“The idealist walks on tiptoe, the materialist on his heels.”
A vivid image contrasting the light, aspiring nature of idealism with the grounded, weighty nature of materialism.
— Malcolm de Chazal, Mauritius
Source: Malcolm de Chazal, Sens-Plastique (Gallimard, 1947), trans. Irving Weiss, Green Integer (2008)
More Proverbs from Mauritius
Even still water has its depth.
Calm, quiet people should not be underestimated — a still surface can hide deep knowledge or feeling.
Every night has its morning.
No matter how dark or difficult a time feels, it will pass and better days will follow.
Water on taro leaves.
Criticism or harsh words roll off without effect, like water sliding off a taro leaf — "in one ear and out the other."
He prays to God but does the devil's business.
Calls out hypocrisy — someone who acts pious in public while behaving badly in private.
A goat's tongue.
A compliment for someone whose words carry real weight and tend to come true, as if spoken with an almost prophetic tongue.
Today me, tomorrow you.
What goes around comes around — fortune or misfortune eventually reaches everyone in turn.