Both Uses

proverb
in
The Alchemist, by Coelho
(Edited)

The boy remembered an old proverb from his country. It said that the darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn.
p. 137.3 *

proverb = a well-known short saying expressing wisdom
I'm an old, superstitious Arab, and I believe in our proverbs. There's one that says, 'Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.'
p. 160.9

proverbs = well-known short sayings expressing wisdom

Definitions:

(1) (proverb as in: the well-known proverb)
a short saying -- typically well-known and accepted by many as offering good advice

The adjective, proverbial, may refer to a proverb or to anything that is well-known -- as in "It is a proverbial fish story exaggeration."
(2) (Proverbs as in: from The Book of Proverbs)
a work of wisdom literature found in both the Old Testament of the Christian Bible and the Hebrew Bible
(3) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)