More are slain by suppers than the sword.
Feasting in bygone days was an unselfconscious affair: people would eat till they literally burst. Henry the VIII died of a surfeit of lampreys as no one would dare to tell a king to stop being so silly
Today we have a constant stream of media information warning against overeating and what to, and what not to, eat and drink. Yet despite this cornucopia of good advice people are more obese than ever. How many people do you know who are digging their own graves with a spoon?
Death by a sword stroke was a reality for our ancestors so perhaps they liked to "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you might die" but as most healthy people can now expect to reach 90 it makes sense to pace yourself and avoid binges - enough is better than a feast.
Proverbs store the wisdom of ages in short, memorable lines with several layers of meaning. This blog states a weekly proverb and explores its meaning. Sir Winston Churchill, the former British Prime Minister, war leader, writer, painter, historian, bon viveur, whose mother was a United States citizen, recommended that people lacking formal education to learn proverbs. "The Wisdom of Nations lies in their Proverbs... Collect and learn them". William Penn, founder of the State of Pennsylvania.
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