Collection of premiere proverb scholar opens at UVM
Posted Sep 14, 2019 9:37 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Proverbs have been developed for centuries around the world from “Strike while the iron is hot” to “Been there, done that.” They’re spread by writings, word of mouth and nowadays social media.
The vast amount of them is evident in a new unique library at the University of Vermont.
It’s the collection of UVM Professor Wolfgang Mieder, thought to be the world’s premiere paroemiologist.
The extensive library of nearly 9,000 volumes ranges from proverb collections including German, Chinese, Turkish and Hungarian to thousands of books and dissertations and include Mieder’s own writings.
Among his favourite proverbs is: “Different strokes for different folks,” because he says “it tells you to realize that people have different priorities, different thoughts, different ideas.”
Lisa Rathke, The Associated Press
