A la fuerza, ni la comida es buena.

“Not even good food tastes good when it is forced on you.”

Anything, however good, becomes unpleasant when someone is compelled to accept it against their will.

De las aguas mansas líbrame Dios, que de las bravas me libro yo.

“From calm waters, God deliver me; from rough ones I deliver myself.”

A quiet, gentle appearance can hide the greatest danger; open threats are easier to guard against than hidden ones.

A dos puyas no hay toro valiente.

“No bull is brave against two spears at once.”

Even the strongest will falter when pressed hard from two directions at the same time.

Candil de la calle, oscuridad de la casa.

“A lamp for the street, darkness in the house.”

Someone who is generous and pleasant to strangers may still neglect and mistreat the people closest to them.

Gallina que come huevos, aunque le quemen el pico.

“The hen that eats eggs keeps doing it, even if they burn her beak for it.”

A deeply set habit continues even after repeated punishment.

El que nace para martillo, del cielo le caen los clavos.

“He who is born to be a hammer will have nails fall from the sky.”

Circumstances tend to arrive that match a person's true calling or nature.