
A vivid anthology gathers together well‑known words, proverbs and memorable phrases from across centuries, each paired with the colorful story that gave it life. The editor has woven these snippets into a “picturesque history,” letting listeners wander through ancient conspiracies, royal ambitions and everyday wit without the weight of a formal textbook.
The collection opens with a daring plot from classical Greece, where a tyrant’s careless reading of a message—“Amanhã os negócios sérios!”—leads to his downfall, turning the line into a cautionary proverb. Later, the youthful bravado of Alexander the Great is recounted through his own quips, illustrating how a leader’s ambition can become legend. These episodes, and many more, blend factual detail with entertaining narration, offering both insight and amusement.
Perfect for a relaxed evening or a brief respite, the volume invites anyone curious about the origins of familiar sayings to explore history’s hidden corners while enjoying a pleasant, conversational listening experience.
Language
pt
Duration
~2 hours (142K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Júlio Reis, Fernanda Brojo and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2020-09-19
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects
1847–1906
A Portuguese writer with a wide-ranging body of work, he moved easily between poetry, fiction, theater, and literary journalism. His surviving books still offer a glimpse of late-19th-century Portuguese-language literature.
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