Proverbial

"Big book, big bore," said Callimachus. Everyone loves a shorty, though. Joshua Gibbs tells all in the latest episode of Proverbial.

"The best revenge is a life well lived," said George Herbert. Why do other sorts of revenge fall short of good old-fashioned happiness and contentment? Joshua Gibbs investigates.

InThe Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway wrote, “It is awfully easy to be hard-boiled about everything in the daytime, but at night it is another thing.” Joshua Gibbs investigates.

“The pleasure of criticizing takes away from us the pleasure of being moved by some very fine things," claimedJean de La Bruyere. Joshua Gibbs investigates.

"No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible," said Stanislaw Lec. This isn't just a proverb about riots and mobs, though. It's about our guilty pleasures. Joshua Gibbs examines.

"Don't smile before Christmas" is a common proverb traded by veteran teachers. It is a saying which is particularly offensive to an egalitarian age. Joshua Gibbs explores.

"You can't make everybody happy all the time," but why would any sane person try? Join Joshua Gibbs as he considers the paradoxes of human happiness.

"May you live in interesting times" is a Chinese curse. Why? What's so bad about interesting things? Tolstoy is interesting, right? Joshua Gibbs investigates.

"The art of living is to know how to enjoy a little and endure very much," claimed William Hazlitt. Join Joshua Gibbs as he mulls over this proverb.