He tao huata e taea te karo, he tao kī e kore e taea.
“A physical spear can be parried, but a spoken spear cannot.”
Words, once spoken, can wound far more deeply and lastingly than a physical weapon.
— Traditional New Zealand Wisdom, New Zealand
Source: Traditional Māori whakataukī, public-domain oral tradition
More Proverbs from New Zealand
What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.
Above all else, people and human relationships are what matter most.
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Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain.
Pursue your highest goals, and compromise only for something truly worthwhile.
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We are all in this canoe together, without exception.
Everyone is in the same situation and must work together toward a common purpose.
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Walking backwards into the future.
We look to the lessons of the past to guide our steps into the future.
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With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive.
When everyone contributes what they have, the whole community prospers.
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The person who stands lives; the person who sits perishes.
An active, striving person thrives, while the idle one falls behind.
Traditional New Zealand Wisdom
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