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It is a very old saying, most popularly taken from Hamlet, Act II, Scene II, but one of the 'church fathers,' Clement of Alexandria, writing around 200AD on the subject of plagiarism, writes this:
Theopompus [c. 350BC] having written:-"Twice children are old men in very truth; " And before him Sophocles [c. 450BC] in Peleus:- "Peleus, the son of Aeacus, I, sole housekeeper, Guide, old as he is now, and train again, For the aged man is once again a child,"- Antipho the orator [c. 430BC] says, "For the nursing of the old is like the nursing of children." Also the philosopher Plato [c. 400BC] says, "The old man then, as seems, will be twice a child.
(from the Stromata, or Miscellanies, Book VI, Chapter II)
It is also quoted in the Jewish Midrash "Genesis Rabbah" (pg. 62) which would be dated somewhere around 500AD; it appears to be a reference to Lot, as it's referring to his descendants, the Ammonites and Moabites, but is contained in a larger section of commentary on Gen. 14.
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∙ 12y ago
The quote "once a man, twice a child" is an African proverb that highlights the stages of life where a person starts as a dependent child, becomes independent as an adult, and may revert to dependence in old age. It reflects the cyclical nature of life and the need for care and support at different stages.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoIt is a very old saying, most popularly taken from Hamlet, Act II, Scene II, but one of the 'church fathers,' Clement of Alexandria, writing around 200AD on the subject of plagiarism, writes this:
Theopompus [c. 350BC] having written:-"Twice children are old men in very truth; " And before him Sophocles [c. 450BC] in Peleus:- "Peleus, the son of Aeacus, I, sole housekeeper, Guide, old as he is now, and train again, For the aged man is once again a child,"- Antipho the orator [c. 430BC] says, "For the nursing of the old is like the nursing of children." Also the philosopher Plato [c. 400BC] says, "The old man then, as seems, will be twice a child.
(from the Stromata, or Miscellanies, Book VI, Chapter II)
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Is the quote 'Once a man twice a child' a proverb or an idiom?
Does it mean what it seems to mean? That is how you tell.Let's look at it - "Once a man, twice a child" would mean that you are a child twice, and a man once - or, you are childish, then you grow up, then you grow old and become childish again.So it's not an idiom because an idiom would not make sense unless you knew exactly what it meant. It must be a proverb.
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The child of your first cousin, once removed, is your first cousin, twice removed.
What Bob Marley record contains the line 'once a man twice a child'?
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end
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You will come thrice in a minute twice in a hour once in a day who are you?
Answer is VOWEL
