Description

"The genius, wit, and spirit of a nation,"
says Bacon, "are discovered in its
proverbs." Many later commentators
have agreed. Proverbs are a clue to
what people believe, a natural
outgrowth of their ideals of life. They
are the learning of those not usually
though learned; they are the wisdom of
the folk. Few of us are aware, until we
begin to count, just how many proverbs
are sprinkled as the salt of everyday
speech.
In her "Proverbs and How to Collect
Them," a pamphlet put out by the
American Dialect Society, Margaret M.
Bryant writes that "rural or secluded
districts are especially rich in proverbial
lore, lore often peculiar to them." This
article attempts to mine the lore of
Prince Edward Island proverbs, as
found in such nuggets as It's easy to
pass a poor man's door.