He who sleeps does not catch fish — idleness and inaction produce nothing. Success requires being awake, alert, and active at the right moment.
The lakes and rivers of Lombardy — Como, Maggiore, Iseo, Garda, the Adda, the Ticino — have always been sources of food and livelihood. The freshwater fisherman knew that the best fishing was at dawn and at dusk, when the fish were near the surface and the light was right. A fisherman who slept through the dawn caught nothing. The proverb extended from the waterside to the marketplace: the merchant who was not at his counter when the customers passed lost the sale; the farmer who was not in the fields at planting time lost the season. In Milanese business culture it became a counsel of alertness: the market does not wait, the opportunity does not knock twice, the competitor does not rest. Get up early and work — or the fish will be in someone else's net.
Lombard proverb from the lake and river fishing culture of the region. Lakes Como, Maggiore, Iseo, and Garda have sustained fishing communities since antiquity.
A Lombard fisherman on Lake Como at 4am
— Perché dobbiamo partire così presto? — Chi dorma non pesca i pess. Alle sei il lago è già finito.
— Why must we leave so early? — He who sleeps does not catch fish. By six the lake is already finished.
A Milanese market trader opening at 5am
I clienti migliori vengono alle sei. Chi dorma non pesca i pess — il mio concorrente è già qui dalle quattro e mezza.
The best customers come at six. He who sleeps does not catch fish — my competitor has been here since four thirty.
A Milanese startup founder on first-mover advantage
Eravamo gli unici nel settore. Ma chi dorma non pesca i pess — adesso ce ne sono venti e il mercato è saturo.
We were the only ones in the sector. But he who sleeps does not catch fish — now there are twenty and the market is saturated.
A Lombard grandmother waking lazy grandchildren
— Sono le otto, lasciaci dormire. — Chi dorma non pesca i pess. Alzatevi, c'è il lavoro nei campi.
— It is eight, let us sleep. — He who sleeps does not catch fish. Get up, there is work in the fields.