Proverb, << PROV urb, >> is a brief saying that presents a truth or some bit of useful wisdom. It is usually based on common sense or practical experience. The effect of a proverb is to make the wisdom it tells seem to be self-evident. The same proverb often occurs among several different peoples. True proverbs are sayings that have been passed from generation to generation primarily by word of mouth. They may also have been put into written form. The Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, is the most notable collection of such sayings. They include:
Loading the player...Proverbs from the Bible
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. A soft answer turneth away wrath. Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs often find their way into literature. Many of the lower-class characters in The Canterbury Tales (late 1300’s) by Geoffrey Chaucer refer to proverbs. Miguel de Cervantes’ novel Don Quixote (1605, 1615) contains many proverbs. Cervantes collected the proverbs from the Spanish peasants, who supposedly could carry on a sensible conversation for a whole evening in nothing but proverbs (see Don Quixote).
Benjamin Franklin used many proverbial expressions in his Poor Richard’s Almanac, issued every year from 1733 to 1758. Franklin wrote many of them himself, and took the rest from other sources. Many are still quoted (see Poor Richard’s Almanac).
