He who cuts off his nose takes poor revenge for a shame inflicted on him.

Male ulciscitur dedecus sibi illatum, qui amputat nasum suum.

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Source, in full

De Hierosolymitana peregrinatione acceleranda (1189), cited from Mary Beth Rose (ed.) Women in the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1986) p. 29; translation from John Simpson The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993) p. 55.

Notes from Wikiquote

A similar proverb, Qui son nez cope deshonore son vis, appears in the late 12th century chanson de geste Garin le Loheren, line 2877.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Peter of Blois (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.