Although we have advanced scientifically, we have great respect for ancient wisdom. However, it is not easy to access ancient wisdom in modern times. Proverbs provide one of the ways of accessing this ancient wisdom. A proverb can be many things to many people. We usually define a proverb as a short, pithy and wise saying, but we do not know its author. Proverbs convey advice and warnings. Most of the proverbs are as old as the hills.
The origin of many English proverbs can be traced to religious books, William Shakespeare’s plays and Aesop’s fables which date back to 600 B.C. Aesop borrowed heavily from the Egyptians who had written their fables a 1,000 years before him.
Everything is in a state of flux. This rule applies even to proverbs. Most old proverbs have been modernised and brought up to date. In contrast, Asian proverbs, especially those coming from China, seem to remain unchanged even today. One such Chinese proverb is ‘No knowledge deer dead who hand.’ This is something difficult to understand. According to a Chinese lecturer who was in the island some time ago, the proverb has a story behind it. A general in ancient China struggled to predict the future. He told his aide, “You never know at whose hand a deer will die.”
Although incomprehensible to English speakers, Chinese proverbs are a proud reflection of their ancient culture. Deng Xiaoping, China’s leader until his death in 1997, used a Chinese proverb ‘Feeling stones while crossing a river’ to mean the uncertain nature of China’s ambitious but unwieldy efforts to use capitalist methods in a socialist State.
English proverbs
Unlike Chinese proverbs, English proverbs have been modernised and we can understand them easily. Many books have been published to explain the meaning of proverbs. Some of them illustrate the history and usage of individual proverbs. Some proverbs settle quickly to a standard form and others seem to be more susceptible to variation. Although proverbs may be dismissed as clichés, they can be used effectively to drive home a point.
To become a proverb, a saying has to be taken up and assimilated by the common people. In the process, its origin is forgotten. We use proverbs because they are a part of popular, ancient wisdom. Although every proverb had an origin in a specific person or situation, it has been completely lost.
Another important source of English proverbs is borrowings from other languages such as Latin, French and Spanish. Proverbs derived from the Bible are another kind of borrowing. The Bible is a translation from the Hebrew, and its proverbs were Hebrew wisdom. Next to the Bible, William Shakespeare is undoubtedly the greatest source of modern proverbs. Shakespeare has been widely read and Shakespearean quotations have become household words, but some of them are not proverbs.
Some idiomatic expressions have been referred to as proverbial expressions, but they are really not proverbs. For instance, to ‘cry for the moon’ means asking for the impossible. But it is not a proverb because it offers no advice or warning. However, it can be turned into a proverb by saying ‘Don’t cry for the moon’.
Fresh discovery
Proverbs played an important role in the classroom in the past. When we were learning English we were asked to copy proverbs in an exercise book and use them in essays. I do not know whether such a practice is done today. Proverbs can be used in teaching paraphrase and comprehension, but I am not aware whether it is practised now. It is easy to criticise proverbs and brush them aside as meaningless.
Children should be encouraged to be familiar with proverbs because they will experience the charm of a fresh discovery. To generate an interest in English proverbs I have selected a few of them. Very often, we use the proverb ‘Charity begins at home” as an excuse for not helping those outside the family circle. However, that is not the real meaning of the proverb. Charity means Christian love of one’s fellow men. Children should learn to love and help those nearest to them in their early years. Thereafter, they will love and help their fellow men when they grow up. Charity begins at home, but it does not end there. They say ‘No news is good news’. If we receive no news at all from our relatives and friends, we can safely assume that all is well.
In journalism we say ‘Good news is no news’. If we publish only good news, nobody will buy the paper. People like to read bad or sensational news. And newspapers give prominence to bad news on the front page using banner headlines.
Voice of God
The proverb ‘The voice of the people is the voice of God’ is often used to defend democracy. The proverb comes from the Latin Voxpopulivoxdei. However, it does not mean that the voice of the majority is good, but that is irresistible. The voice of the people in an election is always divided. All the people will not vote for one candidate.
When you wish to say that misfortunes can sometimes be a blessing in disguise, you use the proverb ‘Sweet are the uses of adversity’. The proverb comes from Shakespeare’s play As you like it. The exiled duke in the Forest of Arden finds that he has much to be thankful for:
“Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
And this our life exempt from public haunt
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones and good in everything.
I would not change it.”
All civilised people are expected to speak well of the dead. The proverb comes from the Latin De mortuis nil nisi bonum (Of the dead nothing but good). The American poet John Green Leaf Whittier said, “Death softens all resentments and the consciousness of a common inheritance of frailty and weakness modifies the severity of judgment.”
Patience
The proverb, ‘They also serve who only stand and wait’ is sometimes misunderstood. It does not promote laziness but patience. There are many people who are involved in business. They cannot succeed without those who play a passive role. Some people such as firemen have to remain idle until an emergency suddenly arises. The proverb is the last line of John Milton’s sonnet on his blindness. He feared that blindness would prevent him from writing.
We have incessant rain these days. You can say ‘It never rains but it pours’. However, the proverb does not refer to rains. It says that events, especially misfortunes, always come together. A similar proverb is ‘Misfortunes never come singly’.
We are living in a strange world. There are occasions in life when you do not get what you want and there are other occasions when you get too much of what you do not want. The proverb says, ‘The gods send nuts to those who have no teeth’.