1.英语谚语的形成及渊源

起源于 民间口语，也有一部分源于 文化典籍或 宗教文献。

它们源远流长，在历史长河里兼收并蓄，得到不断的丰富和发展。经过千锤百炼，终成为简洁生动、意味深长、富有哲理的英语的精华。

本文主要从 民间口语、文化典籍和 宗教文献3 个方面对英语谚语的 起源进行了探讨，旨在揭示谚语所反映的社会的发展进程、人民群众的思想观念、价值取向及其超越时空的价值和意义。恩格斯在《自然辩证法：劳动在从猿到人转变过程中的作用》中指出：“语言是从劳动当中并和劳动一起产生出来的⋯⋯”[1 ]语言是一种社会存在物，是随着人类的实践而形成发展起来的交流系统，是人类社会实践的共同创造物。

作为日常口语的一部分，谚语的 起源十分悠久。其源头是人类先民的生产劳动，他们的实践、感知和经验，经过漫长的历史进程，不断积累、概括和提炼，并随着社会的发展和人们活动范围的扩大，传播开来。

始于 民间口语的英语谚语，在传流的过程中，伴随文字的出现，逐渐进入到书面文献中。 文化典籍中的“雅谚”有些可追溯到民间流传的“俗谚”，有些已不可考，但萌生于 民间口语或是由某些大众化说法提炼而来应是不争的事实。

本文主要从 民间口语、文化典籍、宗教文献3 个方面对英语谚语的 起源进行探讨，旨在揭示谚语所反映的人类生产、生活历程和超越时空的价值和意义。一、民间口语谚语是在群众中流传的固定语句，用简单通俗的话反映出深刻的道理。

英语谚语绝大多数来自民间，是人民群众生活经验的总结，凝结着人民大众的智慧。英语谚语中有大量关于农业生产、气象、渔牧、狩猎的谚语，如气象谚语、节令谚语、农事要诀等，通常称为“农谚”。

Evening red and morning grey are the signs of a fineday. （晚霞红，晨雾蒙，天会晴。） A red sky at night is the shepherds'delight . （向晚天发红，羊倌喜盈盈。）

Rain from the east ; wet two days at the least . （风雨东方起，至少两天雨。） 这几个谚语反映的都是气象常识，如热冷的交替，晚霞、晨雾主晴等，都是从事农业生产的先民长期的经验积累形成的对天气的认识。

Ill weeds grow fast . （杂草长得快。） Out of old field comes new corn. （老田出新谷。）

A year of snow , a year of plenty. （瑞雪兆丰年。） After a rainy winter follows fruitful spring. （今冬雨水足，来春果满枝。）

这几条谚语反映了人民群众对田地、庄稼特点的认识，还表达了他们对五谷丰登的祈盼。先民们生产工具落后，生活条件恶劣，随时面临着毒蛇猛兽的侵袭和疾病带来的死亡，加之当时交通不便，隔山隔水，交流少，活动范围窄，所以“家”的观念在人们心中非常强。

面对严酷的大自然，他们唯有在“家”里才能得到慰藉，找到安全感。下面的几条谚语正是“家”或乡土观念的反映。

East or west , home is best . （东好西好，家里最好。） There is no place like home. （没有什么地方能像家里一样。）

Better at home than a mile away from it . （在家万般好，出门时时难。） Every one seeks his own house. （家是自己的好先民们除从事繁重的农业生产劳动外，还会打猎或捕鱼以弥补生活的匮乏，这方面的经验在英语谚语中也有所反映。

Hunger drives the wolf out of the woods. （饥饿引狼出森林。） Great fish are caught in great waters. （要抓大鱼，就下大海。）

The fish will soon be caught that nibbles at the everybait . （爱咬钩的鱼逃不掉。） A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. （一鸟在手胜过二鸟在林。）

An old fox is not easily snared. （老狐狸难上圈套。） Two dogs will kill a lion. （两狗可杀一狮。）

If you run after two hares , you will catch neither.（一人追二兔，难免两手空。） 人类早期的生产劳动，由于生产工具原始，完全靠体力，靠长时间的辛苦劳作，翻土、播种、收割都有时间、季节限制，耽误不得，正所谓“农时不可误”；又由于渐渐意识到生命无常，生命短暂，因而感叹时光短促、劝人珍惜时间的英语谚语不少。

All time is no time when it is gone. （光阴一去不复返。） Time is money. （时间就是金钱。）

Time flies. （时光如梭。） 早期的人类势单力薄，无论是农耕或狩猎，都以群体出动、集体协作为主，有些英谚正是反映集思广益、共同协作这方面生活的。

So many heads so many wits. （三个臭皮匠，抵个诸葛亮。） Many hands make light work. （人手多，好办事。）

Two eyes see more than one. （两只眼睛比一只眼睛看得清。） Drop by drop the oceans are filled ; stone by stonethe walls are built . （涓滴之水汇成海；一石一石筑成墙。）

英语属于印欧语系，印欧语系的原创型文化滥觞于古希腊文化。古希腊所处的地理位置正居于尼罗河、两河、小亚细亚和南欧之“要冲”，生活在希腊半岛和爱琴海诸岛的先民从海中取食，靠海吃海，久而久之，便形成了海洋型文化特点。

后来的英伦三岛又为大海环抱，受之于古希腊的海洋文化因子得以传承、光大。英语谚语中有大量涉及海上航行、经风受雨、捕鱼捉蟹的内容，这正是英语民族，以及整个西语民族地理位置和海洋型文化的反映。

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2.关于英语谚语的来历

1、A man is not old as long as he is seeking something. A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams (J. Barrymore) 只要一个人还有追求，他就没有老。

直到后悔取代了梦想，一个人才算老。（巴里摩尔） as long as是经常用的连接词，有两个意思。

第一种表示既然、由于，同since接近，比如As long as you've offered this sports car, I'll accept it.既然你要给我这辆跑车，我就接受了。第二种意思表示只要，引导条件状语从句，这种意思较第一种常见，也就是格言中的用法。

例如，I'll let her go as long as you give me ten thousand pounds.只要你给我一万英镑，我就放了她。这时，往往可以用provided that替换。

I'll let her go provided that you give me ten thousand pounds.但显然，provided that要正式些。 这句话中还有一个词组：take the place of，它的意思是代替，这里的the一定不能省略。

例如：The computer is taking the place of TV in our lives.再例如： The word "replace" could take the place of "take the place of" in the above example.是不是有点糊涂了？在上面的例句中，take the place of也可以用replace代替。 2、A good education gives a man a great pull. 良好的教育对人是至关重要的。

（良好的教育给人很大的好处。） 这句话中的pull有着其特殊的用法。

Pull通常情况下都做动词，有拖、拉、牵的意思；但是这里的pull是名词用法，它的意思是influence, informal special influence that gives you some advantage（有利条件，影响力）。 这句话说明了一个人的成才除了会受到先天的影响，后天的良好教育也是必不可少的。

让我们来看下面一个句子： The name of his family gives him a lot of pull in this town. 在这个小镇上，他的姓氏给他带来了不少好处。 3、Take no thought for tomorrow. 莫为明日愁。

这句话出自《圣经》，意谓着未来的事情都由上帝来安排，不必为明天而烦恼。 4、The course of true love never did run smooth. 好事多磨。

这句话出自莎士比亚的作品《仲夏夜之梦》（A Midsummer Night Dream）。直译为真正的爱情往往要经历许多挫折。

Course，在这里并不是课程的意思，而是过程，进程，历程的意思。Smooth-free from problems or difficulties，没有问题的，无困难的，顺利的。

只在经过艰苦磨难的爱情，才是真正的爱情，也才会让我们更加懂得如何珍惜。 5、Birds of a feather flock together. 物以类聚，人以群分。

A feather，这里是指具有相同的羽毛。Flock，鸟群，词组a flock of可以解释为一群人，一伙人。

比较通俗地来说就是，相同羽毛的鸟类聚集在一起。大家可千万别以为是志同道合，这句话其实通常都用作贬意，有“一丘之貉”之意。

所以今后我们在用这个谚语的时候要特别注意。 6、Quality is better than quantity. 质胜于量。

Quality--the degree to which something is excellent; stand of goodness质，质量；Quantity--the fact of being measurable; amount量，数量。 我想大家知道哲学里有这样一句话，只有量的积累，才会有质的飞跃。

说明量的积累也是同样很重要的，但是在量的积累的同时，千万别忽视了质量上的要求。 7、A hedge between keeps friendship green. 保持距离，友谊常青。

Hedge，在这里做名词，解释为树篱，障碍物，也就是用于隔离的东西。在这里教大家另外一个词组，我们平时说的"脚踏两条船"用英语该如何表达呢？那就是Hedge one's bet，这里的hedge做动词用，意思是在两面下注以防损失。

引申一下也就是"脚踏两条船"。 这句话其实就是“君子之交淡如水”这样一层意思。

相似的表达句子：Good fences make good neighbors. 8、The only way to differentiate yourself from the competition is through service. 只有服务才能真正使你在竞争中凸显。 differentiate使分辨、辨别的意思，常同from和between搭配。

例如：I can't differentiate between rose and Chinese rose.我分不清玫瑰和月季。这句话也可以说成I can't differentiate rose from Chinese rose. 但这句名言中differentiate from的意思与这个例句的意思不同，它的意思是"使有差别、有特点从而区别于其他"。

那么这句话就是说在激烈的竞争下，只有优质、有特色的服务才能使企业在众多的竞争对手中显示出自己的不同，在竞争中占有一席之地。 参加面试的时候，不妨问问自己“What differentiates me from other candidates for the position?" 9、Better an open enemy than a false friend.公开的敌人胜于虚假的朋友。

这句话其中也隐含了另一种意思，那就是我们中国人常说的“明枪易躲，暗箭难防”。 Open-actions, feelings, or intentions that are not hidden or secret；公开的，在这里做形容词。

需注意的是，当open用做形容词时只能位于名词前面，比如说：an open secret一个公开的秘密； False-untrue，假的，虚伪的，不真实的； Better。than，是一个比较句式，意思是比。

好。 10、Pleasant hours fly fast.美好时光最易逝。

Pleasant：愉快的，美好的；fly：飞逝，这里形容时间过得很快，象这样的用法还有：Time flies. （时光飞逝）。 这句谚语告诉我们这样一个。

3.英语谚语以及其来历

Better an open enemy than a false friend.公开的敌人胜于虚假的朋友。

这句话其中也隐含了另一种意思，那就是我们中国人常说的“明枪易躲，暗箭难防”。 Open-actions, feelings, or intentions that are not hidden or secret；公开的，在这里做形容词。

需注意的是，当open用做形容词时只能位于名词前面，比如说：an open secret一个公开的秘密； False-untrue，假的，虚伪的，不真实的； Better。than，是一个比较句式，意思是比。

好。

4.英语谚语 附上其来历 英语介绍

1 The only way to have a friend is to be one 2 all are not friends that speak us fair 3a man is known by his friends. 4Better an open enemy than a false friend.1.交友的唯一方法是自己必须够朋友 2.说好话的不一定都是朋友。

3.人以群分 4.公开的敌人胜于虚假的朋友。A 爱情是盲目的 Love is blind. B 被打得青一块紫一块 be beaten black and blue 不劳则无获 No pains ,no gains. 不怕迟只怕不做 Better late than never. C 此路不通 Blocks! D 当断不断，必受其患 He who hesitates is lost. F 发光的并不都是金子 All is not gold that glitters. G 过着吵吵闹闹的生活（夫妻） lead a cat and dog life J 金窝，银窝，不如自己的草窝。

East,west,home is best. 酒好不必挂幌子 Good wine needs no bush. L 良好的开端是成功的一半 Well begun is half done. N 牛饮 drink like a fish Q 情人眼里出西施 Love blinds a man to imperfections. R 认识从实践开始 Knowledge begins with practice. S 上气不接下气 out of breath T 天亮了 Day breaks;Day dawns. X 信不信由你 Believe it or not. 行动胜于空谈 Actions speak louder than words. 需要是发明之母 Necessity is the mother of invention. Y 一只耳朵进，一只耳朵出 go in at one ear and out at the other 有其父必有其子 Like father,like son. Z 这怪不着谁 No one is to blame for it. 真是活一天学一天 Live and learn. 拙匠常怪工具差 Bad workmen often blame their tools. A 爱不释手 can't bear to part with it / stand parting with it / putting it down (back, aside) / leaving it aside B 笨鸟先飞 the early bird catches the worn 彪炳史册 make/create history 博览群书 browse through/over some books be well/widely read 不尽人意 be not all roses 不惜费用 spare no expense 不遗余力 to the best of one's power 不在话下 let alone 不知所措 to be at a loss/at sea C 初出茅庐 to be young and inexperienced/to be a green hand 出神深思 be buried in thought 吹毛求疵 find faults with/be particular about 纯属偶然 purely by accident 从头到脚 from head to foot 从头至尾 from beginning to end 粗枝大叶 to be crude and careless/to be careless D 大智若愚 still waters run deep 呆若木鸡 to be dumbstruck/dumbfounded 东张西望 look around 独具匠心 be original 独立无援 （all） on one's own 对牛弹琴 to cast pearls before a swine/to play the lute to a cow G 敢作敢为 be aggressive 隔墙有耳 Walls have ears. 公事公办 Business is business. 固执己见 stick to one's own opinions 刮目相看 look at sb differently/with new eyes/regard sb in a totally different light 寡廉鲜耻 be shameless H 毫无怨言 without complaint 画蛇添足 to plant the lily/to draw a snake and add feet to it 黄粱美梦 a dream/a fond dream 挥金如土 to spend money like water/dirt 悔过自新 turn over a new leaf J 坚持不渝 hold on/out 坚如磐石 as solid as a rock 艰苦奋斗 fight one's way 贱买贵卖 buy cheap and sell dear 焦躁不安 be restless 精力充沛 be full of energy 酒肉朋友 fair-weather friend 九死一生 a narrow escape 居高临下 be commanding K 开门见山 to come/get to the point 空中楼阁 a castle in the air M 毛遂自荐 to offer to do sth./to volunteer one's service 没精打采 feel blue 每况愈下 go from bad to worse P 旁敲侧击 beat around/about the bush 平安无恙 safe and sound 平易近人 be approachable Q 恰好相反 just on the contrary/just the opposite 恰到好处 to the point 巧舌如簧 to have a smooth tongue 千方百计 try every means 倾国倾城 to be extremely beautiful 全心全意 heart and soul R 仁至义尽 do our best 如释重负 take a load/weight off sb's mind S 三思而行 look before you leap 深思熟虑 turn over 生动逼真 true to life 生机勃勃 look alive 生死攸关 between/of life and death 世世代代 from age to age 首屈一指 second to none 熟能生巧 Practice makes perfect. 数以百计 by hundreds 水泄不通 be blocked with crowds of people 随机应变 rise to the occasion T 挑挑拣拣 pick and choose W 玩忽职守 neglect one's duty 无论如何 in any case 无与伦比 beyond compare 勿庸置疑 no doubt X 洗耳恭听 be a good listener 喜形于色 One's face brightened/lit up. 小心为妙 One cannot be too careful. 相差甚远 not nearly 心安理得 feel at ease 悬梁刺股 to be very/extraordinarily hard-working 血浓于水 Blood is thicker than water. Y 妖魔鬼怪 evil spirits 一箭双雕 Kill two birds with one stone. 一举双得 Kill two birds with one stone. 一事无成 accomplish nothing 一笑了之 laugh off 易如反掌 to be a piece of cake/to be as easy as turning over one's hand 引人入胜 be attractive 引人注目 be attractive 犹豫不决 beside over/hesitate over 有福同享 有难同当 for better or (for) worse Z 掌上明珠 an apple in one's eye/a pearl in the palm 直呼其名 call a person by name 自吹自擂 boast 自高自大 look big。

5.有关英语俗语的文化内涵及其特点

英语习语是英语语言文化中不容忽视的重要组成部分。

英语习语折射着英语语言民族在地理、历史、宗教信仰、生活习俗等方面丰富的文化信息和独特的文化特色。准确掌握英语中的习语， 能帮助我们深刻理解英语词汇中的文化内涵及文化差异， 从而更加准确、传神地使用英语。

一、引言 语言是人在劳动中创造的，习语是语言特征的集中反映，它来自于普通百姓的生产劳动和生活经历，是语言的精华、语言的缩影；语言是一个任意的符号系统，习语是人在长期的语言实践中约定俗成的；语言是以交际为目的的，习语的起源就是在口头交际中使用最频繁的俚语和俗语；语言是人类智慧的表现，习语比较集中地反映出语言的修辞手段和表现手法（其中相当一部分是文学巨匠的精彩词句）；语言是为人类各种活动服务的，而习语恰好生动地反映出人类生活的方方面面。 广义的习语包含比喻性词组、俚语、格言、俗语、谚语、典故等，是语言发展的结晶。

英语语言历史悠久，包含着大量的习语，它们或含蓄、幽默、或严肃、典雅，不仅言简意赅，而且形象生动，妙趣横生，给语言增色不少。由于地理、历史、宗教信仰和生活习俗等多方面的因素决定，习语承载着英语语言民族的文化信息和文化特色，并与它们的文化传统紧密相连，不可分割。

而对英语习语的学习有助于我们掌握英语本族语者的真实语言，了解语言背后所隐藏着的丰富而有趣的文化信息。二、英语习语中隐含的历史背景 1、罗马人的痕迹 公元前49年，罗马执政庞贝和元老院共谋进攻恺撒。

当时恺撒的领地和意大利本部交界处有条小河Rubicon。恺撒不顾一切，悍然率领军队渡过此河与庞贝决战。

在渡河时他说"The die is cast."骰子已经掷下， 表明义无反顾。过了河，他还烧毁了渡船，（ burn the boats） 逼得士兵毫无退路，只好勇往直前， 打败了敌人。

就是这样一段历史故事， 在英语中留下了几个常见的习语： cross the Rubicon（ 渡过鲁比肯河） 喻意决定冒重大危险， 采取断然行动； burn one's boats（ 烧掉自己的船） 表示破釜沉舟的决心； The die is cast. （ 骰子已经掷下） 预示着事情已经决定， 再也不能改变。 2、条顿人的征服 条顿人， 即居住在西北欧的3个日耳曼部落， 他们是盎格鲁人、萨克逊人和朱特人。

约在公元449 年， 他们开始征服不列颠。他们的入侵给英语带来了极大的影响， 并最终形成盎格鲁-萨克逊语， 即现代英语的起源。

条顿人的征服对英语的影响是全面的， 起决定作用的， 从很多英语习语还可以找到条顿人征服的影子。如cut someone to the quick 意为"大伤某人的感情"， quick 这里指"皮肉"，这个解释源于古撒克逊语。

Go through fire and water是"赴汤蹈火"的意思， 源自盎格鲁- 撒克逊时期的中世纪判罪法。 3、斯堪的纳维亚风暴 公元790年开始，斯堪的纳维亚人入侵英国，并在英国大批定居，他们讲的是北日耳曼语， 是现在的瑞典语、芬兰语、挪威语和冰岛语的前身。

在此后的二百年中，许多斯堪的纳维亚各族语言（北日耳曼语）的词语渗入英语词汇。据估计，现代英语中约有900个斯堪的纳维亚各族语言的单词或构词成分。

斯堪的纳维亚各族语言对英语的渗透特别深入。最常用的习语rain cats and dogs， 来自北欧神化：古代斯堪的纳维亚人的主神是奥丁（Odin），狗（dog）和狼（wolf）象征"风"，猫（cat）象征"雨"，所以该习语喻指"狂风暴雨"。

4、诺曼底登陆 公元1066年，诺曼底公爵威廉入侵英国，并建立了诺曼底王朝。这一事件对英国的影响巨大。

它使法语成为现代英语的三大来源之一。同时，法国文化逐渐向英国社会渗透， 影响着英语及其习语。

如： return to one's mutton 原是直译自法国田园诗中的一句： 多情的男女牧羊人在牧场上谈情说爱、海阔天空，最终还得回到现实，回到自己的羊群中来。因此，这一习语比喻"回到实际问题，言归正传"。

三、英语习语体现自然地理环境特征 生活在不同自然环境中的人会形成不同的文化， 每种文化因其地域、气候环境的特点而具有不同的特征， 习语恰恰包含了独特的文化基因。

6.急

ARCHER TAYLOR THE ORIGINS OF THE PROVERB*关于英语谚语起源与发展的文章！ THE definition of a proverb is too difficult to repay the undertaking; and should we fortunately combine in a single definition all the essential elements and give each the proper emphasis, we should not even then have a touchstone. An incommunicable quality tells us this sentence is proverbial and that one is not. Hence no definition will enable us to identify positively a sentence as proverbial. Those who do not speak a language can never recognize all its proverbs, and similarly much that is truly proverbial escapes us in Elizabethan and older English. Let us be content with recognizing that a proverb is a saying current among the folk. At least so much of a definition is indisputable, and we shall see and weigh the significance of other elements later. The origins of the proverb have been little studied. We can only rarely see a proverb actually in the making, and any beliefs we have regarding origins must justify themselves as evident or at least plausible. Proverbs are invented in several ways: some are simple apothegms and platitudes elevated to proverbial dignity, others arise from the symbolic or metaphoric use of an incident, still others imitate already existing proverbs, and some owe their existence to the condensing of a story or fable. It is convenient to distinguish as "learned" proverbs those with a long literary history. This literary history may begin in some apt Biblical or classical phrase, or it may go back to a more recent source. Such "learned" proverbs differ, however, in only this regard from other proverbs. Whatever the later history may be, the manner of ultimate invention of all proverbs, "learned" or "popular," falls under one or another of the preceding heads. It is not proper to make any distinction in the treatment of "learned" and "popular" proverbs. The same problems exist for all proverbs with the obvious limitation that, in certain cases, historical studies are greatly restricted by the accidents of preservation. We can ordinarily trace the "learned" proverb down a long line of literary tradition, from the classics or the Bible through the Middle Ages to the present, while we may not be so fortunate with every "popular" proverb. For example, Know thyself may very well have been a proverb long before it was attributed to any of the seven wise men or was inscribed on the walls of the temple of Delphic Apollo. Juvenal was nearer the truth when he said it came from Heaven: "E caelo descendit " (Sat., xi, 27). Yet so far as modern life is concerned, the phrase owes its vitality to centuries of bookish tradition. St. Jerome termed Don't look a gift horse in the mouth a common proverb, when he used it to refer to certain writings which he had regarded as free will offerings and which critics had found fault with: "Noli (ut vulgare est proverbium) equi dentes inspicere donati." We cannot hope to discover whether the modern proverb owes its vitality to St. Jerome or to the vernacular tradition on which he was drawing. St. Jerome also took The wearer best knows where the shoe wrings him from Plutarch, but we may conjecture that this proverb, too, was first current on the lips of the folk. Obviously the distinction between "learned" and "popular" is meaningless and is concerned merely with the accidents of history. PROVERBIAL APOTHEGMS Often some simple apothegm is repeated so many times that it gains proverbial currency: Live and learn; Mistakes will happen; Them as has gets; Enough is enough; No fool like an old fool; Haste makes waste; Business is business; What's done's done. Characteristic of such proverbs is the absence of metaphor. They consist merely of a bald assertion which is recognized as proverbial only because we have heard it often and because it can be applied to many different situations. It is ordinarily difficult, if not impossible, to determine the age of such proverbial truisms. The simple truths of life have been noted in every age, and it must not surprise us that one such truth has a long recorded history while another has none. It is only chance, for example, that There is a time for everything has a long history in English,--Shakespeare used it in the Comedy of Errors, ii, 2: "There's a time for all things,"--and it is even in the Bible: "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Omnia tempus habent, et suis spatiis transeunt universa sub caelo, Eccles. iii, I), while Mistakes will happen or If you want a thing well done, do it yourself have, on the contrary, no history at all. The full text of this article is published in 。

7.关于英语谚语起源与发展的文章

ARCHER TAYLORTHE ORIGINS OF THE PROVERB*关于英语谚语起源与发展的文章！THE definition of a proverb is too difficult to repay the undertaking; and should we fortunately combine in a single definition all the essential elements and give each the proper emphasis, we should not even then have a touchstone. An incommunicable quality tells us this sentence is proverbial and that one is not. Hence no definition will enable us to identify positively a sentence as proverbial. Those who do not speak a language can never recognize all its proverbs, and similarly much that is truly proverbial escapes us in Elizabethan and older English. Let us be content with recognizing that a proverb is a saying current among the folk. At least so much of a definition is indisputable, and we shall see and weigh the significance of other elements later.The origins of the proverb have been little studied. We can only rarely see a proverb actually in the making, and any beliefs we have regarding origins must justify themselves as evident or at least plausible. Proverbs are invented in several ways: some are simple apothegms and platitudes elevated to proverbial dignity, others arise from the symbolic or metaphoric use of an incident, still others imitate already existing proverbs, and some owe their existence to the condensing of a story or fable. It is convenient to distinguish as "learned" proverbs those with a long literary history. This literary history may begin in some apt Biblical or classical phrase, or it may go back to a more recent source. Such "learned" proverbs differ, however, in only this regard from other proverbs. Whatever the later history may be, the manner of ultimate invention of all proverbs, "learned" or "popular," falls under one or another of the preceding heads.It is not proper to make any distinction in the treatment of "learned" and "popular" proverbs. The same problems exist for all proverbs with the obvious limitation that, in certain cases, historical studies are greatly restricted by the accidents of preservation. We can ordinarily trace the "learned" proverb down a long line of literary tradition, from the classics or the Bible through the Middle Ages to the present, while we may not be so fortunate with every "popular" proverb. For example, Know thyself may very well have been a proverb long before it was attributed to any of the seven wise men or was inscribed on the walls of the temple of Delphic Apollo. Juvenal was nearer the truth when he said it came from Heaven: "E caelo descendit " (Sat., xi, 27). Yet so far as modern life is concerned, the phrase owes its vitality to centuries of bookish tradition. St. Jerome termed Don't look a gift horse in the mouth a common proverb, when he used it to refer to certain writings which he had regarded as free will offerings and which critics had found fault with: "Noli (ut vulgare est proverbium) equi dentes inspicere donati." We cannot hope to discover whether the modern proverb owes its vitality to St. Jerome or to the vernacular tradition on which he was drawing. St. Jerome also took The wearer best knows where the shoe wrings him from Plutarch, but we may conjecture that this proverb, too, was first current on the lips of the folk. Obviously the distinction between "learned" and "popular" is meaningless and is concerned merely with the accidents of history.PROVERBIAL APOTHEGMSOften some simple apothegm is repeated so many times that it gains proverbial currency: Live and learn; Mistakes will happen; Them as has gets; Enough is enough; No fool like an old fool; Haste makes waste; Business is business; What's done's done. Characteristic of such proverbs is the absence of metaphor. They consist merely of a bald assertion which is recognized as proverbial only because we have heard it often and because it can be applied to many different situations. It is ordinarily difficult, if not impossible, to determine the age of such proverbial truisms. The simple truths of life have been noted in every age, and it must not surprise us that one such truth has a long recorded history while another has none. It is only chance, for example, that There is a time for everything has a long history in English,--Shakespeare used it in the Comedy of Errors, ii, 2: "There's a time for all things,"--and it is even in the Bible: "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Omnia tempus habent, et suis spatiis transeunt universa sub caelo, Eccles. iii, I), while Mistakes will happen or If you want a thing well done, do it yourself have, on the contrary, no history at all.The full text of this article is published in De 。

8.谚语的来源

There is a skeleton in every house. Something to annoy and to be kept out of sight. 1

That is my skeleton—my trouble, the “crook in my lot.” 2

A woman had an only son who obtained an appointment in India, but his health failed, and his mother longed for his return. One day he wrote a letter to his mother, with this strange request “Pray, mother, get someone who has no cares and troubles to make me six shirts.” The widow hunted in vain for such a person, and at length called upon a lady who told her to go with her to her bedroom. Being there she opened a closet which contained a human skeleton. “Madam,” said the lady, “I try to keep my trouble to myself, but every night my husband compels me to kiss that skeleton.” She then explained that the skeleton was once her husband's rival, killed in a duel. “Think you I am happy?” The mother wrote to her son, and the son wrote home: “I knew when I gave the commission that everyone had his cares, and you, mother, must have yours. Know then that I am condemned to death, and can never return to England. Mother, mother! there is a skeleton in every house.”

9.谚语的来源

There is a skeleton in every house. Something to annoy and to be kept out of sight. 1 That is my skeleton—my trouble, the “crook in my lot.” 2 A woman had an only son who obtained an appointment in India, but his health failed, and his mother longed for his return. One day he wrote a letter to his mother, with this strange request “Pray, mother, get someone who has no cares and troubles to make me six shirts.” The widow hunted in vain for such a person, and at length called upon a lady who told her to go with her to her bedroom. Being there she opened a closet which contained a human skeleton. “Madam,” said the lady, “I try to keep my trouble to myself, but every night my husband compels me to kiss that skeleton.” She then explained that the skeleton was once her husband's rival, killed in a duel. “Think you I am happy?” The mother wrote to her son, and the son wrote home: “I knew when I gave the commission that everyone had his cares, and you, mother, must have yours. Know then that I am condemned to death, and can never return to England. Mother, mother! there is a skeleton in every house.”。