“Wars end, but neighbours remain.”
Onofri's stated reasoning in 1797 for refusing Napoleon's offer to enlarge San Marino's territory — lasting peace with neighbours matters more than temporary gains from conflict.
— Antonio Onofri, San Marino
Source: Antonio Onofri, Captain Regent of San Marino, on declining Napoleon's 1797 offer of territorial expansion — recorded in San Marino historical accounts (see Wikipedia: 'Antonio Onofri')
More Proverbs from San Marino
Practice makes perfect.
A skill is only mastered through repeated doing, not through thinking about it.
Leave a jest when it pleases you best.
A joke stays enjoyable only if it is kept short and does not overstay its welcome.
When fortune knocks, be sure to open the door.
Seize an opportunity the moment it appears, because it may not return.
The good mother does not say "will you?" — she gives.
True generosity acts on its own, without waiting to be begged or asked twice.
Charity begins at home.
Care for your own household and community first, before reaching outward.
The wheel of fortune is forever in motion.
Luck and circumstance are never fixed — they rise and fall over time.