Proverbial

This week's proverb is unattributed and goes like this: "you know what they say." Joshua Gibbs contemplates what it has to say for modern men and women. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it," says Solomon, but what happens between childhood and old age? A vexing lot, actually. Joshua Gibbs investigates.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Fortune favors the brave," but is favor all fortune can offer? Does fortune not love the brave? Does fortune not vindicate the brave? Joshua Gibbs inquires further.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"The squeaky wheel gets the grease" isn't just good career advice, it's a helpful perspective on humility. Joshua Gibbs explores.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Almost all our faults are more pardonable than the methods we resort to to hide them," said La Rochefoucauld. In this episode of Proverbial, Joshua Gibbs discusses the dangers of pleasures sought in secret.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves," said La Rochefoucauld, thus referencing the troubled relationship between pleasure and wisdom. Joshua Gibbs investigates.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"God works in mysterious ways." Join Joshua Gibbs as he explores the meaning behind this common saying.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Too many cooks spoil the broth," but what about teamwork? Is there not wisdom in a multitude of counselors? Gibbs explores.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Big book, big bore," said Callimachus. Everyone loves a shorty, though. Joshua Gibbs tells all in the latest episode of Proverbial.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In  The 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.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The pleasure of criticizing takes away from us the pleasure of being moved by some very fine things," claimed Jean de La Bruyere. Joshua Gibbs investigates.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"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.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"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.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"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.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"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.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"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.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"God doesn't give with both hands" is unusual because very few proverbs refer to God. Join Joshua Gibbs as he contemplates this hard saying.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane Austen wrote, "The memory is sometimes so retentive, so serviceable, so obedient - at others, so bewildered and so weak - and at others again, so tyrannic, so beyond control! - We are to be sure a miracle every way - but our powers of recollecting and of forgetting, do seem peculiarly past finding out." In this episode, Gibbs tells a single story from a difficult summer when he believed his l...

"Birds of a feather flock together." This is a hard saying for social engineers of all sorts, especially teachers and party hosts. Join Joshua Gibbs as he unpacks this surprisingly confrontational saying. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see," said Chesterton. Over the last ten years, travel has become mixed up with the self-care and wellness movement. In the latest episode of Proverbial, Joshua Gibbs attempts to save travel from modern cliches.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"No man is so completely happy that something somewhere does not clash with his condition," taught Boethius. How do we live at peace with this truth? Can we? Joshua Gibbs talks himself through these questions on the latest episode of Proverbial.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"He who has much, wants much," said Boethius. In this episode, Joshua Gibbs explains suffering and want with a story about his acquisition of an iPod in 2004.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Bad fortune is of more use to men than good fortune," teaches Boethius, but he doesn't mean we should learn from our mistakes. Join Joshua Gibbs as he explores this vexing saying from the great Roman philosopher.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Don't burn your bridges" began as a saying of military generals on war campaigns, but is now primarily understood advice pertaining to professional relationships. Join Joshua Gibbs as he explores this timeless saying. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.