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Proverbium : Yearbook of International Proverb Scholarship, Vol. 32 No. 1, 2015.

Original scientific paper

“Heaven is as Near . . . ”: The Evolution of an English Proverb

Charles Clay Doyle orcid id orcid.org/0000-0001-7070-8811

Full text: english pdf 194 Kb

page 83-100

downloads: 78

cite

Abstract

The proverb “We are as near Heaven by sea as by land,” or “The way to Heaven is the same from all places,” or the formula “Heaven is as close to X as to Y” entered the English language toward the end of the fifteenth century. The proverb—or at least the concept expressed by the proverb—has classical roots. It was famously used in the English Renaissance, and its currency persists into modern times.

Keywords

Historical proverb study; English proverbs; classical proverbs; medieval proverbs; Renaissance proverbs; modern proverbs; Thomas More; Humphrey Gilbert

Hrčak ID:

278332

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/278332

Publication date:

31.8.2015.

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