the following are quotes from mgs2, more can be found
here. otacon tried motivating snake by telling him chinese proverbs, the way mei ling did back in mgs1. she even made him a cheat sheet with all the meanings, but he managed to get them all wrong anyway, he's such a dork <3
Otacon: Snake, you of course know the saying "One for all, all for one."
Snake: What is this, all of a sudden?
Otacon: Oh, I figured you'd need a lot of motivation, so I came prepared. It's from 'The Three Musketeers' -- the book, not the candy bar. Anyway, it means that if you go up against everyone by yourself, they'll gang up on you too. I think. Since you're on your own on that ship, you need to take this to heart and avoid confrontations. How was that? Just like the old days, huh?
Snake: Almost reminds me of Mei Ling, but... You sure you got it right?
Otacon: Of course! And I'll teach you a lot more of these, you can count on it.
Snake: Great...
they are all gems, really, but i just wanted some of my favorite ones to be here, so more under the cut.Otacon: "Acquaintances agree. Friends argue." That's a straightforward one. The better friends you are, the more openly you can disagree with each other. So feel free to present a counterpoint if you don't agree with what I'm saying. Argue away!
Snake: Sure. All right.
Otacon: ...Not a promising start. OK, forget what I said -- just go along with my advice.
Otacon: You know the story about Achilles and Paris? The moral here is -- er -- something about his heel? Anyway, even the great and virtually immortal hero Achilles was finally done in by Paris. Talk about a dangerous city. So don't get complacent. The mission can turn around and get you.
Snake: Wasn't Paris a person? Paris. I thought he was a --
Otacon: Snake, there's a time and place for conspiracy theories. Please, I'm trying to concentrate here.
Snake: Huh? Ah, sorry...?
Otacon: OK -- "A frog in a well knows not of the great ocean." Hey, I don't like this one at all. Trapping a little frog in a well? That sucks, that's really cruel. Of course it's not going to see the big blue sea the lack of sunlight alone will kill it pretty quick. Sure, locking someone up is a good way to make sure they don't see what you don't want them to. But this is a terrible saying, and I don't like it at all. Poor little froggy...!
Snake: ...I really think you've got this one wrong.
no time for conspiracy theories, huh?..
Otacon: This is my favorite Chinese saying: "Better to be first among roosters than last among bulls." Of course, the meaning's clear. If you have to choose between being a chicken or a cow, pick the chicken. Cows are always being messed with by aliens - cattle mutilations are up, you know. Why go looking for trouble, right? If an enemy spots you, you'll be in more trouble than a cow on a UFO. You stay out of their sight!
Snake: Why would aliens be in an old Chinese proverb?
Otacon: Everyone knows they've been visiting us for thousands of years.
Snake: ...news to me.