Proverbs crystallise the most common of human judgements and experiences. As a result, the same proverb can occur in many different languages, since the essentials of human needs remain the same across the globe. This is especially true of Celtic society, with its emphasis on honour, hospitality, courage, and its task for the poetic.
These Celtic proverbs give an insight into a society now gone. It was a rural society of farmers and hunters, with time to fight as well as time to make verses. Their proverbs reflect this closeness to nature and an attachment to the rhythm of the year. The short, ironic comment, often intended as a delicate put-down or a reminder of human fallibility is dear to the Celtic mind, and so the proverbs emerge, quite naturally, and with distinctive wit and charm.

Charming illustrations throughout.

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