Many blogs feature in their heading a maxim, aphorism, saying, adage, axiom, saw, proverb, epigram or precept (thank you, Dr Roget). Sometimes there are several, in little boxes, listed down a left-hand or right-hand column. The trouble is, they are nearly always of the most stupefying banality.
For some time I tried to find an wise or witty one to insert at the head of my home page. I considered the Marquis of Chamfort's A man must swallow a toad every morning if he wishes to be sure of finding nothing still more disgusting before the end of the day, and the cryptic and charmingly brief Scots proverb Twa piggles dinna mek' a thrup.
Then there are spectacularly confused pronouncements like A roaring lion is a calamity unto his father but the cautious man cometh not again.
In the end I came to the conclusion that any saying, however wise or witty, fails to amuse when you have seen it twenty times, so I dropped the idea.
7 comments:
How about:
"The world is like a grain of sand, only much, much bigger."
or
"I've seen the future. It's a lot like the present, only much, much longer."
Just trying to help....
Well thanks Gerry but they don't really offer much food for the intellect, do they?. I need something more challenging, perhaps from Schiller or Goethe. How about: Während des Aufenthaltes in den Stationen ist die Benützung des Abortes nicht gestattet.
Tony, what's with "Well thanks Gerry but they don't really offer much food for the intellect, do they?"
A bit rum,old chap...
"I need something more challenging"
Really? Well, cop this, me old cobber: I refer you to that well-researched and much-publicised book by that internationally recognised author, Kehlog Albran. You may have read it, Tony... It's titled "The Profit". ISBN 0-8431-0260-8
Your authoritative review is much awaited... :-)
What are you talking about, eccentric Antipodean fellow? I meant that your two suggestions for aphorisms didn't seem up to much.
We're still awaiting your authoritative review,
ma petite fleur... :-)
I'm not anyone's little flower, mate.
"The Profit" strikes me as an amusing spoof, if a bit laborious. The original, Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" really deserves to be spoofed since it is pretentious tosh. Both works are evidently widely known in the United States but not at all, to my knowledge, anywhere else (to which you will no doubt reply "They're big in Australia, you ignorant Pom").
Real Arabic poetry is lovely (see Jayyid jiddan).
That's an excellent review (as if I'd know an excellent review itf I fellover one..:-)
Keep well, Tony.
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