Hello again Wise Friends,
It's been said that a proverb is a short sentence based on
long experience. That's true enough, I guess, but leaves out any
hint of an explanation why folks ever started making proverbs in
the first place. Philosophers have a serious problem, it seems
to me; they may expound at length in their various books and
publications, safe in the knowledge that no one reads philosophy
books except other philosophers. (That seems to be some kind of
academic rule.) But that doesn't move the general public much,
and haranguing people with your ideas at length isn't likely to
get you known as a wise person. It's more likely to get you
branded a wise guy.
To solve this problem, the smarter philosophers turned to
proverbs, which carry a wise thought in a bite-sized package.
This philosophic equivalent of fast food has probably saved more
philosophers over the years than any number of wealthy patrons or
government grants. This is because the basic problem with pure
philosophy is that there isn't any money in it. Wise or not, you
have to eat. Proverbs, on the other hand, can be used neatly in
wise quotes, greeting cards and even fortune cookies. They are
also useful for imparting wisdom to teenagers, since kids aren't
likely to sit still for any wise thoughts that last more than
twenty words. Not that they listen even then, but it makes the
parents feel better to sound less stupid, even if the wisdom
being imparted is as pre-packaged as a TV dinner.
Speaking of wise thoughts, Hello and Thanks this week go out
to the always wise SUNFUN gang, especially: Laura Hong Li & Rich
(& Thanks for the game), Bernie Becwar, Nnamdi Elleh, Josie Tong,
John Giove, Bruce Gonzo, R.J. Tully, Jerry Taff, Tim McChain,
Pete & Peg Adler, Sharon Nuernberg, Yasmin Leischer, Roger
Bogenberger, David Zach, Tom Hoelzer and Kerry Miller. One thing
that has helped many philosophers over the years is that we
consistently misquote them and improve their thoughts.
Confucius, for one example, didn't say "A journey of a thousand
miles begins with a single step." We think that he actually said
"a journey of a thousand li begins with a single step," a li
being about 0.4 miles in that era. So, through quote inflation,
we now remember the famous saying to a 60% longer distance than the
philosopher originally used. At least, we think that's what he
meant. With enough such misquoting, Confucius might actually
have said, "With two you get eggroll." I guess we'll never know.
Have A Wise Week,
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
All people are your relatives, therefore expect only
trouble from them.
- Chinese Proverb
You have to take it as it happens, but you should try
to make it happen the way you want to take it.
- German Proverb
You can't wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.
- Navajo Proverb
If you believe everything you read, Don't Read!
- Japanese proverb
At high tide fish eat ants; at low tide ants eat fish.
- Thai Proverb
Intelligence isn't everything; the furrier gets the
skins of more foxes than donkeys."
- Italian proverb
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
PROVERBS FOR THE MODERN AGE
---------------------------
We think of proverbs as bits of well-worn old wisdom that
have been around forever. That isn't to say that we shouldn't be
writing new ones. If nothing else, it will keep us from
repeating the same mistakes. Here are a few of the random bits
of wisdom we've learned over the years:
- Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
- The things that come to those that wait are likely to be the
things those who got there first didn't want.
- Don't pray for rain if you're going to complain about the
mud.
- All things being equal, fat people use more soap.
- If you lined up all the cars in the world end to end -- some
idiot would be stupid enough to try and pass them.
- Where there's smoke there's fire, but where there's a vague
fishy odor, it could be any number of things.
- JP Styskal
- If the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off.
- The meek shall inherit the Earth but not much Medicare.
- Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy
- and maybe not wise but always self-righteous.
- If, at first, you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment.
- One good turn gets most of the blankets.
- Beware the fury of a patient woman.
- Put not all thine eggs in one basket but diversify among
many baskets and mutual funds.
- Pride goeth before a downsizing.
- A fool and his money are soon part of a dangerous situation
in this day of negative ads and media-driven politics.
- Work is good but it's not that important.
- Virtue is its own problem.
- People who live in glass houses shouldn't get stoned.
- Necessity is the mother of circumvention.
- He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
- If ignorance is bliss then I must be the happiest
thingamajigee in the whatchamacallit!
- R.M. Weiner
- A fool returneth to his folly and a columnist to trying to
modernize proverbs.
- You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him think
very clearly.
- "It isn't what they say about you, it's what they whisper."
- Errol Flynn
- You can't teach an old dog new tricks or a cat much of
anything at all.
- A word to the wise is sufficient, but who can remember the
word?
- Never give yourself a haircut after three margaritas.
- Things are more like they are today than they ever have been
before.
- I don't know about you, but I can't think of even one way to
skin a cat.
- He who lives by the sword, should go out and get himself a
really nice sword.
- Lev L. Spiro
- Nothing is fool-proof to a sufficiently talented fool.
- Everybody lies, but it doesn't matter since nobody listens.
- You cannot tell which way the train went by looking at the
track.
- There is absolutely no substitute for a genuine lack of
preparation.
- The facts, although interesting, are irrelevant.
- Someone who thinks logically is a refreshing contrast to the
real world.
- Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.
- I have seen the truth and it makes no sense.
- If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in
mind to blame.
- By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.
- Never wrestle with a pig: You both get dirty, and the pig
likes it.
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
"Nemo enim fere saltat sobrius, nisi forte insanit."
[None dances sober, unless he is completely insane.]
- Marcus Tullius Cicero
A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures.
- Irish Proverb
He who would be an elephant must first learn to eat
with his nose.
- Thai Proverb
He who knows nothing doubts nothing.
- Italian Proverb
In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.
- English Proverb
Experience is the worst teacher: it gives the test
before presenting the lesson.
- Vernon's Law
There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not
finding out.
- Russian Proverb
It is better, of course, to know useless things than to
know nothing.
- Seneca
A man about to speak the truth should keep one foot in
the stirrup.
- Mongolian Proverb
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
KID'S PROVERBS...
--------------
This thing has been around for a while - long enough that
several teachers in several places have tried the same trick,
namely giving kids the first few words of a famous proverb and
having them complete the rest. We adults have these so deeply
committed to memory that we've often stopped listening to the
words. But see what happens when these kids with no
preconceptions step up to complete these famous wise thoughts...
- As you shall make your bed so shall you...
mess it up
- Better be safe than...
punch a fifth-grader
- Strike while the...
bug is close
- It's always darkest before...
Daylight Savings Time
- Never underestimate the power of...
termites
- You can lead a horse to water, but...
how?
- Don't bite the hand that...
looks dirty
- No news is...
impossible
- A miss is as good as a...
Mister
- You can't teach an old dog...
math
- If you lie down with the dogs, you'll...
stink in the morning
- The pen is mightier than the...
pigs
- An idle mind is...
the best way to relax
- Where there's smoke, there's...
pollution
- A penny saved is...
not much
- Two's company, three's...
the Musketeers
- Don't put off tomorrow what...
you put on to go to bed
- Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and...
you have to blow your nose
- Children should be seen and not...
spanked or grounded
- If at first you don't succeed...
get new batteries
- You get out of something what you...
see pictured on the box
- When the blind leadeth the blind...
get out of the way
- There is no fool like...
Aunt Eddie
- People in glass houses shouldn't...
run around naked.
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing left
to add, but when there is nothing left to remove.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
LAST WORDS...
----------
He who knows not and knows not that he knows not, is a
fool... shun him.
He who knows not and knows that he knows not, is
ignorant... teach him.
He who knows and knows not that he knows, is asleep...
wake him.
He who knows and knows that he knows, is a wise man...
follow him."
- Persian Proverb
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
© 2001 by Bill Becwar. All Rights Reserved.
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