3.1. PROVERBS

 

3.1.1   Preparation

Say what you think the proverbs below mean:

 

* Brevity is the soul of wit.

* A word is enough to the wise.

* A sound mind in a sound body.                               

* A body is more dressed than the soul.

* Little wit in the head makes much work to the feet.

* All the wisdom you gain you will pay for in pain.

 

3.1.2 Reading

Read the text and then answer the questions which follow.

 

Proverbs are popular short sayings of a moral or practical nature. To qualify as proverbs, the sayings must be old and contain some kind of enduring wisdom. They are used to give a word of advice or warning, or to make a wise general comment on a particular situation.

Obviously some proverbs are easier to understand than others. Those which say directly what they mean in straightforward language present the fewest problems.

The more you have, the more you want.

It’s easy to be wise after the event.

In these examples there is no need to look for a truth beyond the literal sense of the words, because the proverb is itself a generalized truth. With other proverbs, however, it is necessary to transfer the specific meaning to a more general situation before it can be fully appreciated.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Here the proverb refers to mending clothes. If you mend a small tear with a few stitches immediately, you avoid the necessity of mending a large tear later on. In other words, prompt action at an early stage can prevent more serious trouble developing in the future.

As for the origin of proverbs, they probably date back to the time when wisdom was transmitted by story or song. Some can be traced back to early Greek and Latin sources, but it is difficult to say with any certainty where others originated, because they were often translated from language to language. Shakespeare is the greatest literary source of sayings and proverbs in English, though no one is certain how many of them were the product of his own thought, and how many are part of the oral tradition of his time.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be.

All that glitters is not gold.

These, and the sayings and proverbs of other major authors of the past, have entered the language and become part of the culture because of their universal appeal or truth.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever. (John Keats)

A little learning is a dangerous thing. (Alexander Pope)

However, some proverbs are much more widely used than others. Indeed, the acceptance and rejection of proverbs throughout the ages can be seen as a history of the changes that have occurred in the manners, morals, and social development of a country. For example, the proverb ‘A stitch in time saves nine’ is not used very frequently now, and sounds rather old-fashioned because few people spend their time mending clothes in today’s throwaway society – they just go out and buy new ones. But even if people do not use proverbs very much in their daily lives, almost everybody knows them. Some are so well-known that it is only necessary to say the first part of the proverb – the rest will be understood immediately.

When in Rome … (do as the Romans do)

Birds of a feather … (flock together)

If your first language is not English and you try to use proverbs, you run the risk of sounding rather artificial and unnatural, especially if you overuse them or produce them in inappropriate contexts. You also have to be word perfect when you use them, because they are fixed expressions. Perhaps the most natural way to introduce them into a conversation is to say: ‘Well, you know what they say …’

You may decide not to use them actively, but it is certainly worth learning them for recognition purposes, and they can provide you with an insight into the culture of the country. In the words of the philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon

‘The Genius, Wit and Spirit of a Nation are discovered in its Proverbs.’

 

1. Why is it sometimes difficult to find the origin of a proverb?

2. Why are some proverbs more difficult to understand than others?

3. Why are some proverbs more often used than others?

4. What advice is given about proverbs?

 

3.1.3     Practice

A

Sort the following words into well-known proverbs.

 

a. does   make   swallow    summer    a    not   one

One _____________________________

b. is   life   the   spice   variety   of

Variety __________________________

c. eat   cake   it   can’t   you   have   and   your

You ____________________________

d. the   pudding   proof   the   of   the   eating   in   is

The ____________________________

e. all   to     world    a    takes     make    it   sorts

It _____________________________

f.  crying    it’s   milk    use    spilt    no  over  

It’s ____________________________

 

B    Match the two halves of the proverbs below.

 

1. Don’t trouble trouble                2. You may take a horse to the water, 3. Who has never tasted bitter 4. Where there’s a will, 5. All work and no play 6. He that loses his honesty 7. Laugh and the world laughs with you, 8. Two’s company, 9. A wise man changes his mind,

a. three’s a crowd. b. has nothing else to lose. c. there’s a way. d. weep and you weep alone. e. makes Jack a dull boy. f. but you cannot make him drink. g. until trouble troubles you. h. a fool never will. i. knows not what is sweet.

 

Interaction

C

Some sayings are so well-known that it is only  necessary to say the first part of the sentence.  Make up short dialogues  in which you use only the first part of the sentence.

 

Example:

- Are you coming to the party on Friday night?

- No, I want to revise for my exams.

- Well, you know what they say, ‘All work and no play…’

 

D     Match the English proverbs below with their 

international equivalents. (F=French, G=German, 

I=Italian, S=Spanish, T=Turkish)

 

English proverbs:	International equivalents:
1. You can’t have you cake and eat it.	a. Don’t put the bridle on the tail of the horse. (G)
2. A leopard never changes its spots.	b. One hand washes the other. (G)
3. Don’t cross your bridges before you come to them.	c. You can’t have your barrel full of wine and your wife drunk. (I)
4. Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile.	d. A wolf loses its hair but not its vices. (I, G)
5. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill.	e. Don’t roll up your trousers before you see the river. (T)
6. Never spend your money  before  you have it.	f. Don’t sell the bearskin before you have caught it. (F)
7. Don’t put the cart before the horse.	g. You’re making an elephant out of a fly. (G)
8. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.	h. Better an egg today than a hen tomorrow. (I)
9. It’s the last straw that breaks the   camel’s back.	i. Give him your little finger and he’ll take your hand. (G)
10. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.	j. It’s the last drop that makes the glass overflow. (S)

 

3.1.4 Activate

Some proverbs have the same meaning, while  others seem to contradict each other. Group  the following proverbs into pairs with the same meaning and pairs in which they contradict one another.

                               

1. Moderation in all things. 2. He who hesitates is lost. 3. Out of sight, out of mind. 4.Enough is as good as a feast. 5. There’s no accounting for tastes. 6. Score twice before you cut once. 7. A fool may give a wise man counsel. 8. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. 9. One body is nobody. 10. What’s good for one is bad for another. 11. Everybody’s business is nobody’s business. 12. A fair face, but a foul heart. 13. Blood will tell. 14. Faults are thick where love is thin. 15. Cat after kind. 16. No man is wise at all times. 17. A fool may throw a stone into a well which a hundred wise men cannot pull out. 18. Fine feathers make fine birds. 19. When in doubt do nowt. 20. Temperance is the best physic.

 

3.1.5 Translation

Translate the following essay using the corresponding Russian or Belarusian idiomatic expressions and proverbs.

 

The Proverbial English Teacher

(or Experience is the mother of wisdom)               

by Bob Jordan

 

Our English teacher is called Robin. S/he can, therefore, be male or female. After all, what’s in a name? Robin is somewhat round. At school he had always rushed to join the dinner queue. He had learnt that man cannot live by bread alone. When older, he had married a woman who knew that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. His rotundity increased.

Robin decided it was never too late to learn, and so considered becoming an English teacher. He remembered his father’s comment: those who can, do; those who cannot, teach. Oh, he thought, there’s no fool like an old fool. He ignored his father and took up ELT. He had heard that travel broadens the mind. He also found that it emptied the pocket. Never mind, he thought, the love of money is the root of all evil. After all, the best things in life are free! His inner voice said, name one! Robin responded with alacrity – health is better than wealth. Remember, you can’t take it with you when you die. The inner voice continued  to torment him – you haven’t any ‘it’ to take! All that glitters is not gold; Robin retorted. But you haven’t anything that glitters either, continued the voice. Robin didn’t rise to the bait this time.

Robin settled into a semi-comfortable rut. He tried his best – if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. He was a stickler for punctuality: Robin was the early bird who catches the worm. His approach was not shared by his class, in spite of his telling them that early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. Their attitude was: better late than never. Robin’s encouragement of a ‘stitch in time saves nine’ always fell on deaf ears. There are none so deaf as those who will not hear, he thought.

Robin detested noise. Speech classes were anathema to him. ‘Silence is golden’, he would shout, followed by ‘do as I say, not as I do’. He then explained: a still tongue makes a wise head, while empty vessels make the most sound. ‘Remember’, he said, thinking of grammatical accuracy, ‘least said, soonest mended’. By way of encouragement, he added ‘ask a silly question and you’ll get a silly answer’.

With group work, Robin was out of his depth. He didn’t understand the methodology, though he admitted that there was more than one way to skin a cat. Still, he gave it a try. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again. He agreed that practice makes perfect. But practice in what? His students seemed to have adopted the motto ‘ignorance is bliss’. He lectured them to make hay while the sun shines, and strike while the iron is hot. As soon as he left the room, they put this into practice. It was a matter of when the cat’s away, the mice will play.

Robin returned to uproar. This increased when he explained that he had forgotten to mark their homework. It never rains but it pours, he thought. ‘I know,’ he said, ‘take your essays and mark each other’s’. In the ensuing silence he started to congratulate himself. But his inner voice cautioned – don’t count your chickens before they are hatched. But think of the advantage, countered Robin, many hands make light work. Ah, but too many cooks spoil the broth, replied the voice.

The students finished their task, and called out the marks they had given each other. They were all the same! Seeing is believing, Robin muttered. But, after a while, he gave up. it was a matter of once bitten, twice shy. He knew: if you want a thing done properly, do it yourself. Robin’s students, on the other hand, were complimenting each other – great minds think alike!

Dismissing them, Robin admonished himself – look before you leap, next time. Then, looking at his watch, he noticed how time flies. He rushed along to the staff room, where deep will call to deep. He had difficulty in agreeing with his colleagues that the pen is mightier than the sword. The attitude of spare the rod and spoil the child was beginning to gain favour with him. But his inner voice had the final word. Robin, it advised, know thyself.

 

3.1.6 Listening

Give an appropriate proverb to describe each situation.

 

3.1.7   Speaking

Explain the meaning of the proverbs and sayings:

 

1. When Adam delved and Eve span who was then a gentleman?

2. A rolling stone gathers no moss.

3. A bad workman quarrels with his tools.

4. It is more blessed to give than to receive.

5. An idle brain is the devil’s workshop.

6. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

7. Not to advance is to retreat.

8. He that lies down with dogs must rise up with fleas.

9. One fool makes many.

10. One of these days is none of these days.

11. First thrive and then wife.

12. A good husband makes a good wife.

13. Bare walls make giddy housewives.

14. Charity begins at home.

15. A clear conscience is a soft pillow.

 

3.1.8   Interaction

Work with your partner. Think of a dialogue which illustrates a proverb. Act it out without mentioning the proverb. The rest of the class must provide an appropriate proverb.

 

3.1.9    Discussion

Express your attitude to proverbs. Is there any proverb you use frequently? Why do you like it?  Say if there is any proverb you can’t agree with. Give your reasons and examples.

 

3.1.10 Writing

Write a story that illustrates or ends with a proverb from this unit.