El camaleón que se sustenta del aire: evolución paremiológica e incidencia en la literatura española

Abstract

The current speaker immediately associates chameleons with color change, but seems confused with the idea that this animal feeds on air, when it emerges in a literary text. Speakers do not recognize as their own, therefore, the proverb Sustentarse del aire como el camaleón, which has been transmitted along several centuries in collections of proverbs and has been frequently used for its stylistic value and its effectiveness as a comparison in literature. This paper tries to explain the doggedness of the idea (even after the error has been realized ) and its evolution as a proverb, showing the communicating vessels between the cultured and popular traditions. It ultimately advocates for the recovery and the examination of what could be considered a «pre-truth», since it exemplifies what Nuccio Ordine called, in his defense of the Humanities, «the usefulness of the useless».

Keywords

• chameleon
• paremiology
• symbology
• pliny the elder
• belon
• terreros
• correas
• sbarbi