viel Feind, viel Ehr
German
Etymology
Literally: “many foes, much honour”. The forms viel Feind for viele Feinde (“many foes”) and Ehr for Ehre (“honour”) reflect early modern German apocope, which was a general phenomenon in most dialects, but only partially established itself in the written standard.
Proverb
- the more enemies one has, the more honour one is due (for example, because it proves one to be independent and upright)