Polish proverbs

For example, the popularity of "Oko pańskie konia tuczy" has been attributed to its inclusion in Adam Mickiewicz's epic poem, Pan Tadeusz.

[1] Many concern classic topics such as fortune and misfortune, religion, family, everyday life, health, love, wealth, and women; others, like the first recorded Polish proverb (referring to bast production), and those about weather, offer practical advice.

[11] The first known Polish author interested in proverbs was the poet Biernat of Lublin, who in 1522 published a collection of them titled Żywot Ezopa Fryga [pl], mędrca obyczajnego i z przypowieściami jego (The life of Aesop the Phrygian, a Decent Sage, and with His Parables).

[5] In 1658 Polish writer Andrzej Maksymilian Fredro published another collection of proverbs, Przysłowia mów potocznych albo przestrogi obyczajowe, radne, wojenne, which was said to have been widely popular in contemporary Poland.

[5] The 19th century saw the first work dedicated more to analyzing the proverbs and their history than solely collecting them, the Przysłowia narodowe, z wyjaśnieniem źródła, początku oraz sposobu ich użycia, okazujące charakter, zwyczaje i obyczaje, przesądy, starożytności i wspomnienia ojczyste (1830) of Kazimierz Władysław Wóycicki [pl].

[5] In 2009–2018 alone, 16 collections of proverbs aimed at young readers were published in Poland; many addressed to a mass audience are of varying quality.