Words to Live by: The Origins of Conventional Wisdom and Commonsense Advice

by Charles Panati

Book Overview

America's favorite expert on origins focuses on the roots and history of folk wisdom "Ignorance is bliss." "Let the buyer beware." "Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today."* These familiar... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140281568
• ISBN13: 9780140281569
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Fun read of the development of wise sayings--worth 4.5 stars

Though the majority of quotations in this book are well known, I did add a few gems to my collection-e.g. p. 277: Robert Frost-"The best things & the best people rise out of their separateness; I'm against homogenized society because I want the cream to rise." But the aim of the book (per its subtitle) is the origin & development of the present English phrases of wisdom. The author does this very well. He intersperses his analyses with fun anecdotes, stories, parallel phrases, biblical & presidential sources, etc. It's humorous & interesting, for example, to learn the origin of the Order of the Garter. Panati gives many Aesop Fables & includes an index & quite a few drawings as well. However, many quotations have incomplete references. He also provides considerable discussion on the value of the virtues underlying quotations (each within its own chapter). Quotes are from different traditions: p. 67: St. Jerome-"When you seek to excuse yourself, you accuse yourself," p. 69: Jewish Proverb-"If each one sweeps in front of his own door, the whole street is clean," & p. 240: 14th Dalai Lama-"In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher." Some items are quite profound & eye-opening such as his analysis of forgiveness, especially regarding the Holocaust: p. 305: Abraham Joshua Heschel-No one can forgive crimes committed against someone else. It is therefore preposterous to assume that any Jew alive can grant forgiveness for the suffering of any one of the six million people who perished. According to Jewish tradition, even God Himself can only forgive sins committed against Himself, not against men." In addition to its enlightening aspects, this is an enjoyable ( & quick) read. Perhaps my favorite of its entries is: p. 174: Anaïs Nin-"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, & it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

An Ethical View of Life

If Adam and Eve had not sinned and requires forgiveness, Jesus Christ would not have been born into the world for the redemption of humankind. Without Christ there would be no Christian faith. No Christian ethics. ~ Charles Panati Throughout "Words to Live By" there is a definite message and that message is about living a good life through adherence to common sense and gems of folk wisdom. There are quotes from famous authors and discussions about wisdom, honesty, responsibility, self-respect, charity, love, happiness, life purpose, friendship, loyalty, tolerance, conscience, freedom, self-fulfillment, forgiveness, healing, hope, faith, honor and reputation. What comes from the heart, goes to the heart. ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge Each chapter begins with a statement that is prominent in our popular culture. These are familiar sayings that you will instantly recognize. In the "Life is a bowl of Cherries" chapter, we learn all about happiness and life purpose. The author gives the definition for Happiness and shows how the word originated from the Middle English "happi" which means to be favored by luck. He then goes on to state the significance, related virtues and opposite traits. The notes that follow are based on quotes, popular culture, historical records and interesting occurrences. If you have never heard the lyrics by Buddy G. DeSilva and Lew Brown, then you might be interested to read: The moon belongs to ev'ryone, The best things in life are free. Charles Panati also shows how various sayings have been changed over time. For instance: "Money is the root of all evil" should actually be: "For the love of money is the root of all evil." He shows how humans change the wording and George Bernard Shaw wrote "Lack of money is the root of all evil." The facts are, this book is stunning from the perspective of detailed research. In order to find all these items and collect them in one book shows a definite love for understanding our current culture and cultures of the past. The section on Tolerance explores the main beliefs of a variety of religions from Hinduism to Christianity. You can read about the Golden Rule or compare the Gods of various religions. Is the God of Abraham much more harsh and why was God not tolerant of the other religions present in the Old Testament? To understand this more fully, I suppose it helps to know why God objected to the sacrifice of human children. Then, on to more annoying pretentious matters, like: "I told you so." This phrase has apparently been traced back to Lord Byron in his work Don Juan. Mostly, this is a study of how familiar quotes came into being and you may find yourself jotting down quotes or enjoying the relentless detective skills that went into creating this book. It is entertaining and if you are interested in the origin of words and phrases, this book has much to offer. ~The Rebecca Review

Another winner

Panati must be a wonderful conversationalist; yet again, he has created a wonderful work, amazing even the most learned and inquisitive minds with his fact-finding and sense of history, coupled together with engaging writting, allowing one access to the origins of our most common and erudite expressions.A must get!

Wise, funny, insightful - endlessly entertaining

Panati has done it again! Produced a big book for browsing that is chuck full of surprises, insight and wisdom, all told with the author's dry wit and sophisitcated sense of humor. People were saying "no pain, no gain" back in the 17th century, and "the devil made me do it" many centuries earlier. Panati has ferretted out the fascinating stories behind hundreds of 'wisdom' expression and revealed how 'commonsense' got its start. This is surely one of his best books to date: both seriously informative and endlessly entertaining.