Cliches have been around forever

Cliches from the Icelandic sagas circa 1200 AD: 

• Beggars always want to be choosers.
• Birds of a feather flock most together.
• When ill seed has been sown, so an ill crop will spring from it.
• Pride and wrong often end badly.
• The mother is best.
• Hard words break no bones.
• The longer vengeance is drawn out the better it will be.
• A rotten branch will be found in every tree.
• A bird in the hand was better than two in the bush.
• He with a short knife must try, try again. 

Harvested from Viking Quotes which provides citations to  referenced sagas:   http://evagirly.tripod.com/wright/id29.html