Svaki je kamen da se kuća gradi: Hrvatske poslovice sakupljene u naše dane po književnim i jezikoslovnim djelima nastalima od 12. do 19. stoljeća
An anthological collection with comments by Josip Kekez, a Croatian folklorist and Slavist. A classic work of Croatian folkloristics from the 1980s.
Kekez systematically combed through Croatian literary and linguistic texts from the 12th century (Glagolitic monuments, Marko Marulić, Hanibal Lucić) to the 19th century (Renaissance writers, folk literature) and extracted the proverbs that appear in them.
The book is divided into two parts:
- Theoretical-historical introduction – Kekez explains the genesis of proverbs, their role in literature (as stylistic decoration, wisdom, irony), the evolution from oral to written tradition and their significance for the Croatian language and culture.
- Presentation of proverbs – proverbs arranged alphabetically or thematically with source references (author, work, year), context and short comments on meaning or variants.
The title "Every stone is a building block" symbolizes proverbs as "stone" building elements of Croatian culture – every little wisdom contributes to the larger "house" of language and identity.
The book is an important contribution to folkloristics and phraseology – it shows how proverbs lived in literature, and not only in oral tradition. It is valued as a reference for the study of Croatian paremiology (proverbs), with an emphasis on continuity from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Kekez later expanded the topic in "Proverbs, Riddles and Speech Forms" (1996).
One copy is available
