In The Fox and the Lion Aesop informs us that “Familiarity breeds contempt”.Also Aesop, from Hercules and the Wagoner: “The gods help them that help themselves”. To whatever is in the wagon? Aristophanes instructs, “You cannot teach a Crab to walk straight”.So don’t even try.Stop it.We call these maxims, proverbs, sayings.They are also referred to as ‘gnomes'.Because they’re short?Nope. This meaning of gnome derives from the Greek ‘gignōskein’: to know.Aha!Totally makes sense.And the little guys? From theGreek 'genomos', meaning earth-dweller. What were the chances that 'gnome' would have two such different meanings? Teensy. But now we know. To quote Livy, “Better late than never”.
Source: Encyclopedia of Ancient Literature.as accessed through Gale Virtual Reference Library. DMPL card number and PIN required for access
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1 comment:
Any relation to genomes?
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