Since ancient times, proverbs have been considered an inexhaustible source of wisdom. In it, as in a grain, lies all the active forces of democratic culture. And is it not for this reason, as if checking the very direction of their own work with proverbs, all great people revered the wisdom and beauty, the picturesque, inventive power of proverbs. Writers saw proverbs as a storehouse of folk wisdom. The article is devoted to the different views of writers on proverbs and sayings, and their statements.