Proverbs — little statements of wisdom — fascinate me. Proverbs are cultural truth handed down from one generation to another over hundreds, even thousands, of years.

There’s actually a body of study involving proverbs and it’s called paremiology. I’m not a paremiologist; I just enjoy discovering new proverbs and am fascinated by how the truth of proverbs transcends ethnic, national and cultural lines. A proverb from Africa, Scandinavia or Latin America, properly translated, conveys wisdom understood universally.

Did your mother ever tell you to just be yourself? There are several African variations of a proverb that says, “No matter how long a log stays in the water, it doesn’t become a crocodile.” You are who you are; be yourself.

Speaking of who we are, an old German proverb says, “Der Äpfel fällt nicht weit vom Stamm.” The English version: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Jewish culture is steeped in wisdom. Among my favorite Jewish proverbs: “God gives the nuts but he does not crack them.” Another: “Don’t approach a goat from the front, a horse from the back or a fool from any side.”

There is a great wisdom in Native American culture. A Cherokee proverb says, “When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.”

Some Chinese proverbs are thousands of years old but they speak with a contemporary voice. A Chinese proverb advises, “If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.”

Japanese proverbs also express wisdom for the times: “Due to the presence of fools, wise people stand out.”

You have heard it said, “The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.” An old Swedish proverb says it another way: “Annans ko har alltid större juver” (The cow of another always has a bigger udder.)

An Irish proverb addresses one of our current problems with our nation’s leaders who enjoy a compensation package that easily covers rising food, health and fuel costs: “The full man does not understand the wants of the hungry.” A French proverb warns, “A hungry man is an angry man.”

The Greeks understood the need for concern about the future. “A society grows great,” says an old Greek proverb, “when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”

Though Poles have endured decades of unfair jokes, Polish culture has many wise proverbs. One to remember: “Love enters a man through his eyes, woman through her ears.”

Decades of Cold War kept us from learning of the wisdom of Russian culture. A favorite Russian proverb: “When you drink the water, think of the well-digger.”

You’ve heard the old line, “Out of sight; out of mind.” The Spanish say the same thing more eloquently: “What the eyes do not see the heart does not feel.”

The Dutch say, “Je moet de kat uit de boom kijken,” meaning, “You’ve got to stare the cat down out of the tree.” The message: you have to let some things work out for themselves.

The Egyptians express marital wisdom with a proverb that translates, “If you marry a monkey for his wealth, the money goes and the monkey remains as is.”

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere but our Haitian neighbors are rich in wisdom. A Haitian proverb says, “A leaky house may fool the sun, but it can’t fool the rain.”

In my own East Frisian heritage there are a number of Low German proverbs, some quite pragmatic. “Gott mocht gesund un de Dokter kriggt dat Geld” says, “God makes us healthy (heals) and the doctor gets the money.”

A wonderful source of wisdom is the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament. This book tells us that “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he” and “a merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” It also tells us that “wisdom is more precious than rubies.”

These days we can all use a little more wisdom and the old proverbs are a great source. I suppose you could say, “A little paremiology doeth one good.”

Arvid Huisman can be contacted at huismaiowa@gmail.com. c2022 by Huisman Communications.