2.1.2 Originating from mythology
Each nation has its own mythology, fable and allusion. Chinese traditional culture, ancient Greek and Roman civilization bequeath many mythologies and allusions. They become one of the major sources of proverbs. The stories and heroes in Greek Mythology, The Fable of Aesop and The Homer left a lot of proverbs. E.g.:
(14) I fear the Greeks, even when bringing gifts. (From the well-known story of the Trojan horse by which the Greeks took the city of Troy.)
(15) You cannot make a Mercury of every dog. (From Roman Mythology. It means that not every mind will answer equally well to be trained into a scholar).
(16) The fox said the grapes were sour. (From The Fables of Aesop. It means that one said something is bad when one cannot get it.)
Chinese culture can trace back to ancient times. There were many natural phenomenons and our ancestor can’t explain these phenomenons. They created the mythology and fable to explain the phenomenon. So many Chinese proverbs come from mythology and fable. E.g.:
(17)八仙过海，各显神通。（from《八仙过海》）
(18)过着牛郎织女的生活。（from a folk legend）
2.1.3 Originating from literary works
Many English and Chinese proverbs come from literary works. A nation’s literary languages are its language’s ginger. They promote the development of language. Some of brilliant sentences, plot and hero’s name in literary works become proverbs.
There are many great writers in western society, such as Shakespeare, Francis Bacon, John Milton and so on. They had made distinctive contributions to the development of English literature. Their works were accepted and passed on by English people from generation to generation. Many sentences become the English proverbs.
Shakespeare’s works are the most colorful literature origin of proverbs. Many English proverbs are from the works of Shakespeare. E.g.:
(19) “The biter is sometimes bit.” is from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It tells people that those who do bad things to others will bring themselves trouble.
(20)“All is not gold that glitters.” is from Shakespeare’s The Merchants of Venice. It means that those who have a good appearance are not necessarily profound or learned.
Some other writers, philosophers’ words also become proverbs. E.g.: (21)“Reading makes a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man” is from a distinguished English philosopher and writer Bacon’s On Reading. It tells people that reading, conference and writing can make a person learned, sharp and precise. And(22) “The childhood shows the man” is from Milton’s Paradise Regained.
Many Chinese proverbs are from classic Chinese literary works. The four great works: The Pilgrimage to the West, The Three Kingdoms, A Dream of Red Mansions and The Marsh Rebellion are the most popular classics in China. Such as:
(23)温故而知新。(By studying the old one learns something new )---《论语》(Selected Reading)
(24)三个臭皮匠顶个诸葛亮。(Three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang the master---the wisdom of the masses exceeds that of the wisest individual.)---《三国演义》( The Three Kingdoms)
(25)三十六计,走为上计。(Of the thirty-six stratagems, the best is running away.)---《水浒传》(The Marsh Rebellion)
(26)谋事在人,成事在天。(Man proposes; God disposes.)---《红楼梦》(A Dream of Red Mansions)
(27)说曹操,曹操到。(Talk of the devil and he is sure to appear.) ---《三国演义》( The Three Kingdoms) Literature, as a mirror of social life, is another source of proverbs. Many sentences in these literary works are full of wisdom and easy to be remembered, so people like them and use them again and again. At last, they become the proverbs and are widely used. We can say that proverbs are the cream of the literary works.
2.1.4 Originating from other languages
With the communication of world, nation’s boundary is being broken. More and more languages contacted with each other. Because of the geography and history, English was influenced and impacted by other languages in its development process. So English have absorbed a great number of expressions of other nation’s culture. So do proverbs. Many English proverbs are from Latin, Greek, French and Chinese. As the reason of history, most of these loaned proverbs were transferred into English and some maintain the original languages.
Many English proverbs originate from Latin. E.g.:
(28) Art is long, life is short.
(29) The wish is father to the thought.
Some Latin proverbs are transferred into English. For example English people have got (30)“Soon ripe, soon rotten” from “Citomaturum cito putridum”.
Many English proverbs come from French. For example, English people have got(31) “When the fox preaches, take care off your geese” from “Quand le renard se met a precher, garde aux poules”.
English proverbs also come from foreign writers’ works. For example, (32)“Constant dripping wears away the stone.” is from Roman poet Ovid.
Chinese people have also got some proverbs from other languages. Such as
(33)“吃不到葡萄说葡萄酸”is from “The grapes are sour.”
(34)“谁笑到最后，谁笑得最好”is from “He who laughs last laughs best.”
(35)“条条大路通罗马”is from “All roads lead to Rome.”
These have been accepted by Chinese people and become Chinese proverbs. |
