Biautaï sans bountaï, ne vaut pas vin évantaï.
“Beauty without goodness is not worth stale wine.”
Outward beauty has little true worth if it is not matched by kindness and good character.
— Traditional Guernsey Wisdom, Guernsey
Source: Traditional Guernsey proverb, recorded in Sir Edgar MacCulloch, Guernsey Folk Lore (1903), public-domain oral tradition
More Proverbs from Guernsey
A small packet becomes a heavy burden on a long journey.
Even a minor load feels heavier the further and longer you must carry it.
As fat as a lump of suet.
A vivid rural simile describing someone who is very well-fed or stout.
Two big bones cannot boil in the same pot.
Two strong-willed rivals cannot easily share the same small space.
There is enough left for all the Tostevins.
Said when plenty of food remains at the table; Tostevin, a common Guernsey surname, stands in for "everyone".
It is not those who plough nearest the hedge who are the richest — economy can be carried too far.
Squeezing every last inch out of your land through excessive thrift or caution does not make you the wealthiest; economy carried too far defeats itself.
When it rains with a west wind, it feeds a man and his horse; when it rains with an east wind, it is a wonder if anything comes to good.
A westerly rain nourishes both man and livestock, while rain from the east threatens ruin to crops and fortune alike.