“Right Makes Might”: Proverbs and the American Worldview (2019) is the latest of many proverb studies by folklorist Wolfgang Mieder. It is a valuable text for folklorists, American and world history scholars, linguists, and political scientists. One thing that makes this text unique is that it brings together twelve of Mieder’s essays, some of which are new and others of which have been previously published in journals that may be difficult to find in the United States. Together these essays provide readers with a comprehensive view of ways that proverbs and proverbial language function in society. Mieder offers a very succinct definition of proverbs—“concise traditional statements of apparent truths with currency among the folk” (264)—and he continues to explore different aspects of proverb meaning, form, and function with each essay.
Mieder approaches the topic of proverbs and proverbial language from a variety of different angles, analyzing them linguistically, from historical perspectives, socio-political perspectives, and in other ways as well. Readers will gain a better understanding of what proverbs are and how American and world leaders utilize them to express important values and beliefs. Another significant feature of the text is ample information about a number of American and world leaders, many of whom were major role players in helping to shape American democracy. Mieder cites countless numbers of proverbs and proverbial expressions. He also identifies people responsible for their coining, earliest known recordings, and discussion of the processes by which certain sayings have become engrained in the collective conscience of the public. He emphasizes throughout the text that there is ample evidence that the circulation of certain sayings have had and continue to have great influence on the American political scene and in society in general.
After a brief preface, in the introduction, entitled “Ruminations on Authentically American Proverbs,” Mieder provides an overview of the basics of proverb scholarship, such as what proverbs are and where they come from. In the first chapter, “‘Let Us Have Faith That Right Makes Might’: Proverbial Rhetoric in Decisive Moments of American Politics,” Mieder discusses and recontextualizes for readers some important proverbs that were used by famous American political figures, such as Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Abigail Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Harry S. Truman, and Barack Obama. Throughout the chapter, Mieder illustrates that political figures use proverbs to introduce important ideas to the public, and the sayings are often instrumental in gaining the public’s acceptance. For instance, Mieder says that “As Roosevelt promised the country a New Deal after the devastating depression, he chose his words well when he proclaimed with much optimism that ‘the only thing we have to fear is fear itself’” (46). Roosevelt’s famous sayings and many others will enlighten readers to ways that proverbial rhetoric often influences legislation.
The second chapter, “‘These Are the Times that Try Women’s Souls’: The Proverbial Rhetoric for Women’s Rights by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony,” focuses specifically on these two female political figures and some of the proverbs and proverbial expressions that are used in their letters, speeches, and other writings in service of a number of causes including, “abolition, temperance, gender equality, and women’s suffrage” (63). One important point that Mieder emphasizes is that Stanton’s and Anthony’s proverbial rhetoric, and the political rhetoric of women in general, has largely been ignored by scholars.
Chapter 3, “‘The American People Rose to the Occasion’: A Proverbial Retrospective of the Marshall Plan after Seventy Years,” addresses proverbs and proverbial language used by Nobel Prize winning, U.S. Secretary of State, George Catlett Marshall (1880-1959) in support of his Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Plan (ERP), which was passed by President Harry S. Truman in 1948. The passing of ERP enabled the U.S. to devote 12 billion dollars in aid to the rebuilding of Western Europe after the end of World War II. Proverbs such as “the world is a small place” and “the proof of the pudding is in the eating” helped to justify Marshall’s plan for the U.S. to help sustain life in war-torn Western Europe. One special feature of chapter 3 is Mieder’s discussion of his own experiences as a young child who benefited greatly from this foreign aid plan before emigrating to America from Germany.
Chapter 4, “‘Making a Way Out of No Way’: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Proverbial Dream for Human Rights,” discusses proverbs and proverbial language used by Martin Luther King in the struggle for civil rights. Mieder examines King’s speeches, correspondence, and writings to provide an in-depth discussion of the proverbial rhetoric that served King best. Mieder’s insights in chapter 4 will help readers to gain an understanding of the many proverbial and rhetorical strategies that King implemented in order to help change the nation and the world.
Chapter 5, “‘Keep Your Eyes on the Prize’: Congressman John Lewis’s Proverbial Odyssey for Civil Rights,” examines proverbs and proverbial language used by King’s close friend and protégé, John Lewis. Proverbs such as “keep your eyes on the prize” and “a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” grew to become rallying calls for the Civil Rights Movement, and Lewis utilizes them throughout his autobiography, memoirs, speeches, and other writings. Much like King, Lewis’s faith-based values are remembered and celebrated proverbially.
Chapter 6, “‘I’m Absolutely Sure About—the Golden Rule’: Barack Obama’s Proverbial Audacity of Hope,” critically examines proverbial rhetoric used by the forty-fourth U.S. president, Barack Obama. Mieder examines the speeches and literary works of Obama to illustrate ways that he uses proverbial rhetoric to align himself politically with his heroes, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King.
Chapter 7, “‘Politics is Not a Spectator Sport’: Proverbs in the Personal and Political Writings of Hillary Rodham Clinton,” explores ways that proverbs and proverbial language have been integral to Clinton’s career in politics. Again Mieder provides readers with a comprehensive view of Clinton’s speeches and writings in order to illustrate the unique ways that she employs proverbs such as “it takes a village to raise a child” and “human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights” in order to champion a broad range of causes and to connect to a number of different audiences.
Chapter 8, “‘The Rich Get Richer, and the Poor Get Poorer’: Bernie Sanders’s Proverbial Rhetoric for an American Sociopolitical Revolution,” examines ways that Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, utilizes proverbs and proverbial expressions in order to promote his unique brand of politics. Sanders frequents such sayings as “one person, one vote,” “you can’t get blood out of a stone,” and “the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer” in order to combat things such as unfair and unwanted tax cuts for the wealthy one percent of the American population and the widespread political influence of wealthy lobbyists who ignore the needs of the middle class and the ever-growing poor population.
With chapter 9, “‘M(R)ight Makes R(M)ight’: The Sociopolitical History of a Contradictory Proverb Pair,” readers should gain a better understanding of the significance of contextualization in proverb studies. Mieder illustrates that proverbs that are nearly identical sometimes contain different messages based on ways they are used. Furthermore, for some proverbs that have an opposite, such as the proverbs in the chapter’s title, have been used interchangeably in some cases since at least the early fourteenth century.
Chapter 10, “‘All Men Are Created Equal’: From Democratic Claim to Proverbial Game,” provides in-depth discussion of one of America’s oldest and most highly cited proverbs: “All Men Are Created Equal.” Mieder discusses its ancient origins and also the American leaders who did the most to popularize it. Chapter 10 simultaneously serves as an invaluable bibliography that surveys and examines dozens of proverb reference materials, old and new, some of which may be out of print or very difficult to find.
Chapter 11, “‘Laissez faire à Georges’ and ‘Let George Do It’: A Paremiological Polygenesis,” takes a look at the issue of polygenesis in proverb studies, or the possibility that a single proverb may have separate and unrelated origins. Mieder states that the proverb “let George do it” is a prime example of polygenesis because, on the one hand, its origins are found in sixteenth-century France, being widely used in reference to French prime minister George d’Amboise, and on the other hand, it also has origins in the early twentieth century American South, being widely used by whites as a denigrating racial slur in reference to the first generation of African American free men who worked as porters on luxury sleeping cars for the Pullman Railway Company, which was owned by George Pullman. Chapter 11 will open a reader’s eyes to both the positive and adverse repercussions that proverbial rhetoric may have.
Chapter 12, “‘To Be (All) Greek To Someone’: Origin, History, and Meaning of an English Proverbial Expression,” examines a saying that a number of scholars attribute to William Shakespeare, but Mieder traces this internationally used saying all the way back to the Middle Ages. As Mieder explains, at least four separate variations were “employed by monks or notably legal scribes of the late Middle Ages who could not read the Greek passages contained in various types of Latin documents” (335). Since the Middle Ages the saying has grown in popularity to be an acceptable response to confusing circumstances involving any kind of communication.
While “Right Makes Might” may seem somewhat dense to the average reader, it is an invaluable text for a number of reasons. First, it brings together a broad range of Mieder’s most recent proverb studies and connects them through sociopolitical topics such as civil rights, women’s rights, and temperance. Secondly, it is filled with many proverbs and proverbial expressions that from a historical standpoint are very influential in conveying American ideals, values, and beliefs. Lastly, it contains many extraordinary surprises, such as the extensive proverb bibliography that appears in chapter 10. Important features like these, and many more, make this text beneficial to scholars of all kinds.
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[Review length: 1676 words • Review posted on February 6, 2020]