Catchy wise old sayings are problematic. There's some strange property about them that their "apparent trueness" has more to do with their catchiness than with the actual truth of the matter.
It's almost as if the fact that it rhymes or sounds consonant has some bearing on the truth of its content, even though everyone knows that it doesn't at all. It's hard to live by the advice that people give these days, especially when it comes in these forms, and especially when there's a just-as-catchy counter saying. Both the sayings "burn the ships" and "don't burn your bridges" have equally compelling rings to them, along with equally compelling historical background, yet they argue the exact opposite points. the sayings, "absence make the heart grow fonder" and "out of sight, out of mind" work a lot in the same way, each sounding equally compelling and yet contradicted by the other.
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