An hour before midnight is worth two after or so my mother used to tell me as I sat down to breakfast after a particularly late night. But is it really true that sleep before 12 p.m. is twice as good for you as sleep after that hour? At the time, like most young people, I regarded this proverb as an old wive's tale with no relevance to my own life. I mean, an hour is an hour … it's 60 minutes, a.m. or p.m. However, now older and wiser, I remember my mother's words as I scramble into bed at 11 o'clock. I am now a firm believer in the value of getting at least one hour's sleep before midnight!
Advice about how to live a healthy life is one example of the type of received wisdom which is condensed and passed on to the next generation in the form of proverbs. Proverbs also serve to express general truths in a short and colourful way, for example, There's no smoke without fire, meaning that there is generally some truth in even the wildest rumours.
Another type of proverb acts as a reminder of the correct way to behave, for example, Don't wash your dirty linen in public. This means don't discuss personal or family problems in front of strangers or in public. Other proverbs are offered to people as means of comfort in times of trouble, for example, It's no use crying over spilt milk. This proverb advises that it really is a waste of time to weep over mistakes that have already been make. Instead, it is much better to Make the best of a bad job - to do your best whatever the situation.
Some English proverbs are native to Britain, for example, It never rains but it pours, a reference to the joys of the British weather! This proverb means that when one thing goes wrong, many other things go wrong as well. Another home-grown proverb is Every dog is allowed one bite. This proverb Is based on an old English law dating back to the 17th century. The law said that the first time a dog bit somebody, its owner did not have to pay compensation to the victim because one bite did not prove that the dog was vicious. Hence the idea carried in the proverb, that everyone should be allowed to make a mistake without being punished for it.
Other proverbs have come into the language from Latin or Greek. Lucretius, a classical Roman author, created the proverb One man's meat is another man's poison, meaning that what is good for one person can be harmful to another. And the proverb let sleeping dogs lie meaning don't cause trouble when it can be avoided, came into English form the French in the 14th century.
As Britain came into contact with other countries and cultures, English became enriched with the words and wisdom of different languages. From the Chinese, we borrowed the colourful proverb He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount, meaning that if you start on a dangerous enterprise, it is often easier to carry it through to the end than to stop halfway.
Some proverbs have been in the language for 1,000 years, for example, A friend in need is a friend indeed. The message here is that someone who stays with you and helps you in times of trouble, rather than turning their back, is a true friend. Other proverbs, however, are much more recent, and reflect changes in the way that we live.
From the United States come the following two pieces of new wisdom, Garbage in - garbage out, from the computer world, reminds people that computers are only as good as their programs. Form big business we have There's no such thing as a free lunch, meaning nothing is free. If someone buys you lunch, they will expect a favour in return.
[本段无录音]Some English people are reluctant to sue proverbs in their every day conversation because they see them as vehicles of too much used wisdom. Nevertheless, proverbs are still quite common in both written and spoken English and continue to provide a homely commentary on life and a reminder that the wisdom of our ancestors may still be useful to us today.
每当在头一天晚上我睡得特别晚，第二天早晨坐下来去吃早餐时，我母亲过去总是会对我说"一半夜睡一个小时胜过下半夜睡两小时"之类的话。但是半夜12点以前的睡眠质量真的会比半夜12点以后的睡眠要好一倍吗？当时，我像绝大多数年青人一样，认为这一句谚语是跟我自己的生活毫无关系的，这是一句不知老太婆们瞎编的愚蠢的话。我认为，一小时就是一小时，不管是上半夜还是下半夜，反正都是60分钟。可是现在，因为我年龄大了，也比以前更懂事了，每当我在晚上11点钟爬进被子里时，我就想起了我妈所说的话。现在我坚信在半夜零点以前取低限度要提前一个小时入睡，这的确大有好处。
关于如何才能活得健康的忠告就是公认的智慧的一个很典型的例子，并把这些智慧浓缩成谚语的形式代代相传。条条谚语都能用简明生动丰富多彩的方式表达普遍的真理。例如："无火不生烟，无风不起浪。"说的就是，即使是言过其实的流言蜚语，一般说来也总会有点真实的成分在里面的。
还有一种类型的谚语，它所起的作用就是提醒人们举止行为要得体。例如，"别在公众面前洗你的脏衬裤--家丑不可外扬。"这意思就是说，不要在陌生人群中或当着大家的面来讨论个人隐私或者家务事。还有一些谚语在人们处于困境时给人以安慰，例如："牛奶洒了，哭也没用。--覆水难收，悲有何益？"这条谚语劝告人们，既然已经做错了事情，痛哭流泪、唉声叹气实际上都是有浪费时间。与此相反，"要尽最大的努力把坏事干成好事--随遇而安，转祸为福。"这种态度要好得多--不论遇到任何情况总要用最大的努力把事情做好。
有些英文谚语来自英国。例如，"不雨则已，一雨倾盆--福无双至，祸不单行。"这说明英国人都喜欢谈天气。这条谚语的意思是如果一件事出了差错接连着很多其他事也都出了差错。还有一条出自英国本土的谚语是"每条狗初次咬人都是可以原谅的--人非圣贤孰能无过。"这条谚语是17世纪时的一条古老的英国法律为基础而衍化出来的。这条法律说，狗初次咬人，狗的主人不必向受害人支付赔偿金，因为仅咬一口并不能证明这条狗就是一条恶狗。因此，这种想法，即允许任何人初次犯错误，不必给予惩罚，就包含在这条谚语当中了。
还有一些谚语是从拉丁文或希腊文移植到英语里面的。一位古典时期的古罗马作家留克利希阿斯创造了下面这一条谚语："同一块肉，吃肥了张三却毒死了李四--穿衣戴帽各好一套，萝卜白菜各有所爱。"意思是对某一个人有好处的可能对另一个人有害。而这一条谚语："让睡觉的那群狗继续躺着吧睡吧。--别捅马蜂窝。"意思是能避免就尽量避免，不要去惹麻烦。这条谚语是从14世纪的法语移植到英语中来的。
由于英国逐渐同其他一些国家和其他一些文化打交道，不同语言的词汇和智慧使英语逐渐丰富起来。从汉语，我们借用了这条活灵活现的谚语"骑虎难下"，意思就是如果你开创了一项危险而又艰巨复杂的事业，与其半途而废，倒不如进行到底会更顺利一些。
有些谚语在语言中已经流传有1000多年了，例如，"患难中相助的朋友才是真正的朋友。--患难见真交"。这条谚语是说，你在患难时这位朋友仍然不离开你，仍然帮助你，而不是掉转脊背就跑开了，这样的朋友才是真正的朋友。但是，也有些谚语相当现代，这些新时兴的谚语反映出我们的生活方式的一些变化。
从美国传来了下列两句绝妙的好词："无用信息输入--无用信息输出，--废料进，废料出。"这源出自电子计算机的待业用语。它提示人们只有输入计算机的程序编制得好电子计算机才能输出好。从干大事业的人那里，我们学到一句话"根本就不会有白白请你吃顿饭那回事。--礼下于人必有所求。"意思是没有任何时是可以不付出代价的。如果将来有人给你买了一份便餐，那个人肯定想从你那里得到好处以便作为报答。
有部分英国人在日常谈话中不大愿意使用谚语，因为他们认为这些谚语过于老生常谈了。然而，谚语在书面英语和口语英语中还是使用得很广的。谚语可继续用在以家常话来谈论的日常生活当中，因而让我们想到我们祖先的智慧在今天对我们还是十分有用的。
