Here are the proverbs:
Vivendo, s'impara.
One learns by living.
Notes: The English "one learns" impersonal always sounds so clunky compared to the Italian s'impara. Compare the English saying, "Live and learn."
Domandando, si va a Roma.
By asking questions, you can get to Rome.
Notes: Literally, you need to ask questions in order to make a long journey; metaphorically, you need to ask questions to accomplish any great accomplishment. I like the way that "Rome" here stands both for a destination and also for a great accomplishment. So, you people who are shy to ask questions or ask for help: don't be shy! That's how you get to Rome, or anywhere else.
Domandando, si va per tutto.
By asking questions, you can get anywhere.
Notes: This is a nice variation on the preceding saying. The phrase per tutto, "everywhere," is equivalent to the more commonly used dappertutto.
Burlando, si dice il vero.
By joking, one can speak the truth.
Notes: From Italian burla, joke, we get English "burlesque."
Non desiderando nulla, si possiede tutto.
By desiring nothing, one has everything.
Notes: Enjoy the Italian double negative: "by not desiring nothing." It's so emphatic! Double negatives are definitely allowed in Italian, unlike (formal) English.
È lavorando nella fucina, che si diventa fabbro.
It is by working in the forge that one becomes a blacksmith.
Notes: You could also state this more directly: Lavorando nella fucina, si diventa fabbro. The implication is that you gain your skills and learn your work not by reading books, not by going to school, but by doing the work, which means you need to go to the place where the work is done.
Insistendo sul lavoro, sotto il piombo, trovi l’oro.
By persisting in your work, beneath the lead you find gold.
Notes: Yes, English "plumber" is related to Italian piombo; they are both from Latin plumbum. The key is that you have to keep going to find the gold (i.e. reach your goal) by getting through all that lead (i.e. the tedious work that might be involved in the process).
Rimanendo uniti, stiamo in piedi; dividendoci, cadiamo.
By remaining united, we stand; by being divided, we fall.
Notes: Literally, "we are on our feet," stiamo in piedi.
L’allegria prolunga la vita, medicando qualunque ferita.
Happiness prolongs life, healing any wound.
Notes: A rhyming proverb! la vita ~ ferita.
Forte non è chi non piange mai, ma chi piangendo riesce a sfogarsi.
It is not he who never weeps who is strong but he who by weeping manages to find relief.
Notes: In more modern English slang, sfogarsi is "to vent." It can also have negative connotations, like "exploding" at somebody in an "outburst" of emotion, but here it is a positive thing, like getting something off your chest, letting your feelings out.
And here is today's audio (I'm not a native speaker, so this is TTS-generated):
Plus a LOLcat:
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