PROVERB, a short, pithy saying, present ing in striking form a well-known truth. They originate principally in the primitive stages of society, are colloquial rather than literary and constitute a form of folklore common to all races. While certain proverbs have undoubt edly strayed from one country to another the very nature of these pungent characterizations, founded on the common facts, experiences and observations of humanity, ensure their existing in similar form in different countries. New proverbs cease to appear as printed literature takes the place of folklore, the common catch phrase or valued quotation bearing no relation to these bits of wisdom with the stamp of ages of popular acceptance and use. Bacon calls them the "edged tools of speech)); Lord Russell's definition "the wisdom of many and the wit of one)) is concise and accurate; as is South's "the experience and wisdom of several ages gathered and summed up in one expres sion." Bibliography.— French, R. C., 'Proverbs and their Lessons' (1861; ed. by A. Smythe Palmer, 1905) ; Hazlitt, W. C., 'English Prov erbs and Proverbial Phrases' (1868); Howell, J., 'Proverbs or Old Sayed Saws and Adages' (1659) ; Hislop, A., 'The Proverbs of Scot
land); Nicolson, A., 'Gaelic Proverbs' (1880) ; Vaughn, H. H., 'British Reason in English Rhyme' (1889) ; Barten, J., 'A Collection of English and German Proverbs' (1896) ; Eckart, R., 'Stand and Beruf in Volksmund' (1900) ; Belcour, G., 'Selection of French Proverbs' (1882) ; Leclercq, T., 'Proverbs Dramatiques' (4 vols., 1886) ; Pancoucke, J., 'Dictionnaire des proverbes francois) (1749) ; Payen-Payne, J. B. de V., 'French Idioms and Proverbs' (1900) ; Sinbra, F. d', 'Proverbi (1886) ; Burke, U. R., 'Sancho Panza's Prov erbs' (1872) ; Collins, J., 'Dictionary of Span ish Proverbs) ; Binder, W. C., 'Novus Thesaurus Adagiorum Latinorum' (1856) ; Shmad Midhat, 'Osman' Proverbs' (1898) ; Burckhardt, J. L., 'Arabic Proverbs of Modern Egyptians' (1830) ; Long, J., 'The Proverbs of Eastern Nations' and the collections; Bohn, H. G., 'Polyglot of Proverbs' (1857) ; Field ing, V., 'Select Proverbs of all Nations' (1824) ; Lean, V. S., 'Collectanea, Proverbs, etc.' (5 vols., 1904) ; Ward, C., 'National Proverbs in the Principal Languages of Eu iope) (1842).