Jewish Wisdom: A Dictionary of Some 4,000 Proverbs by David Potter and Gerd De Ley Quotes

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A Proverb Is Worth A Thousand Words: A Paremiography From Around The World by Aweis A. Ali (2021, Kenya Projects Organization)

PROLOGUE 

Paremiology is the collection and the study of proverbs. This literary discipline dates back to Aristotle (384–322 BC) during the classical period of ancient Greece. Proverbs had special place among ancient Sumerians as demonstrated by their cuneiform tablets. Both renaissance and modern scholars like Erasmus of Rotterdam and Archer Taylor have contributed to the scholarship of proverbs. Such scholarships focus on paremiography, the collection of proverbs, and paremiology, the study of proverbs. These two aspects of the scholarship of proverbs fit together like a hand and a glove; for example, paremiology includes the science of collecting and compiling proverbs for study purposes. Mieder defines a proverb as: “…a short, generally known sentence of the folk which contains wisdom, truth, morals, and traditional views in a metaphorical, fixed and memorizable form and which is handed down from generation to generation.” A proverb, from the Latin: proverbium, is a brief and memorable conventional saying. A proverb communicates a common-sense wisdom based on people‟s perception and experience. Many languages share proverbs that are similar. The first possibility is that such proverbs come into existence because one people group borrows from another. A second possibility is that similar proverbs can in fact, independently emerge from languages that are geographically far away from one another. The latter possibility is as plausible as the first one because people, regardless of their proximity to one another, often face similar challenges that can generate similar sayings, maxims and proverbs. 

It is sometimes possible to establish the paternity of a proverb as James Pritchard exegetes one multilingual proverb that approximately says, “No flies enter a mouth that is shut.” This proverb is found in Ethiopia, Somalia, France and Spain and many other countries. Despite this proverb‟s millennia journey and survival, its origin lies in an ancient Babylonian proverb. Similarly, the proverb of one hand clapping is also found both in Asia and the Middle East. Lord John Russell (1792-1878) observed eloquently that a “proverb is the wit of one, and the wisdom of many.”4 Defining exactly what constitutes a proverb and what does not has perplexed many scholars. Archer Taylor (1890-1973), a paremiologist and one of the most notable authorities on American and European folklore, said “definition of a proverb is too difficult to repay the undertaking… An incommunicable quality tells us this sentence is proverbial and that one is not. Hence no definition will enable us to identify positively a sentence as proverbial.”5 While it is hard to define and describe the building blocks of a proverb, it is not hard to recognize one. The definition of a proverb is liable to change given the fact that a proverb, like languages, is a living organism that grows, mutates, and dies. Proverbs come from various sources, including advertisements, movies, literature, plays, poetry, songs, stories, animal husbandry, and simple verbal communication deemed insightful. Proverbs are often ancient, but new ones are born in every language group. New proverbs are sometimes easy to identify because people remember exactly when it was coined like the American proverb, where is the beef? Other proverbs can be identified as new based on their point of reference like the Haitian proverb, “The fish that is being microwaved doesn’t fear the lightning.” Another relatively new and rhymed Maltese proverb says, wil-muturi, ferh u duluri ” Women and motorcycles are joys and griefs.” 

It is estimated that more than 1,400 new English proverbs have been minted and became part of the popular culture in the 20th century alone.9 While a proverb can be coined easily, only those who receive currency become eternal maxims that become an integral part of the language. Many of the proverbs in this book were translated from various languages from all over the world. You will notice African, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Eastern European proverbs, among others, represented in this collection. This book contains 21,576 proverbs, a substantial collection, indeed. Proverbs are rarely planned; their birth is often accidental. Human ears are finetuned to pick up profound expressions that could become sayings. Many proverbs, sayings, and expressions earned an unplanned currency and joined the evergrowing dictionary of wise sayings; the American English expression, “where is the beef?”, is an excellent example in this regard. This catchphrase is widely used today, primarily in the US and Canada as a saying. “Where is the beef?” was minted in 1984 in an advertisement by an American fastfood chain.

The first proverbs were born when the first wise man or woman opened their mouth to communicate. Their ease of saying the right thing at the right time and their concise but eloquent choice of words have impressed those who were less gifted in the field of oratory. The phrases and the sentences of these wise men and women became catchphrases, and sayings to quote when expressing vital points. This is how Wellerism, perverbs, expressions, allusions, short dialogues, and other categories of proverbs were born.

ENGLISH PROVERBS CATEGORIZATION 

Wellerism: This category is named after Sam Weller, the fictional character in Charles Dickens‟s The Pickwick Papers (1837). Wellerism is a triad maxim that consists of a statement that is often a proverb, a person or an animal who is the speaker, and an expression that places the assertion into an unforeseen situation. A Telugu Wellerism proverb says, “A woman unable to dance said, „the drum is defective.‟” A well-known Wellerism proverb from ancient Sumer (c. 4500 – c. 1900 BC) says, “The fox urinated into the Tigris: I am causing the high tide to rise!‟ [he said]”

Perverb: This is an anti-proverb, so to speak. The adaptation, contextualization, and the deliberate misuse of a proverb to make a point is perverb. Examples include: “If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.” “Great minds, drink alike.” “If at first you do not succeed, you are average.” Perverbs are not a new genre. Aristophanes is known to have created some perverbs 2,300 years ago; he in fact used one of these in his play, peace. Perverbs are also described as an allusive distortion or parody. The title of this book, a proverb is worth a thousand words, is an example of anti-proverb or perverb adapted from the established Chines proverb, a picture is worth a thousand words. These modified proverbs are also known as twisted, anti-, quasi- proverbs, and pseudo-proverbs, terms popularized by the likes of Wolfgang Mieder. An example of such anti-proverbs is the innovative “a penny saved is a penny taxed.” 

Expression: Proverbial expressions are not technically proverbs but flexible maxims that allow alterations to fit the desired context. Examples include, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can‟t make him drink.” “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” 

Allusion: This saying refers to a proverb rather than quoting it verbatim. Examples include, “I think the new boss will fire some employees, you know what they say about a new broom.” This allusion refers to the proverb “A new broom sweeps clean.” 

Short dialogue: “They asked the camel, „Why is your neck crooked?‟ The camel laughed roaringly, What of me is straight?”

Styles Stylistic features of proverbs include: Alliteration: Man proposes, God disposes, first come, first served, forgive and forget Declarative: Birds of a feather flock together Ellipsis: Once bitten, twice shy Imperative: Negative: Don‟t beat a dead horse Imperative: Positive: If the shoe fits, wear it Rhetorical: Is the Pope Catholic? Parallelism: Wounds caused by knives will heal, wounds caused by words will not heal (Tamil proverb), Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. (English proverb), nothing ventured, nothing gained Rhyme: All the wisdom you gain, you will pay for in pain. When the cat is away, the mice will play. Don‟t trouble trouble until trouble troubles you.

A PROVERBS
1. A bad beginning makes a bad ending.
2. A bad corn promise is better than a good lawsuit.
3. A bad dancer always has trouble with his balls.
4. A bad excuse is better than none.
5. A bad penny always turns up.
6. A bad son gives his mother a bad name.
7. A bad workman quarrels with his tools.
8. A bad wound may heal, but a bad name will kill.
9. A bag that says it will not take more and a traditional doctor who says he would not leave.
10. A baking dog never bites.
11. A bargain is a bargain.
12. A bean in liberty is better than a comfit in prison.
13. A beggar can never be bankrupt.
14. A bellowing cow soon forgets her calf.
15. A bellyful is one of meat, drink, or sorrow.
16. A beloved child has many names.
17. A big heart is better than a big brain.
18. A bird does not change its feathers because the weather is bad.
19. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
20. A bird is known by its song.
21. A bird that flies from the ground onto an anthill does not know that it is still on the
ground.
22. A black hen lays a white egg.
23. A blind leader of the blind.
24. A blind man would be glad to see.
25. A blind man‟s wife needs no paint.
26. A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword.
27. A boat cannot go forward if each rows his way
28. A boat stands firmer with two anchors.
29. A boat that is not tied up will drift along with the stream.
30. A book is a garden carried in the pocket.
31. A book is a good friend when it lays bare the errors of the past.
32. A bottle of oil warmed over the fire has no means of producing oil by itself
33. A brave man dies once, a coward a thousand times.
34. A bridge is prepared when someone falls in the water.
35. A broken friendship may be soldered but will never be sound.
36. A broken watch is right two times a day.
37. A burden of one‟s own choice is not felt.
38. A burnt child dreads the fire.
39. A bush fowls‟ playground is never appreciably spacious
40. A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
41. A canoe does not know who the leader is when it turns over, everyone gets we.t
42. A carpenter is known by his chips.
43. A cat in gloves catches no mice.
44. A cat loves fish but won‟t risk its claws.

45. A cat may look at a king.
46. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
47. A change is as good as rest.
48. A change of name or place may sometimes save a person.
49. A chicken that hatches a crocodile‟s eggs is looking for trouble.
50. A child brought up where there is always dancing cannot fail to dance.
51. A child does not die because the mother‟s breasts are dry.
52. A child does not laugh at the ugliness of his mother.
53. A child is a certain sorrow and uncertain joy.
54. A child is a child of everyone.
55. A child is the reward of God.
56. A child is what you put into him .
57. A child one does not instruct upon return, one instructs him when going.
58. A child who fears beating would never admit that he played with a missing knife.
59. A child‟s lie is like a dead fish in a pond that in the end always comes to the surface,
explains his mother.
60. A city that parleys is half gotten.
61. A civil denial is better than a rude grant.
62. A clean conscience is the best pillow
63. A clean fast is better than a dirty breakfast
64. A clean hand wants no washing.
65. A clear conscience laughs at false accusations.
66. A clenched fist can neither give nor take.
67. A clever king is the brother of peace.
68. A clever person turns great troubles into little ones and little ones into none at all.
69. A closed mouth catches no flies.
70. A cock is valiant on his own dunghill.
71. A constant guest is never welcome.
72. A country without freedom is like a prisoner with shackled hands.
73. A coward dies a thousand times before his death, the valiant never taste of death but once.
74. A cracked bell can never sound well.
75. A creaking door hangs long on its hinges.
76. A crow is never the whiter for washing itself often.
77. A crown is no cure for a headache.
78. A curst cow has short horns.
79. A daily guest is a great thief in the kitchen.
80. A danger foreseen is half avoided.
81. A day in prison is longer than a thousand years at large.
82. A day is lost if one has not laughed.
83. A deaf ear is followed by death, and an ear that listens is followed by blessings.
84. A decision made at night may be changed in the morning.
85. A delicate thing is not difficult to injure.
86. A dirty tongue litters its owner.
87. A doctor who invoked a storm on his people cannot prevent his house from destruction.
88. A dog is man‟s best friend.
89. A dripping June sets all in tune.
90. A drop in the bucket.
91. A drowning man will catch at a straw.

92. A face that never laughs betrays an evil heart.
93. A fair face may hide a foul heart.
94. A fault confessed is half redressed.
95. A feeble effort will not fulfill the self.
96. A fight between grasshoppers is a joy to the crow.
97. A fire should be put out while it is still small.
98. A fish always rots from the head downward.
99. A fish would not get into trouble if it kept its mouth shut.
100. A flea can trouble a lion more than the lion can harm a flea.

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