The Book of One Thousand Proverbs
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The Book of One Thousand Proverbs (Llibre de mil proverbis) is a book by the polymath Ramon Llull, which contains advice, admonitions, and sayings encompassing various aspects of theology, philosophy, morality, social life, and practical life.
Summary
[edit]Ramon Llull wrote these proverbs in Old Catalan in 1302 while at sea, returning from Cyprus.[1][2] The collection was first published in 1746, printed in Palma de Mallorca by Miquel Cerdà and Miquel Amorós.[3]
The proverbs are distributed across fifty-two chapters, with the amount of proverbs per chapter ranging from seventeen to twenty-two, averaging twenty. Each chapter is dedicated to a virtue or sin, a moral quality, or a human condition. The structure of the book follows a hierarchical order: About God, the Prelate, the Subordinate, the Spouse, the Friend, the Enemy, etc.
The main qualities of Llull's book are its conciseness, its didactic simplicity, and its musicality; the writing avoids the typical scholastic medieval embellishments.
References
[edit]- ^ Duràn, Estanislau. Bibliografia de les impressions lul·lianes / Elies Rogent i Estanislau Duran; amb un proemi, addicions i índex de Ramon d'Alòs-Moner. Institut d'Estudis Catalans. p. 315.
- ^ Casassas, Oriol (1999). Una faula i setze històries: excursió pel camp de les ciències humanes sortint del despatx d'un metge. L'Abadia de Montserrat. p. 33. ISBN 978-84-8415-096-1.
- ^ Badia, Lola; Santanach, Joan; Soler, Albert (2016). Ramon Llull as a Vernacular Writer: Communicating a New Kind of Knowledge (New ed.). Boydell & Brewer. p. 214. doi:10.7722/j.ctt18gzfnr.9. ISBN 978-1-85566-301-5.
