tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post5538368861793072191..comments2024-03-28T17:44:11.289+00:00Comments on Bruce Charlton's Notions: Proverbial wisdomBruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-3701583554099365822013-01-22T06:57:57.225+00:002013-01-22T06:57:57.225+00:00@WmJas - Indeed. But the moral force of a proverb ...@WmJas - Indeed. But the moral force of a proverb would surely be enhanced if the narrative from which it was derived was regarded as true? We may live by Tolkien's proverbs but only if we believe his work is true albeit non factual. If it were regarded as both true and factually correct (factual in its essence - people do not naturally look for precise atomistic, point by point, factual correctness), its force would be even greater. (Hence scripture is regarded by the devout as both true and factually correct.) Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-44563740347529516742013-01-22T06:03:03.625+00:002013-01-22T06:03:03.625+00:00Well, Tolkien's stories are fiction, too.
The...Well, Tolkien's stories are fiction, too.<br /><br />There are a few proverbs that are based on historical (or allegedly historical) events, though, such as "Rome wasn't built in a day"; "They laughed at Columbus"; "No cross, no crown." Chinese has a lot of these, usually condensed into the telegraphic form of the four-syllable <a href="http://wmjas.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/english-chengyu/" rel="nofollow">chengyu</a>, and generally referring to historical or legendary figures such as Mencius and Cao Cao.Wm Jashttp://wmjas.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-27750109797198886802013-01-22T05:51:04.632+00:002013-01-22T05:51:04.632+00:00@WmJas - I wouldn't call Aesop 'ideal'...@WmJas - I wouldn't call Aesop 'ideal' - since the stories are fictions - but a step in the right direction.<br /><br />ajb - "Perhaps proverbs ... properly understood are like mnemonics"<br /><br />Yes, good idea. In fact all short but self contained forms of information - lyrics, paradoxes or aphorisms - perhaps function in this way. Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-63033871709948036242013-01-22T00:24:57.150+00:002013-01-22T00:24:57.150+00:00"To understand a proverb you must know the st..."To understand a proverb you must know the story in which that proverb is located; you must know that the proverb is an aphorism of the unfolding of narrative history."<br /><br />Perhaps proverbs (or situations reflected in a proverb) properly understood are like mnemonics, which can then call to mind a more complex system of evaluation for a given situation ...? Not only can they condense a story, but they can bring to mind the story, and so allow for a more nuanced application of it to a situation. When someone brings up a proverb to another in a given situation, then, it could be like they are reminding them of a more complex tool for analyzing a situation and taking action.<br />ajbhttp://anthonyburgoyne.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-47393858831826408122013-01-21T17:09:22.818+00:002013-01-21T17:09:22.818+00:00So I guess the ideal model here would be Aesop?
T...So I guess the ideal model here would be Aesop?<br /><br />The biblical book of Proverbs, of course, is for the most part just a list of sayings without associated stories.Wm Jashttp://wmjas.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com