Enlightening Proverbs from around the World

By Student World

It is known that the Holy Bible contains about five hundred proverbs. In the same way, almost every culture in the world has its own examples of unique proverbs which later got translated into several other languages.

It is not an easy task to define a ‘proverb.’ Archer Taylor’s classic mentions that “The 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”.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Jan 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370198047

Book preview

Enlightening Proverbs from around the World

Student World

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Copyright

Enlightening Proverbs from around the World

Student World

Copyright@2017 Student World

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved

Table of Content

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Introduction

The word proverb is derived from the Latin word proverbium. It generally refers to a simple and intelligent saying. It happens to be very popular, and it is often repeated during appropriate and relevant situations.

A proverb presents a truth that is generally founded on common sense or experience. A large number of proverbs are metaphorical.

There is a slight difference between a proverb and a maxim. A maxim is a proverb that generally describes a basic rule of conduct. Generally, proverbs are included in the category of formulaic language.

There are various proverbs from different languages, but they are often borrowed from similar languages and cultures. There are hundreds of known and popular proverbs, and they happen to have come down to the present through more than one language.

The Holy Bible and the Book of Proverbs, with the work of Erasmus, have greatly contributed to the distribution of proverbs across Europe and several other parts of the world.

It is known that the Holy Bible contains about five hundred proverbs. In the same way, almost every culture in the world has its own examples of unique proverbs that later got translated into several other languages.

It is not an easy task to define a proverb. Archer Taylor’s classic mentions that the 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. As a result, no definition can positively identify a sentence as proverbial.

The widely accepted definition is given by Lord John Russell: A proverb is the wit of one and the wisdom of many. This definition seems more relevant because people generally use proverbs in their speech to teach others something.

Those who are able to understand proverbs during a conversation really get the most out of a conversation, but common people who are not aware of such proverbs remain silent, listening to the conversation without reacting.

This book includes more than five hundred very popular proverbs from around the world. They are sure to enlighten, entertain, and educate the readers. The book can be very helpful to young students of literature because it enhances their capacity for thinking by giving them a lot of brainwork.

For your convenience, we have divided this book into five parts. We hope students, teachers, and even common readers will benefit from this book.