The Durham Proverbs

The Durham Proverbs is a collection of 46 medieval proverbs from various sources. They were written down as a collection, in the eleventh century, on some pages (pages 43 verso to 45 verso, between a hymnal and a collection of canticles) of a manuscript that were originally left blank. The manuscript is currently in the collection of Durham Cathedral, to which it was donated in the eighteenth century. The Proverbs form the first part of the manuscript. The second part, to which it is bound, is a copy of Ælfric's Grammar (minus its glossary). Each proverb is written in both Latin and Old English, with the former preceding the latter.

Quotes

• Portio beatitudinis.
• Geþyld byð middes ēa[des].
  • Patience is a part of happiness.
  • 1 (tr. Shippey 1994)

• Amicus tam prope quam longe bonus est.
• Frēond dēah feor ge nēah: byð near nyttra.
  • A friend is good, far or near; a nearer one is more useful.
  • 2 (tr. Shippey 1994)

• Amicos plures nemo habet.
• Nafað ǣnigmann frēonda tō feala.
  • No man has too many friends.
  • 4 (tr. Shippey 1994)

• Postule[t] coram amico qui penuriam suam predicat.
• Beforan his frēonde biddeþ, sē þe his wǣdel mǣneþ.
  • He who laments his poverty is a beggar before his friend
  • 5 (tr. Shippey 1994)

• Bonus annus quando canis corvo exibet.
• Gōd gēr byþ þonne se hund þām hrefne gyfeð.
  • It is a good year when the hound gives to the raven.
  • 6 (tr. Arngart 1981, p. 296)

• Sepe in [u]ile sacculo fulget aurum.
• Oft on sōtigum bylige searowa licgað.
  • Treasures often lie in a sooty bag.
  • 7 (tr. Shippey 1994)

• Post medum maxime sitit.
• Hwīlum æfter medo menn mǣst geþyrsteð.
  • At times a man thirsts the most after the mead(-drinking).
  • 8 (tr. Arngart 1981, p. 296)

• Post amabilem hominen durissime ted[e]t.
• Æfter leofan menn langað swīðost.
  • One longs greatly for the beloved man.
  • 9 (tr. Arngart 1981, p. 296)

• Nunc in iudicio porci dixit maritus sedens in apro.
• Nū hit ys on swīnes dōme, cwæð se ceorl sæt on eoferes hricge.
  • "Now it is at the discretion of the pig," said the churl who sat astride the boar's back.
  • 10 (tr. Arngart 1981, p. 296)

• [N]eque confiderem liceat bene ambulasset dixit qu[i] uidit [s]trigas capite pregredientes.
• Ne swā þēah trēowde þēah þū teala ēode, cwæþ sē þe geseah hægtessan æfter hēafde geo[ngan.]
  • "Nonetheless, I would not trust you though you walked well," said he who saw a witch passing along on her head.
  • 11 (tr. Fulk, Cain & Anderson 2003, p. 167)

• [P]rudent[i] facile caus[a] insinuatur.
• Eaðe [wīs] man mæg witan spell and ēac secgan.
  • A wise man can easily master an argument [or question], and also pronounce upon it.
  • 16 (tr. Arngart 1981, p. 297)

• Cecus doubus oculis qui pectore non cernit.
• Blind byþ bām ēagum, sē þe brēostum ne starat.
  • He is blind of both eyes who does not discern his own breast.
  • 17 (tr. Arngart 1981, p. 297)

• [S]ol[i] illi non contendunt qui in unum non conueniunt.
• Ðā ne sacað þe ætsamne ne bēoð.
  • Those do not quarrel who are not together.
  • 18 (tr. Arngart 1981, p. 297)

• [Non omnia] uera dicend[a] sunt.
• Ne dēah eall sōþ āsǣd ne eall sār ætwiten.
  • It does no good (for) all truth (to be) told nor all wrong imputed.
  • 20 (tr. Robinson 1982, pp. 4, 262)

• Bene loquere sic bene facias.
• Gyf þū well sprece, wyrc æfter swā.
  • Practice what you preach.
  • 20 (tr. Arngart 1981, p. 297)

• Veritas seips[a]m semper declarat.
• Soþ hit sylf acþeð.
  • Truth reveals itself.
  • 21 (tr. Arngart 1981, p. 297)

• [S]olu[m] igna[u]us [metuere pot]est.
• Earh mæg þæt an þæt he him ondræde.
  • A coward knows one thing: how to be afraid.
  • 22 (tr. Arngart 1981, p. 297)

• Ne[c] cito pauidus nec ilico arri[d]ens qui esse debet.
• Nē sceal man tō ǣr forht nē tō ǣr fægen.
  • One should be neither too soon fearful nor too soon glad.
  • 23 (tr. Fulk, Cain & Anderson 2003, p. 167)

• Melius centum adire loc[os] quam centum perpati contumelias.
• Selre byþ þæt mon hund heona gesece þonne man hund hynþa geþolie.
  • It is better for a man to seek a hundred places than to endure a hundred shames.
  • 25 (tr. Shippey 1994)

Bibliography

• Olof Sigfrid Arngart, "The Durham Proverbs", Speculum, vol. 56, no. 2 (April 1981), pp. 288–300

• Robert Dennis Fulk; Christopher M. Cain; Rachel S. Anderson, "Wisdom Literature and Lyric Poetry", A History of Old English Literature, Blackwell Histories of Literature (2003), p. 167

• Tom Shippey, "Miscomprehension and Re-Interpretation in Old and Early Middle English Proverb Collections", ScriptOralia, vol. 58 (1994), pp. 293-311

External links

• Encyclopedic article on The Durham Proverbs on Wikipedia