A good idea, I thought, because proverbs are often difficult to translate and a great way to learn about a language. Een vreemde taal echt kennen is haar spreekwoorden kennen, to really know a foreign language is to know its proverbs.

Since then, however, I think that I’ve dived into a grand total of three. So, here’s to making up. Beter laat dan nooit, better late than never. Our ancestors, poor buggers, didn’t have cloud-computing and relied on more innovative measures to ensure the survival of their collective wisdom. Al is een spreekwoord nog zo raar, als het rijmt dan is het waar, a proverb may be strange, but if it rhymes then it’s true.

The first book of proverbs in the Dutch language was published in 1480. A century later, Flemish painter Pieter Brueghel the Elder famously depicted no less than 80 proverbs on one single canvas (pictured).

Some are still in use, such as: Van een mooi bord kan je niet eten, you can’t eat from a pretty plate – looks alone will get you nowhere. Or: Lachen als een boer met kiespijn (which is technically a saying, not a proverb), to laugh like a farmer with a tooth ache – to laugh without actually having fun. Try and find them; they’re both on there.

But many have changed over time or disappeared all together. Proverbs typically belong to the realm of popular language and are subject to its dynamic nature. De tijd kent geen genade, time knows no mercy.

Among the more commonly used proverbs of today are: Wie a zegt moet ook b zeggen, whoever says “a” must also say “b” – you have to finish what you start. De appel valt niet ver van de boom, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree – children often look/act like their parents. Or, one of my favourites: Al draagt de aap een gouden ring, het is en blijft een lelijk ding, even when a monkey wears a golden ring, it is and remains an ugly thing – not all who dress well are beautiful.

There are hundreds and most can be found, as usual, on Wikipedia (in Dutch). Some are funny, others are sad. But all are wise somehow. Just like perhaps the most important of them all: Spreken is zilver, zwijgen is goud. Talk is silver, silence is golden.