot to try to fit into a new shoe.

Rich men accumulate money; the poor accumulate years.

Rich not gaudy.

Riches add to the house, virtues to the man.

Riches: a dream in the night; fame: a gull floating on water.

Rivers and mountains may change; human nature, never.

Rotten wood cannot be carved.

Rule the roost.

Runaway son, a shining jewel; runaway daughter, tarnished.

Scholars talk books, butchers talk pigs.

Schoolmaster, stick to your books; farmer, to your pigs.

Seeking fish? Don't dive in the pond; go home and get a net.

Sending charcoal in the snow is better than adding flowers to a brocade.