Animal proverbs with a foreign equivalent

As already mentioned, the ODP includes 42 animal proverbs which have a foreign equivalent. Of these, 17 have an equivalent in Latin and/or Greek, and 12 may go back to French. In addition, there are 13 proverbs from a variety of other languages, ranging from Japanese (3), (West) African languages (3), Chinese (2) and Arabic (1), to Russian (1), Inuit (1), Indian (1) and Native American (1). Figure 1 presents an overview of the chronological distribution of these animal proverbs in English.

Figure 1.

Chronological distribution of the animal proverbs with an equivalent in a foreign language

Before the 13^th century, there are no foreign-derived animal proverbs in the ODP. The earliest proverb in the sample of ODP entries is The cat would eat fish, but would not wet her feet, first recorded in English in about 1225. It corresponds to the medieval Latin Catus amat piscem, sed non vult tingere plantas, ‘the cat loves a fish, but does not wish to wet its feet’ (see ODP), used with reference to the need to endure anger or take risks to achieve a particular aim.

The French-derived proverbs studied mostly date from the Early Modern English period, with some from the Middle English period. The latest animal proverb with a French equivalent dates from 1666, which coincides with the main period of contact between French and English. The proverbs with a Latin equivalent were also borrowed from the Middle English period to the Renaissance, again with a climax in the 16^th century, with the last proverb dating from 1616. This reflects the growing interest in antiquity and the classical languages in Early Modern English, which led to a high number of borrowings from Latin and Greek. The adoption of Latin and Greek proverbs reached its peak a little later than that of the proverbs originating from French.

The borrowing of proverbs from languages other than French, Latin or Greek started in the later decades of the 19^th century, with a peak in the 20^th century. The latest proverb among the ODP entries is the Japanese-derived A clever hawk hides its claws, implying that you should hide your best skills until the time is right. It has been documented in English since 1994.

Tables 1, 2 and 3 provide an overview of the English animal sayings with their corresponding expressions in Latin, Greek and French. The ODP also contains a number of proverbs for which no original saying has been identified. In these cases, only the possible source language or culture is indicated (see Table 4). The various ODP entries are arranged in chronological order. For each proverb, the first recorded use is given.

Table 1.

English proverbs with a Latin equivalent

Table 2.

English proverbs with a Greek equivalent

Table 3.

English proverbs with a French equivalent

Table 4.

English proverbs with equivalents in miscellaneous languages

The proverbs which date back to Latin or Greek include a variety of animals, such as bees, birds, fish, cats, cocks, chicken, dogs, eagles, flies and horses, as well as some animals that do not occur in Western Europe, such as a leopard. All the proverbs which ultimately date back to Greek were first recorded in the 16^th century; all of them show a corresponding Latin translation equivalent in Erasmus’ Adages (see ODP).

In general, the proverbs with an equivalent expression in French include common (farm) animals of Europe, such as dogs, cats or horses. Examples are A barking dog never bites, When the cat's away, the mice will play and Three things are not to be trusted: a cow's horn, a dog's tooth, and a horse's hoof.

The proverbs in Table 4 tend to focus on local common animals of the relevant regions, such as a camel in the Arabic saying or a caribou in the Inuit proverb. These have mostly been documented in English since the 20^th century, with only two earlier borrowings from 1882 and 1892. This might be due to the contact between English and other languages, which mainly started after the 18^th century.

The horse sayings tend to be associated with freedom and loss. The fish is either eaten or stinks. Both bees and flies are associated with honey; the sweetness of honey is presented as attractive to insects. Sayings including animals that can be dangerous to humans (e.g. crocodiles, wolves, lions) usually focus on this association, and the corresponding proverbs therefore often reveal a warning tone.

Usually the proverbs under scrutiny portray relationships between animals or between animals and humans. Most of them are metaphorical in nature and reflect human behavior. From a semantic point of view, three overarching tendencies can be identified: firstly, the relationship ‘predator–prey’ seems to be a very frequent dichotomy explored in animal proverbs. Examples are The caribou feeds the wolf, but it is the wolf who keeps the caribou strong, which has its origins in Inuit, and It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, a proverb of Chinese provenance that emphasizes pragmatism (see ODP). In the different proverbs, the cat is usually seen as a predator (of mice or fish). Muhammad and Rashid (Reference Muhammad and Rashid2014: 341) confirm that cat metaphors in proverbs tend to highlight the position of the cat in ‘the hierarchical order of the respective animals within the Great Chain’, i.e. as part of a hierarchy.

Humans can also be depicted as ‘predators’ of animals, as in If you run after two hares you will catch neither. It reflects the Latin duos insequens lepores, neutrum capit, ‘he who chases two hares catches neither’, meaning that if a person tries to do two things simultaneously, he or she will fail.

On the other hand, some proverbs in the ODP describe alliances or friendly relations between animals. An example is Dog does not eat dog, reflecting the Latin canis caninam non est, ‘a dog does not eat dog's flesh’. It implies that people of the same type or profession should not harm each other (see ODP). The Indian-derived If you have to live in the river, it is best to be friends with a crocodile, suggesting that it is advisable to get along well with the most influential person in the neighborhood, serves as an example of a proverb which describes alliances or friendly relations between humans and animals.

In addition, the opposition ‘large–strong’ versus ‘small–weak’ is often associated with the ‘predator–prey’ dichotomy. For example, a large animal can catch a small one; a strong animal can destroy a weak one. An example is When the cat's away, the mice will play, which corresponds to the French Ou chat ne rat regne, ‘where there is no cat the rat is king’ (see ODP).

‘Hunger–eating’ is another important dichotomy implied in the animal proverbs under review. The reader may observe that the proverbs in this category might in some cases overlap with those related to ‘predator–prey’, i.e. with proverbs describing animals eating each other or humans eating animals. A common motif is the search for food or imminent starvation, as is exemplified by Hunger drives the wolf out of the wood and When the last tree is cut down, the last fish eaten, and the last stream poisoned, you will realize that you cannot eat money. The former reflects the French la fains enchace le louf dou bois, literally ‘hunger chases the wolf from the wood’, used with reference to the fact that ‘[n]ecessity compels people to take unaccustomed action’ (ODP). The latter is of Native American origin. In present-day English, it is quite often recorded in contexts referring to environmental pollution (see ODP).

Proverbs that are associated with ‘caution–trust’ comprise the third dichotomy identified in the sample of ODP entries. It is well known that a significant number of proverbs give advice. Among the animal proverbs examined in the present study, a number of sayings recommend caution. Some of them refer to humility, negation or describe what not to do. Examples are One swallow does not make a summer, Don't count your chickens before they are hatched and Don't call a wolf to help you against the dogs. One swallow does not make a summer dates back to the Greek μία χελιδὼν ἔαρ οὐ ποιεῖ, ‘one swallow does not make a spring’, implying that a single happy event does not mean that what follows will be good. Don't count your chickens before they are hatched reflects the Latin Ad praesens ova, cras pullis sunt meliora, ‘eggs today are better than chickens tomorrow’, meaning ‘Do not make, or act upon, an assumption (usually favourable or optimistic) which might turn out to be wrong’ (ODP). Don't call a wolf to help you against the dogs is of Russian origin, considered ‘[a] warning against summoning help from forces that you are unable to control, as they are as likely to turn on you as on your enemies’ (ODP).

Finally, there are some proverbs to do with precautions, trust or what-if-scenarios, such as If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas and Trust in God but tie your camel. The former is derived from the Latin Qui cum canibus concumbunt cum pulicibus surgent, ‘they who lie with dogs will rise with fleas’, meaning ‘[v]ices are easily acquired from bad associations’ (ODP). The latter is of Arabic provenance. It reminds us that we should trust that everything will work out, but at the same time do what we can to ensure a positive outcome.