The Wisdom of Many Essays on the Proverb [Paperback]

The Wisdom of Manyexplores research on proverbs of many cultures. More than twenty essays written by scholars of such diverse disciplines as folklore, literature, psychology, linguistics, and anthropology illustrate the significance of traditional proverbs and trace variations of proverbs over time, drawing on African, Chinese, Spanish, Finnish, Irish, and Yiddish examples.

The Wisdom of Manyexplores research on proverbs of many cultures. More than twenty essays written by scholars of such diverse disciplines as folklore, literature, psychology, linguistics, and anthropology illustrate the significance of traditional proverbs and trace variations of proverbs over time, drawing on African, Chinese, Spanish, Finnish, Irish, and Yiddish examples.

“Newcomers will find here a wide-ranging and stimulating selection of essays representing the varied approaches that characterize modern proverb scholarship, while readers with a prior background in this area should welcome this convenient ‘state of the art’ assemblage of widely scattered studies, some well known and many less so, complete with their original notes and bibliographies.”—Shirley  L. Arora,Western Folklore

“The Wisdom of Many[includes] general overviews, definitions, discussions of structure and function, examples of proverbs in literary contexts, detailed investigation of individual proverbs, examinations of the use of proverbs in psychological testing, considerations of the value of proverbs in identifying national character, and essays on the influence and use of proverbs in modern mass media.  In its variety this group of articles is as broad-ranging as any compilation yet made and includes material folklorists usually slight in their considerations of proverb literature.”—W. K. McNeil,Journal of American Folklore