Proverb Lore / Many sayings, wise or otherwise, on many subjects, gleaned from many sources

Transcriber's Notes:
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AUTHOR OF WAYSIDE SKETCHES, MYTHLAND, NATURAL HISTORY LORE AND LEGEND, SYMBOLISM IN ART, WILD FRUITS OF THE COUNTRYSIDE, FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS, ETC.



Value of Study of Proverbs—Difficulty of exact Definition—Definitions by various Writers—The Saw—The Adage—The Essentials of a Proverb—The Value of Brevity—Legitimate Use of Hyperbole—Proverbs often one-sided Views of Truth—Sometimes contradict each other—Figurativeness of Language—A very characteristic Feature—Parables of our Lord—Proverbs often condensed Parables—Examples of Word-Pictures—Commonest Objects supply Lessons—Interesting as referring to Usages that have passed away—Some Proverbs enduring, some transient—May have more than one Significance—Some palpable Truisms and Platitudes—Great Antiquity of Proverbs—On Jewellery, Pottery, Furniture, etc.—Rustic Conservatism—The aid of Alliteration—Rhyme as an Aid to Memory
The study of proverbs is one of exceeding interest and value. By means of it our thoughts travel back through the ages to the childhood of the world, and we see at once how amidst the surroundings that vary so greatly in every age and in every clime the common inherent oneness of humanity asserts itself: how, while fashions change, motives of action remain; how, beneath the burning sun of Bengal or Ashanti, in the tents of the Crees, or amidst the snows of Lapland, the thoughts of men on the great problems that confront the race are strikingly at one. Hence, while the outward garb and phraseology of these proverbial utterances must necessarily greatly vary, we find, when we pierce below the surface, a remarkable similarity of idea. When we desire to point out the foolishness of providing any place or person with anything that they are really better able to procure for themselves, the absurdity of carrying coals to Newcastle is pointed out, and we might at first sight very naturally say that surely here we have a popular saying that we can specially claim as a piece of English proverbial wisdom. We find, however, in the Middle Ages the popular saying, Send Indulgences to Rome ; while even before the Christian era the Greeks were teaching the same lesson in the formula, Owls to Athens, the woods of Attica yielding these birds in abundance, while the city itself, under the special guardianship of Pallas Athene, had, as its device and symbol, on its coinage and elsewhere, the owl, the bird associated with that goddess—coals, owls, indulgences, so different in outward seeming, teaching the self-same truth. Any attempt at classification of proverbs by nationality is exceedingly difficult, and in many cases impossible, since the more one looks into the matter the more one realises what a cosmopolitan thing a proverb is. Gratifying as it would be to patriotic feeling to gather together all the best proverbs in circulation in England and claim them as the product of English wit and wisdom, we should at once on investigation find that in great degree they were, perhaps in actual wording, and certainly in significance, the property of humanity at large.