Proverb
a short, pithy, popular saying having the flavor of antiquity.
A proverb is much light condensed in one flash.--Simmons.
A proverb is the wit of one man and the wisdom of many.-John Russell.
. . . Jewels five words long That on the stretched forefinger of all time Sparkle forever.-Tennyson.
Short sentences drawn from long experience.-Cervantes.
The ingredients of a good proverb are sense, shortness, and salt.-Howell.
Well known and well used dicta framed in a sort of out-of-the-way form and fashion.-Erasmus.
Every nation has its proverbs. English proverbs are from varied sources. In the following examples the source is given when possible:
What is bred in the bone won't out of the flesh.--Dutch.
A bad beginning makes a good ending.-German.
It takes two to make a bargain.
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
Hunger is the best sauce.-French.
Jupiter himself cannot please everybody.-Latin.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.--Cervantes.
It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.-Benjamin Franklin.
He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled thereby.--Bible.
The pen is mightier than the sword.--Bulwer.
Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.