Proverbs

The May 12th issue of The Spectator contains a piece by Matthew Parris, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained -- although it's better to be safe than sorry." It's about how many a proverb can be contradicted by another one, and what that says about proverbial wisdom. Better look before you leap. But then, to hesitate is to be lost. If it's true that absence makes the heart grow fonder, then why are those who are out of sight, out of mind? Maybe you've noticed this.  It's interesting. The biblical collection of proverbs seems in a round about way to register this point.