12 Matching Annotations
  1. Oct 2024
  2. Apr 2024
    1. There is an ʻŌlelo Noʻeau, a Hawaiian proverb, that states: I ka ʻolelo no ke ola, i ka ʻolelo no ka make. This translates to “in speech is life, in speech is death.”
  3. Oct 2023
    1. But sometimes Alter’s comments seem exactly wrong. Alter calls Proverbs 29:2 “no more than a formulation in verse of a platitude,” but Daniel L. Dreisbach’s Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers devotes an entire chapter to that single verse, much loved at the time of the American Founding: “When the righteous are many, a people rejoices, / but when the wicked man rules, a people groans.” Early Americans “widely, if not universally,” embraced the notion that—as one political sermon proclaimed—“The character of a nation is justly decided by the character of their rulers, especially in a free and elective government.” Dreisbach writes, “They believed it was essential that the American people be reminded of this biblical maxim and select their civil magistrates accordingly.” Annual election sermons and other political sermons often had Proverbs 29:2 as “the primary text.” Far from being a platitude, this single verse may contain a cure to the contagion that is contemporary American political life.

      Ungenerous to take Alter to task for context which he might not have the background to comment upon.

      Does Alter call it a "platitude" from it's historical context, or with respect to the modern context of Donald J. Trump and a wide variety of Republican Party members who are anything but Christian?

  4. Apr 2023
    1. Samuel Butler had made the phrase ‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’immortal in his satirical poem Hudibras.

      While the original proverb appears in King James Version of the Bible, Book of Proverbs 13:24, the satirical poem Hudibras is the first appearance of the quote and popularized the aphorism "spare the rod and spoil the child".

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudibras

      https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spare_the_rod_and_spoil_the_child

      syndication link: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hudibras&oldid=1148518740

  5. Feb 2023
  6. Mar 2022
    1. Gray hair is a crown of glory;    it is gained in a righteous life.

      —Proverbs 16:31

      Naturally as someone who went gray prematurely, I'm in total agreement with this! 😁

    1. Hands can be a prompt, a window, a way station—butwhat they ought never have to be is still.

      Missing reference in this chapter on encouraging gestures as a tool for thought: "idle hands are the devil's workshop".

      Could the Bible have been encouraging the use of one's hands for communication??

    1. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/idle_hands_are_the_devil%27s_workshop

      Proverbs 16:27 "Scoundrels concoct evil, and their speech is like a scorching fire." (Oxford, NSRV, 5th Edition) is translated in the King James version as "An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire." The Living Bible (1971) translates this section as "Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece."

      The verse may have inspired St. Jerome to write "fac et aliquid operis, ut semper te diabolus inveniat occupatum" (translation: "engage in some occupation, so that the devil may always find you busy.”) This was repeated in The Canterbury Tales which may have increased its popularity.

  7. Nov 2021
    1. On the other hand, paremiologists seldom specify "definitions"-much less ori- gins-of proverbial expressions that they collect, for the simple reason that so little can be known with certainty.

      Paremiology (from Greek παροιμία (paroimía) 'proverb, maxim, saw') is the collection and study of proverbs.

      Paremiography is the collection of proverbs.

  8. May 2021
  9. Aug 2019
    1. Let your reasonableness[d] be known to everyone.

      Everyone should aspire to have a reputation for . "reasonableness" or "gentleness" - both Christians, Jews, and Gentiles .