'One man's wit and all men's wisdom'

A Russian proverb says that 'Proverbs are the coins of the people', and a wealth of choice is provided in the Little Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. This new book includes sayings from all over the world as well as those long traditional in the English-speaking world. 'Never give advice unless asked' say the Germans, but if you are asked, there is a proverb for every occasion, with a shrewd and practical outlook on life. 'Treat your guest as a guest for two days; on the third day give him a hoe', is said in Africa.

Since the sixteenth century the English have said 'The fish will soon be caught that nibbles at every bait', and once it is caught a Polish proverb offers advice on cooking: 'Fish, to taste good, must swim three times—in water, in butter, and in wine'. Still in the kitchen, a saying reaching all the way back to the Romans advises 'Twice-cooked cabbage is death'.

Looking to the future, the Spanish say 'Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the year', while a Canadian saying, said to be of Inuit origin, emphasizes the value of the present: 'Yesterday is ashes; tomorrow is wood. Only today does the fire burn brightly'.

Shakespeare in Much Ado About Nothing wrote 'Patch grief with proverbs'. But while the Germans say 'Shared joy is double joy, and shared sorrow is half sorrow', the Hawaiian view of sympathy is that 'The rock in the water does not know the pain of the rock in the sun'.

Some proverbs are very local, such as the saying 'There are more saints in Cornwall than in heaven' or the Spanish description of the Castilian climate 'Nine months of winter and three months of hell'. Others are more general in their application: the Japanese on ignorance: 'It is dark at the foot of the lighthouse' or the English on neighbours: 'A hedge between keeps friendship green'.

'A proverb is one man's wit and all men's wisdom,' said Lord John Russell, and both wit and wisdom can be found here in plenty.

Find out more about OUP's new Little Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs.

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