When Proverbial Wisdom contradicts itself.

I found this little article about four years ago within a Farmer’s Almanac booklet inside my local newspaper. Usually filled with Old World remedies and sowing times for farmers, this article had caught my interest. I taped the pages to my work binder.

How wise is proverbial wisdom?
By Richard Lederer - Usage Editor of The Random House Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language.

A proverb is a well-known, venerable saying rooted in philosophical or religious wisdom. Just about everybody knows some proverbs, and we often base decisions on these instructive maxims. But when you line up proverbs that spout conflicting advice, you have to wonder if these beloved aphorisms aren’t simply personal observations masquerading as universal truths:

Look before you leap, but make hay while the sun shines.
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It’s better to be safe than sorry, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Haste makes waste, but he who hesitates is lost.
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Patience is a virtue, but opportunity knocks only once.
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Slow and steady wins the race, but gather ye rosebuds while ye may.
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All things come to those who wait, but strike while the iron is hot.
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What will be will be, but life is what you make of it.
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Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, but the faint of heart never wins the fair maiden.
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Actions speak louder than words, but the pen is mightier than the sword.
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Beware of Greeks bearing gifts, but don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
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There’s no place like home and home is where the heart is, but the grass is always greener on the other side and a rolling stone gathers no moss.
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A penny saved is a penny earned, but penny-wise and pound-foolish.
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The best things in life are free, but you get what you pay for.
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Ignorance is bliss and ‘tis folly to be wise because what you don’t know can’t hurt you, but it is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness because the unexamined life is not worth living.
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Too many cooks spoil the broth, but many hands make light work.
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Two’s company and three’s a crowd, but the more the merrier because two heads are better than one.
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If first you don’t succeed, try, try again, but don’t beat a dead horse.
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Silence is golden and talk is cheap, but the squeaky wheel gets the grease and a word to the wise is sufficient.
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Clothes make the man because seeing is believing, but beauty is only skin deep because appearances are deceiving, since you can’t judge a book by its cover, and all that glitters is not gold.
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Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise, but all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, even though idle hands are the devil’s workshop.
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Birds of a feather flock together, but opposites attract.
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The road to hell is paved with good intentions, but it’s the thought that counts.
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Variety is the spice of life, but don’t exchange horses in midstream.
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There is nothing permanent except change, but there is nothing new under the sun.
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You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but live and learn.
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A stitch in time saves nine, but better late than never.
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The bigger the better, but the best things come in small packages.
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Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but out of sight, out of mind.
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Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today, but don’t cross that bridge until you come to it.
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Quotes about proverbs:
There is no proverb that is not true - Miguel Cervantes
General notions are generally wrong - Lady Montagu