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OUT OF AFRICA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2002

HARVEY M. FEINBERG  and
JOSEPH B. SOLODOW
HARVEY M. FEINBERG
Affiliation:
Southern Connecticut State University
JOSEPH B. SOLODOW
Affiliation:
Southern Connecticut State University
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Abstract

This article traces the origins of the familiar quotation, ‘there is always something new coming out of Africa’. It demonstrates that the phrase was a proverb that originated in Greece no later than the fourth century BC. It charts the transmission of the phrase from Aristotle to the twentieth century, noting that Erasmus is the most important link in the Renaissance and that he may be responsible for the current form in which the phrase is used.

The article also shows that the meaning of the phrase was very different in ancient times from what it is today. Whereas ‘something new’ to Aristotle meant strange hybrid animals, current writers use the phrase with a sense of admiration.

Keywords

Historiography
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of African History , Volume 43 , Issue 2 , July 2002 , pp. 255 - 261
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press

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