A dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

The MOTHER of mischief is no bigger than a midge’s wing

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  a1628 J. CARMICHAELL Proverbs in Scots no. 1468 The mother of mischief, is na mair nor [than] a midgewing. 1796 M. EDGEWORTH Parent’s Assistant (ed. 2) 149 ‘The mother of mischief’, says an old proverb, ‘is no bigger than a midge’s wing.’ 1858 D. M. MULOCK Woman’s Thoughts about Women viii. Fatal and vile as her [Gossip’s] progeny may be, ‘the mother of mischief, says the proverb, ‘is no bigger than a midge’s wing.’ 2005 Times Magazine 5 Nov. 13 (heading) ‘The mother of mischief is no bigger than a midge’s wing’. "beginnings and endings; great and small; trouble
  

mother see also DILIGENCE is the mother of good luck; NECESSITY is the mother of invention; PRAISE the child, and you make love to the mother.
If the MOUNTAIN will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet must go to the mountain
Quot. 1625 gives the anecdote behind this saying.

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  1625 BACON Essays ’Of Boldness’ xii. Mahomet cald the Hill to come to him.. And when the Hill stood still, he was neuer a whit abashed, but said; If the Hill will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet wil go to the hil. 1732 T. FULLER Gnomologia no. 2707 If the Mountain will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet must go to the Mountain. 1975 D. BAGLEY Snow Tiger xvii. You couldn’t go to see him, so the mountain had to go to Mahomet. It was . . important to him. 2001 Washington Times 27 Jan. F23 (Herb & Jamaal comic strip)’I’ve waited too long for Jamaal to ask me out. It’s time for me to take action! As they say, “If the mountain won’t come to Mohammed, then Mohammed will go to the mountain”.’ "necessity; obstinacy
  

mountain see also FAITH will move mountains.
The MOUNTAINS are high, and the emperor is far away
Chinese proverb, comparable to the Russian GOD is high above, and the tsar is far away.

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  1910 P. W. SERGEANT Great Empress Dowager of China 153 ‘The mountains are high,’ say the Chinese, ‘the Emperor is far away.’ A brief lull in the persecution was followed in 1895 by an extremely violent outburst. 1974 P. J. SEYBOLT Through Chinese Eyes 73 This is wild hill-country: As they used to say in the old days, ‘the mountains are high and the emperor is far away.’ 1995 New York Times 4 Dec. (online) A foreigner who spends two weeks in the region quickly learns that autonomy has its limits. Granted . . many Uighur traditions are tolerated. Married couples are legally permitted two rather than one child per family, the limit elsewhere in China, and those leading a nomadic life have no limits. This is illustrative of an oft-heard saying, ‘The mountains are high and the emperor is far away.’ 2003 R. FISKE Political Corruption 81 Often in the provinces during the classical communist period it had been said with a shrug that ‘shan gao huangdi yuan’, or ‘the mountains are high and the Emperor is far away.’ ■ independence; power; rulers and ruled