material from the ,google ,books        
project47          ,transcriber's ,note 
,in the printed book1 alternate pages   
have unique headers1 represented here as
 sidenotes4  ,for list of the           
corrections made1 please view the       
transcriber's note at the end of the    
text4       ,,proverbs ,,and ,,their    
,,lessons4       ,,proverbs ,,and       
,,their ,,lessons3   ,,being   ,,the    
,,substance ,,of ,,lectures             
,,delivered ,,to ,,young ,,men',s       
,,societies   ,,at ,,portsmouth ,,and   
,,elsewhere4    ,,by   ,,richard        
,,chenevix ,,trench1 ,d4,d41   ,,dean   
,,of ,,westminster4    ,,fifth          
,,edition4    ,,london3   ,,john ,w4    
,,parker ,,and ,,son1 ,,west ,,strand4  
,,mdccclxi4     ,,preface4   ,it may be 
as well to state1 that the lectures     
which are here published were never     
delivered as a complete course1 but only
 one here and two there1 as matter      
gradually grew under my hands2 yet so   
that very much the greater part of what 

is contained in this volume has been at 
one time or another actually delivered4 
,although ,i have always taken a lively 
interest in national proverbs1 ,i had no
 intention at the first of making a book
 about them2 but only selected the      
subject as one which ,i thought1 though 
,i was not confident of this1 might     
afford me sufficient material for a     
single lecture1 which ,i had undertaken 
some time ago to deliver4 ,i confess    
that ,i was at the time almost entirely 
ignorant of the immense number and      
variety of books bearing on the subject4
 ,many of these ,i still know only by   
name4 ,with some of the best1 however1  
,i have made myself acquainted1 and by  
their aid1 with the addition of such    
further material as ,i could myself     
furnish1 these lectures have assumed    
their present shape2 and ,i publish     
them1 because none of the works on      
proverbs which ,i know are exactly that 
book for all readers which ,i could have
 wished to see4 ,either they include    

matter which cannot be fitly placed     
before all--or they address themselves  
to the scholar alone1 or if not so1 are 
at any rate inaccessible to the mere    
,english reader--or they contain bare   
lists of proverbs1 with no endeavour to 
compare1 illustrate1 and explain        
them--or if they seek to explain1 yet   
they do it without attempting to sound  
the depths1 or measure the real         
significance1 of that which they        
undertake to unfold4 ,from these or     
other causes it has come to pass1 that  
with a multitude of books1 many of them 
admirable1 on a subject so popular1     
there is no single one which is frequent
 in the hands of men4 ,i will not deny  
that1 with all the slightness and       
shortcomings of my own1 ,i have still   
hoped to supply1 at least for the       
present1 this deficiency4               
,,itchenstoke1 ,december #ac1 #aheb4    
,,contents4   ,,lecture ,i4             
,,page  ,,the ,,form ,,and ,,definition 
,,of ,a ,,proverb              #a       

,,lecture ,,ii4  ,,the ,,generation ,,of
 ,,proverbs                       #bf   
,,lecture ,,iii4  ,,the ,,proverbs ,,of 
,,different ,,nations ,,compared        
#df   ,,lecture ,,iv4  ,,the ,,poetry1  
,,wit1 ,,and ,,wisdom ,,of ,,proverbs   
#gj   ,,lecture ,v4  ,,the ,,morality   
,,of ,,proverbs                         
#if   ,,lecture ,,vi4  ,,the ,,theology 
,,of ,,proverbs                         
#aba    ,,appendix                      
#adi     ,,proverbs ,,and ,,their       
,,lessons4     ,,lecture ,i4  ,,the     
,,form ,,and ,,definition ,,of ,a       
,,proverb4   ,it is very likely that    
from some of us proverbs have never     
attracted the notice which ,i am        
persuaded they deserve2 and from this it
 may follow that1 when invited to bestow
 even a brief attention on them1 we are 
in some doubt whether they will repay   
our pains4 ,we think of them but as     
sayings on the lips of the multitude2   
not a few of them have been familiar to 
us as far back as we can remember2 often

 employed by ourselves1 or in our       
hearing1 on slight and trivial          
occasions3 and thus1 from these and     
other causes1 it may very well be1 that1
 however sometimes one may have taken   
our fancy1 we yet have remained blind in
 the main to the wit1 wisdom1 and       
imagination1 of which they are full2 and
 very little conscious of the amusement1
 instruction1 insight1 which they are   
capable of yielding4 ,unless too we have
 devoted a certain attention to the     
subject1 we shall not be at all aware   
how little those more familiar ones1    
which are frequent on the lips of men1  
exhaust the treasure of our native      
proverbs2 how many and what excellent   
ones remain behind1 having now for the  
most part fallen out of sight2 or what  
riches in like kind other nations       
possess4 ,we may little guess how many  
aspects of interest there are in which  
our own by themselves1 and our own      
compared with those of other people1 may
 be regarded4  ,and yet there is much to

 induce us to reconsider our judgment1  
should we be thus tempted to slight     
them1 and to count them not merely      
trite1 but trivial and unworthy of a    
serious attention4 ,the fact that they  
please the people1 and have pleased them
 for ages1--that they possess so        
vigorous a principle of life1 as to have
 maintained their ground1 ever new and  
ever young1 through all the centuries of
 a nation's existence1--nay1 that many  
of them have pleased not one nation     
only1 but many1 so that they have made  
themselves an home in the most different
 lands1--and further1 that they have1   
not a few of them1 come down to us from 
remotest antiquity1 borne safely upon   
the waters of that great stream of time1
 which has swallowed so much beneath its
 waves1--all this1 ,i think1 may well   
make us pause1 should we be tempted to  
turn away from them with anything of    
indifference or disdain4  ,and then     
further1 there is this to be considered1
 that some of the greatest poets1 the   

profoundest philosophers1 the most      
learned scholars1 the most genial       
writers in every kind1 have delighted in
 them1 have made large and frequent use 
of them1 have bestowed infinite labour  
on the gathering and elucidating of     
them4 ,in a fastidious age1 indeed1 and 
one of false refinement1 they may go    
nearly or quite out of use among the    
so-called upper classes4 ,no gentleman1 
says ,lord ,chesterfield1 or 8no man of 
fashion10 as ,i think is his exact      
phrase1 8ever uses a proverb40#a ,and   
with how fine a touch of nature         
,shakespeare makes ,coriolanus1 the man 
who1 with all his greatness1 is entirely
 devoid of all sympathy for the people1 
to utter his scorn of them in scorn of  
their proverbs1 and of their frequent   
employment of these3                    
8,hang 'em6     ,they said they were an 
hungry1 sighed forth proverbs2--        
,that1 hunger broke stone walls2 that1  
dogs must eat2     ,that1 meat was made 
for mouths2 that1 the gods sent not     

,corn for the rich men only2--with these
 shreds     ,they vented their          
complainings40                          
,coriolanus1 ,act ,i4 ,sc4 #a4          
,sidenote3 ,aristotle collected         
proverbs4  ,but that they have been     
always dear to the true intellectual    
aristocracy of a nation1 there is       
abundant evidence to prove4 ,take but   
these three names in evidence1 which    
though few1 are in themselves an host4  
,aristotle made a collection of         
proverbs2 nor did he count that he was  
herein doing aught unworthy of his great
 reputation1 however some of his        
adversaries may afterwards have made of 
the fact that he did so an imputation   
against him4 ,he is said to have been   
the first collector of them1 though many
 afterwards followed in the same path4  
,shakespeare loves them so well1 that   
besides often citing them1 and          
scattering innumerable covert allusions1
 rapid side glances at them1 which we   
are in danger of missing unless at home 

in the proverbs of ,england1 several of 
his plays1 as ,measure for ,measure1    
,all's well that ends well1 have popular
 proverbs for their titles4 ,and        
,cervantes1 a name only inferior to     
,shakespeare1 has made very plain the   
affection with which he regarded them4  
,every reader of ,don ,quixote will     
remember his squire1 who sometimes      
cannot open his mouth but there drop    
from it almost as many proverbs as      
phrases4 ,i might name others who have  
held the proverb in honour--men who     
though they may not attain to these     
first three1 are yet deservedly         
accounted great2 as ,plautus1 the most  
genial of ,latin poets1 ,rabelais and   
,montaigne1 the two most original of    
,french authors2 and how often ,fuller1 
whom ,coleridge has styled the wittiest 
of writers1 justifies this praise in his
 witty employment of some old proverb3  
and no reader can thoroughly understand 
and enjoy ,hudibras1 none but will miss 
a multitude of its keenest allusions1   

who is not thoroughly familiar with the 
proverbial literature of ,england4      
,sidenote3 ,proverbs in ,scripture4     
,nor is this all2 we may with reverence 
adduce quite another name than any of   
these1 the ,lord himself1 as            
condescending to employ such proverbs as
 he found current among his people4     
,thus1 on the occasion of his first open
 appearance in the synagogue of         
,nazareth1 he refers to the proverb1    
,physician1 heal thyself1 7,luke iv4    
#bc17 as one which his hearers will     
perhaps bring forward against ,himself2 
and again presently to another1 ,a      
prophet is not without honour but in his
 own country1 as attested in his own    
history2 and at the well of ,sychar ,he 
declares1 8,herein is that saying10 or  
that proverb1 8true1 ,one soweth and    
another reapeth40 7,john iv4 #cg47 ,but 
,he is much more than a quoter of other 
men's proverbs2 ,he is a maker of his   
own4 ,as all forms of human composition 
find their archetypes and their highest 

realization in ,scripture1 as there is  
no tragedy like ,job1 no pastoral like  
,ruth1 no lyric melodies like the       
,psalms1 so we should affirm no proverbs
 like those of ,solomon1 were it not    
that 8a greater than ,solomon0 has drawn
 out of the rich treasure house of the  
,eternal ,wisdom a series of proverbs   
more costly still4 ,for indeed how much 
of our ,lord's teaching1 especially as  
recorded in the three first             
,evangelists1 is thrown into this form2 
and how many of his words have in this  
shape passed over as 8faithful sayings0 
upon the lips of men2 and so doing1 have
 fulfilled a necessary condition of the 
proverb1 whereof we shall have presently
 to speak4  ,but not urging this        
testimony any further1--a testimony too 
august to be lightly used1 or employed  
merely to swell the testimonies of      
men--least of all1 men of such          
8uncircumcised lips0 as1 with all their 
genius1 were more than one of those whom
 ,i have named1--and appealing only to  

the latter1 ,i shall be justified1 ,i   
feel1 in affirming that whether we      
listen to those single voices which make
 a silence for themselves1 and are heard
 through the centuries and their ages1  
or to that great universal voice of     
humanity1 which is wiser even than these
 7for it is these1 with all else which  
is worthy to be heard added to them71   
there is here a subject1 which those    
whose judgments should go very far with 
us have not accounted unworthy of their 
serious regard4  ,and ,i am sure if we  
bestow on them ourselves even a moderate
 share of attention1 we shall be ready  
to set our own seal to the judgment of  
wiser men that have preceded us here4   
,for1 indeed1 what a body of popular    
good sense and good feeling1 as we shall
 then perceive1 is contained in the     
better1 which is also the more numerous1
 portion of them2 what a sense of       
natural equity1 what a spirit of        
kindness breathes out from many of them2
 what prudent rules for the management  

of life1 what shrewd wisdom1 which      
though not of this world1 is most truly 
for it1 what frugality1 what patience1  
what perseverance1 what manly           
independence1 are continually inculcated
 by them4 ,what a fine knowledge of the 
human heart do many of them display2    
what useful1 and not always obvious1    
hints do they offer on many most        
important points1 as on the choice of   
companions1 the bringing up of children1
 the bearing of prosperity and          
adversity1 the restraint of all         
immoderate expectations4 ,and they take 
a yet higher range than this2 they have 
their ethics1 their theology1 their     
views of man in his highest relations of
 all1 as man with his fellow man1 and   
man with his ,maker4 ,be these always   
correct or not1 and ,i should be very   
far from affirming that they always are 
so1 the student of humanity1 he who     
because he is a man counts nothing human
 to be alien to him1 can never without  
wilfully foregoing an important         

document1 and one which would have      
helped him often in his studies1        
altogether neglect or pass them by4     
99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,shortness1 sense1 salt4     
,but what1 it may be asked1 before we   
proceed further1 is a proverb8 ,nothing 
is harder than a definition4 ,while on  
the one hand there is for the most part 
no easier task than to detect a fault or
 flaw in the definitions of those who   
have gone before us1 nothing on the     
other is more difficult than to propose 
one of our own1 which shall not also    
present a vulnerable side4 ,some one has
 said that these three things go to the 
constituting of a proverb1 shortness1   
sense1 and salt4 ,in brief pointed      
sayings of this kind1 the second of the 
qualities enumerated here1 namely sense1
 is sometimes sacrificed to             
alliteration4 ,i would not affirm that  
it is so here3 for the words are not ill
 spoken1 though they are very far from  
satisfying the rigorous requirements of 

a definition1 as will be seen when we   
consider what the writer intended by his
 three esses1 which it is not hard to   
understand4 ,the proverb1 he would say1 
must have shortness2 it must be         
succinct1 utterable in a breath4 ,it    
must have sense1 not being1 that is1 the
 mere small talk of conversation1 slight
 and trivial1 else it would perish as   
soon as born1 no one taking the trouble 
to keep it alive4 ,it must have salt1   
that is1 besides its good sense1 it must
 in its manner and outward form be      
pointed and pungent1 having a sting in  
it1 a barb which shall not suffer it to 
drop lightly from the memory4#b ,yet1   
regarded as a definition1 this of the   
triple s fails1 as ,i have said2 it     
indeed errs both in defect and excess4  
,sidenote3 ,proverbs will be concise4   
,thus in demanding shortness1 it errs in
 excess4 ,it is indeed quite certain    
that a good proverb will be short1 as   
short1 that is1 as is compatible with   
the full and forcible conveying of that 

which it intends4 ,brevity1 8the soul of
 wit10 will be eminently the soul of a  
proverb's wit2 it will contain1         
according to ,fuller's definition1 8much
 matter decocted into few words40       
,oftentimes it will consist of two1     
three1 or four1 and these sometimes     
monosyllabic1 words4 ,thus ,extremes    
meet2--,right wrongs no                 
man2--,forewarned1 forearmed2--with a   
thousand more4#c ,but still shortness is
 only a relative term1 and it would     
perhaps be more accurate to say that a  
proverb must be concise1 cut down1 that 
is1 to the fewest possible words2       
condensed1 quintessential wisdom4#d ,but
 that1 if only it fulfil this condition 
of being as short as possible1 it need  
not be absolutely very short1 there are 
sufficient examples to prove4 ,thus     
,freytag has admitted the following1    
which indeed hovers on the confines of  
the fable1 into his great collection of 
,arabic proverbs3 ,they said to the     
camel-bird1 i4 e41 the ostrich1         

8,carry30 it answered1 #8,i cannot1 for 
,i am a bird4' ,they said1 8,fly20 it   
answered1 #8,i cannot1 for ,i am a      
camel4' ,this could not be shorter1 yet1
 as compared with the greater number of 
proverbs1 is not short4#e ,even so the  
sense and salt1 which are ascribed to   
the proverb as other of its necessary   
conditions1 can hardly be said to be    
such2 seeing that flat1 saltless        
proverbs1 though comparatively rare1    
there certainly are2 while yet1 be it   
remembered1 we are not considering now  
what are the ornaments of a good        
proverb1 but the essential marks of all4
  ,and then moreover it errs in defect2 
for it has plainly omitted one quality  
of the proverb1 and that the most       
essential of all--,i mean popularity1   
acceptance and adoption on the part of  
the people4 ,without this popularity1   
without these suffrages and this consent
 of the many1 no saying1 however brief1 
however wise1 however seasoned with     
salt1 however worthy on all these       

accounts to have become a proverb1      
however fulfilling all other its        
conditions1 can yet be esteemed as such4
 ,this popularity1 omitted in that      
enumeration of the essential notes of   
the proverb1 is yet the only one whose  
presence is absolutely necessary1 whose 
absence is fatal to the claims of any   
saying to be regarded as such4          
,sidenote3 ,aphorisms not proverbs4     
,those1 however1 who have occupied      
themselves with the making of           
collections of proverbs have sometimes  
failed to realize this to themselves    
with sufficient clearness1 or at any    
rate have not kept it always before     
them2 and thus it has come to pass1 that
 many collections include whatever brief
 sayings their gatherers have anywhere  
met with1 which to them have appeared   
keenly1 or wisely1 or wittily spoken2#f 
while yet a multitude of these have     
never received their adoption into the  
great family of proverbs1 or their      
rights of citizenship therein3 inasmuch 

as they have never passed into general  
recognition and currency1 have no claim 
to this title1 however just a claim they
 may have on other grounds to our       
admiration and honour4 ,for instance1   
this word of ,goethe's1 8,a man need not
 be an architect to live in an house10  
seems to me to have every essential of a
 proverb1 saving only that it has not   
passed over upon the lips of men4 ,it is
 a saying of manifold application2 an   
universal law is knit up in a particular
 example2 ,i mean that gracious law in  
the distribution of blessing1 which does
 not limit our use and enjoyment of     
things by our understanding of them1 but
 continually makes the enjoyment much   
wider than the knowledge2 so that it is 
not required that one be a botanist to  
have pleasure in a rose1 nor a critic to
 delight in ,paradise ,lost1 nor a      
theologian to taste all the blessings of
 ,christian faith1 nor1 as he expresses 
it1 an architect to live in an house4   
,and here is an inimitable saying of    

,schiller's3 8,heaven and earth fight in
 vain against a dunce20 yet it is not a 
proverb1 because his alone2 although    
abundantly worthy to have become such2#g
 moving as it does in the same line     
with1 though far superior to1 the       
,chinese proverb1 which itself also is  
good3 ,one has never so much need of his
 wit1 as when he has to do with a fool4 
,or to take another example still more  
to the point4 ,james ,howell1 a prolific
 ,english writer of the earlier half of 
the seventeenth century1 one certainly  
meriting better than that almost entire 
oblivion into which his writings have   
fallen1 occupied himself much with      
proverbs2 and besides collecting those  
of others1 he has himself set down 8five
 hundred new sayings1 which in tract of 
time may serve for proverbs to          
posterity40 ,as was to be expected1 they
 have not so done2 for it is not after  
this artificial method that such are    
born2 yet many of these proverbs in     
expectation are expressed with sense and

 felicity2 for example3 8,pride is a    
flower that grows in the devil's        
garden20 as again1 the selfishness which
 characterizes too many proverbs is not 
ill reproduced in the following3 8,burn 
not thy fingers to snuff another man's  
candle20 and there is at any rate good  
theology in the following3 8,faith is a 
great lady1 and good works are her      
attendants20 and in this3 8,the poor are
 ,god's receivers1 and the angels are   
his auditors40 ,yet for all this1 it    
would be inaccurate to quote these as   
proverbs1 7and their author himself1 as 
we have seen1 did not do more than set  
them out as proverbs upon trial17       
inasmuch as they have remained the      
private property of him who first       
devised them1 never having passed into  
general circulation2 which until men's  
sayings have done1 maxims1 sentences1   
apothegms1 aphorisms they may be1 and   
these of excellent temper and proof1 but
 proverbs as yet they are not4          
,sidenote3 ,not all proverbs true4  ,it 

is because of this1 the popularity      
inherent in a genuine proverb1 that from
 such an one in a certain sense there is
 no appeal4 ,you will not suppose me to 
intend that there is no appeal from its 
wisdom1 truth1 or justice2 from any word
 of man's there may be such2 but no     
appeal from it1 as most truly           
representing a popular conviction4      
,aristotle1 who in his ethical and      
political writings often finds very much
 more than this in it1 always finds     
this4 ,it may not be1 it very often will
 not be1 an universal conviction which  
it expresses1 but ever one popular and  
widespread4 ,so far indeed from an      
universal1 very often over against the  
one proverb there will be another1 its  
direct antagonist2 and the one shall    
belong to the kingdom of light1 the     
other to the kingdom of darkness4       
,common fame is seldom to blame2 here is
 the baser proverb1 for as many as drink
 in with greedy ears all reports to the 
injury of their neighbours2 being       

determined from the first that they     
shall be true4 ,but it is not left      
without its compensation3 8,they say    
so10 is half a liar2 here is the better 
word with which they may arm themselves1
 who count it a primal duty to close    
their ears against all such             
unauthenticated rumours to the discredit
 of their brethren4 ,the noblest        
vengeance is to forgive2 here is the    
godlike proverb on the manner in which  
wrongs should be recompensed3 ,he who   
cannot revenge himself is weak1 he who  
will not is vile1#h here is the         
devilish4 ,these lines occur in a sonnet
 which ,howell has prefixed to his      
collection of proverbs3      8,the      
people's voice the voice of ,god we     
call2        ,and what are proverbs but 
the people's voice8        ,coined      
first1 and current made by common       
choice8      ,then sure they must have  
weight and truth withal20  ,it will     
follow from what has just been said1    
that1 true in the main1 they yet cannot 

be taken without certain qualifications 
and exceptions4#i  ,sidenote3           
,popularity essential4  ,herein in great
 part the force of a proverb lies1      
namely1 that it has already received the
 stamp of popular allowance4 ,a man     
might produce1 7for what another has    
done1 he might do again17 something as  
witty1 as forcible1 as much to the      
point1 of his own2 which should be      
hammered at the instant on his own      
anvil4 ,yet still it is not 8the wisdom 
of many20 it has not stood the test of  
experience2 it wants that which the     
other already has1 but which it only    
after a long period can acquire--the    
consenting voice of many and at         
different times to its wisdom and truth4
 ,a man employing a 8proverb of the     
ancients10 7#a ,sam4 xxiv4 #ac17 is not 
speaking of his own1 but uttering a     
faith and conviction very far wider than
 that of himself or of any single man2  
and it is because he is so doing that   
they1 in ,lord ,bacon's words1 8serve   

not only for ornament and delight1 but  
also for active and civil use2 as being 
the edge tools of speech which cut and  
penetrate the knots of business and     
affairs40 ,the proverb has in fact the  
same advantage over the word now        
produced for the first time1 which for  
present currency and value has the      
recognised coin of the realm over the   
rude unstamped ore newly washed from the
 stream1 or dug up from the mine4 ,this 
last may possess an equal amount of     
fineness2 but the other has been stamped
 long ago1 has already passed often from
 man to man1 and found free acceptance  
with all3#aj it inspires therefore a    
confidence which the ruder metal cannot 
at present challenge4 ,and the same     
satisfaction which the educated man     
finds in referring the particular matter
 before him to the universal law which  
rules it1 a plainer man finds in the    
appeal to a proverb4 ,he is doing the   
same thing2 taking refuge1 that is1 as  
each man so gladly does1 from his mere  

self and single fallible judgment1 in a 
larger experience and in a wider        
conviction4  ,and in all this which has 
been urged lies1 as it seems to me1 the 
explanation of a sentence of an ancient 
grammarian1 which at first sight appears
 to contain a bald absurdity1 namely1   
that a proverb is 8a saying without an  
author40 ,for1 however without a known  
author it may1 and in the majority of   
cases it must be1 still1 as we no more  
believe in the spontaneous generation of
 proverbs than of anything else1 an     
author every one of them must have had4 
,it might1 however1 and it often will   
have been1 that in its utterance the    
author did but precipitate the floating 
convictions of the society round him2 he
 did but clothe in happier form what    
others had already felt1 or even already
 uttered2 for often a proverb has been  
in this aspect1 8the wit of one1 and the
 wisdom of many40 ,and further1 its     
constitutive element1 as we must all now
 perceive1 is not the utterance on the  

part of the one1 but the acceptance on  
the part of the many4 ,it is their      
sanction which first makes it to be     
such2 so that every one who took or gave
 it during the period when it was       
struggling into recognition may claim to
 have had a share in its production2 and
 in this sense without any single author
 it may have been4 ,from the very first 
the people will have vindicated it for  
their own4 ,and thus though they do not 
always analyse the compliment paid to   
them in the use of their proverbs1 they 
always feel it2 they feel that a writer 
or speaker using these is putting       
himself on their ground1 is entering on 
their region1 and they welcome him the  
more cordially for this4#aa         99  
99       99       99       99           
,sidenote3 ,not all proverbs figurative4
  ,let us now consider if some other    
have not sometimes been proposed as     
essential notes of the proverb1 which   
yet are in fact accidents1 such as may  
be present or absent without affecting  

it vitally4 ,into an error of this kind 
they have fallen1 who have claimed for  
the proverb1 and made it one of its     
necessary conditions1 that it should be 
a figurative expression4 ,a moment's    
consideration will be sufficient to     
disprove this4 ,how many proverbs1 such 
as ,haste makes waste2--,honesty is the 
best policy1 with ten thousand more1    
have nothing figurative about them4     
,here again the error has arisen from   
taking that which belongs certainly to  
very many proverbs1 and those oftentimes
 the best and choicest1 and transferring
 it1 as a necessary condition1 to all4  
,this much of truth they who made the   
assertion certainly had2 namely1 that   
the employment of the concrete instead  
of the abstract is one of the most      
frequent means by which it obtains and  
keeps its popularity2 for so the proverb
 makes its appeal to the whole man--not 
to the intellectual faculties alone1 but
 to the feelings1 to the fancy1 or even 
to the imagination1 as well1 stirring   

the whole man to pleasurable activity4  
,by the help of an instance or two we   
can best realize to ourselves how great 
an advantage it thus obtains for itself4
 ,suppose1 for example1 one were to     
content himself with saying1 8,he may   
wait till he is a beggar1 who waits to  
be rich by other men's deaths10 would   
this trite morality be likely to go half
 so far1 or to be remembered half so    
long1 as the vigorous comparison of this
 proverb3 ,he who waits for dead men's  
shoes may go barefoot8#ab ,or again1    
what were 8,all men are mortal10 as     
compared with the proverb3 ,every door  
may be shut but death's door8 ,or let   
one observe3 8,more perish by           
intemperance than are drowned in the    
sea10 is this anything better than a    
painful1 yet at the same time a flat1   
truism8 ,but let it be put in this      
shape3 ,more are drowned in the beaker  
than in the ocean2#ac or again in this3 
,more are drowned in wine and in beer   
than in water2#ad 7and these both are   

,german proverbs17 and the assertion    
assumes quite a different character4    
,there is something that lays hold on us
 now4 ,we are struck with the smallness 
of the cup as set against the vastness  
of the ocean1 while yet so many more    
deaths are ascribed to that than to     
this2 and further with the fact that    
literally none are1 and none could be1  
drowned in the former1 while multitudes 
perish in the latter4 ,in the justifying
 of the paradox1 in the extricating of  
the real truth from the apparent        
falsehood of the statement1 in the      
answer to the appeal made here to the   
imagination1--an appeal and challenge   
which1 unless it be responded to1 the   
proverb must remain unintelligible to   
us1--in all this there is a process of  
mental activity1 oftentimes so rapidly  
exercised as scarcely to be perceptible1
 yet not the less carried on with a     
pleasurable excitement4#ae  ,sidenote3  
,rhyme in proverbs4  ,let me mention now
 a few other of the more frequent helps 

which the proverb employs for obtaining 
currency among men1 for being listened  
to with pleasure by them1 for not       
slipping again from their memories who  
have once heard it2--yet helps which are
 evidently so separable from it1 that   
none can be in danger of affirming them 
essential parts or conditions of it4 ,of
 these rhyme is the most prominent4 ,it 
would lead me altogether from my        
immediate argument1 were ,i to enter    
into a disquisition on the causes of the
 charm which rhyme has for us all2 but  
that it does possess a wondrous charm1  
that we like what is like1 is attested  
by a thousand facts1 and not least by   
the circumstance that into this rhyming 
form a very great multitude of proverbs1
 and those among the most widely        
current1 have been thrown4 ,though such 
will probably at once be present to the 
minds of all1 yet let me mention a few3 
,good mind1 good find2--,wide will wear1
 but tight will tear2--,truth may be    
blamed1 but cannot be shamed2--,little  

strokes fell great oaks2--,women's jars 
breed men's wars2--,a king's face should
 give grace2--,east1 west1 home is      
best2--,store is no sore2--,slow help is
 no help2--,who goes a-borrowing1 goes  
a-sorrowing2--with many more1 uniting1  
as you will observe several of them do1 
this of rhyme with that which ,i have   
spoken of before1 namely1 extreme       
brevity and conciseness4#af  ,sidenote3 
,alliteration in proverbs4              
,alliteration1 which is nearly allied to
 rhyme1 is another of the helps whereof 
the proverb largely avails itself4      
,alliteration was at one time an        
important element in our early ,english 
versification2 it almost promised to    
contend with rhyme itself1 which should 
be the most important2 and perhaps1 if  
some great master in the art had arisen1
 might have retained a far greater hold 
on ,english poetry than it now          
possesses4 ,at present it is merely     
secondary and subsidiary4 ,yet it cannot
 be called altogether unimportant2 no   

master of melody despises it2 on the    
contrary1 the greatest1 as in our days  
,tennyson1 make the most frequent1      
though not always the most obvious1 use 
of it4 ,in the proverb you will find it 
of continual recurrence1 and where it   
falls1 as1 to be worth anything1 it     
must1 on the key-words of the sentence1 
of very high value4 ,thus3 ,frost and   
fraud both end in foul2--,like lips1    
like lettuce2--,meal and matins minish  
no way2--,who swims in sin1 shall sink  
in sorrow2--,no cross1 no crown2--,out  
of debt1 out of danger2--,do in hill as 
you would do in hall2#ag that is1 ,be in
 solitude the same that you would be in 
a crowd4 ,i will not detain you with    
further examples of this in other       
languages2 but such occur1 and in such  
numbers that it seems idle to quote     
them1 in all2 ,i will only adduce1 in   
concluding this branch of the subject1 a
 single ,italian proverb1 which in a    
remarkable manner unites all three      
qualities of which we have been last    

treating1 brevity1 rhyme1 and           
alliteration3 ,traduttori1 traditori2   
one which we might perhaps reconstitute 
in ,english thus3 ,translators1         
traitors2 so untrue1 for the most part1 
are they to the genius of their         
original1 to its spirit1 if not to its  
letter1 and frequently to both2 so do   
they surrender1 rather than render1 its 
meaning2 not turning1 but only          
overturning1 it from one language to    
another4#ah  ,a certain pleasant        
exaggeration1 the use of the figure     
hyperbole1 a figure of natural rhetoric 
which ,scripture itself does not disdain
 to employ1 is a not unfrequent engine  
with the proverb to procure attention1  
and to make a way for itself into the   
minds of men4 ,thus the ,persians have a
 proverb3 ,a needle's eye is wide enough
 for two friends2 the whole world is too
 narrow for two foes4 ,again1 of a man  
whose good luck seems never to forsake  
him1 so that from the very things which 
would be another man's ruin he          

extricates himself not merely without   
harm1 but with credit and with gain1 the
 ,arabs say3 ,fling him into the ,nile1 
and he will come up with a fish in his  
mouth2 while of such a ,fortunatus as   
this the ,germans have a proverb3 ,if he
 flung a penny on the roof1 a dollar    
would come down to him2#ai as1 again1 of
 the man in the opposite extreme of     
fortune1 to whom the most unlikely      
calamities1 and such as beforehand might
 seem to exclude one another1 befall1   
they say3 ,he would fall on his back1   
and break his nose4  ,sidenote3         
,transplanting of proverbs4  ,in all    
this which ,i have just traced out1 in  
the fact that the proverbs of a language
 are so frequently its highest bloom and
 flower1 while yet so much of their     
beauty consists often in curious        
felicities of diction pertaining        
exclusively to some single language1    
either in a rapid conciseness to which  
nothing tantamount exists elsewhere1 or 
in rhymes which it is hard to reproduce1

 or in alliterations which do not easily
 find their equivalents1 or in other    
verbal happinesses such as these1 lies  
the difficulty which is often felt1     
which ,i shall myself often feel in the 
course of these lectures1 of            
transferring them without serious loss1 
nay1 sometimes the impossibility of     
transferring them at all from one       
language to another4#bj ,oftentimes1 to 
use an image of ,erasmus1#ba they are   
like those wines1 7,i believe the       
,spanish ,valdepeas is one17 of which   
the true excellence can only be known by
 those who drink them in the land which 
gave them birth4 ,transport them under  
other skies1 or1 which is still more    
fatal1 empty them from vessel to vessel1
 and their strength and flavour will in 
great part have disappeared in the      
process4  ,still this is rather the     
case1 where we seek deliberately1 and   
only in a literary interest1 to         
translate some proverb which we admire  
from its native language into our own or

 another4 ,where1 on the contrary1 it   
has transferred itself1 made for itself 
a second home1 and taken root a second  
time in the heart and affections of a   
people1 in such a case one is           
continually surprised at the instinctive
 skill with which it has found          
compensations for that which it has been
 compelled to let go2 it is impossible  
not to admire the unconscious skill with
 which it has replaced one vigorous     
idiom by another1 one happy rhyme or    
play on words by its equivalent2 and all
 this even in those cases where the     
extremely narrow limits in which it must
 confine itself allow it the very       
smallest liberty of selection4 ,and     
thus1 presenting itself equally finished
 and complete in two or even more       
languages1 the internal evidence will be
 quite insufficient to determine which  
of its forms we shall regard as the     
original1 and which as a copy4 ,for     
example1 the proverb at once ,german and
 ,french1 which ,i can present in no    

comelier ,english dress than this1      
,mother's truth     ,keeps constant     
youth2  but which in ,german runs thus1 
,mutter-treu     ,wird tglich neu2  and 
in ,french1      ,tendresse maternelle  
,toujours se renouvelle2  appears to me 
as exquisitely graceful and tender in   
the one language as in the other2 while 
yet so much of its beauty depends on the
 form1 that beforehand one could hardly 
have expected that the charm of it would
 have survived its transfer to the      
second language1 whichever that may be1 
wherein it found an home4 ,having thus  
opened the subject1 ,i shall reserve its
 further development for the lectures   
which follow4   ,footnotes  #a ,a       
similar contempt of them speaks out in  
the antithesis of the ,french ,jesuit1  
,bouhours3 ,les proverbes sont les      
sentences du peuple1 et les sentences   
sont les proverbes des honntes gens4  #b
 ,compare with this ,martial's so happy 
epigram upon epigrams1 in which         
everything runs exactly parallel to that

 which has been said above3      8,omne 
epigramma sit instar apis2 sit aculeus  
illi1        ,sint sua mella1 sit et    
corporis exigui20  which may be         
indifferently rendered thus3            
8,three things must epigrams1 like bees1
 have all--      ,its sting1 its honey1 
and its body small40  #c ,the very      
shortest proverb which ,i know in the   
world is this ,german3 ,voll1 toll2     
which sets out very well the connexion  
between fulness and folly1 pride and    
abundance of bread4 ,in that seeking of 
extreme brevity noted above1 they       
sometimes become exceedingly elliptical1
 7although this is the case more with   
the ancient than with the modern17 so   
much so as to omit even the vital       
element of the sentence1 the verb4      
,thus3 ' 2--,sus ,minervam2--,fures     
clamorem2--,meretrix pudicam2--,amantes 
amentes4  #d ,this is what ,aristotle   
means when he ascribes --which in       
another place he opposes to the  --to   
it4  #e ,let serve for further proof    

this eminently witty old ,german        
proverb1 which1 despite its apparent    
length1 has not forfeited its character 
as such4 ,i shall prefer to leave it in 
the original3 ,man spricht1 an viererlei
 ,leuten ist ,mangel auf ,erden3 an     
,pfaffen1 sonst drfte einer nit #f bis  
#g ,pfruenden2 an ,adelichen1 sonst     
wollte nit jeder ,bauer ein ,junker     
sein2 an ,huren1 sonst wrden die        
,handwerk ,eheweiber und ,nunnen nit    
treiben2 an ,juden1 sonst wrden         
,christen nit wuchern4  #f ,when        
,erasmus1 after discussing and rejecting
 the definitions of those who had gone  
before him1 himself defines the proverb 
thus1 ,celebre dictum1 scit qupiam      
novitate insigne1 it appears to me that 
he has not escaped the fault which he   
has blamed in others--that1 namely1 of  
confounding the accidental adjuncts of a
 good proverb with the necessary        
conditions of every proverb4 ,in rigour 
the whole second clause of the          
definition should be dismissed1 and     

,celebre dictum alone remain4 ,better   
,eifelein 7,sprichwrter des ,deutschen  
,volkes1 ,friburg1 #ahdj1 p4 x473 ,das  
,sprichwort ist ein mit ffentlichem     
,geprge ausgemnzter ,saz1 der seinen    
,curs und anerkannten ,werth unter dem  
,volke hat4  #g ,it suggests1 however1  
the admirable ,spanish proverb1 spoken  
no doubt out of the same conviction3    
,dios me d contienda1 con quien me      
entienda4  #h ,chi non pu fare sua      
vendetta  debile1 chi non vuole  vile4  
#i ,quintilian's words 7,inst4 #e4 #aa4 
#da71 which are to the same effect1 must
 be taken with the same exception2      
,neque enim durssent hc in ternum1 nisi 
vera omnibus viderentur2 and also ,don  
,quixote's3 ,parceme me1 ,sancho1 que no
 ay refrn que no sea verdadro1 porque   
todas son sentencias sacadas de la misma
 experiencia1 madre de las ciencias     
todas4  #aj ,thus in a proverb about    
proverbs1 the ,italians say1 with a true
 insight into this its prerogative3 ,il 
proverbio s'invecchia1 e chi vuol far   

bene1 vi si specchia4  #aa ,the name    
which the proverb bears in ,spanish     
points to this fact1 that popularity is 
a necessary condition of it4 ,this name 
is not proverbio1 for that in ,spanish  
signifies an apothegm1 an aphorism1 a   
maxim2 but refrn1 which is a referendo1 
from the frequency of its repetition2   
yet see ,diez1 ,etymol4 ,wrterbuch1 p4  
#bhd4 ,the etymology of the ,greek  is  
somewhat doubtful1 but it too means     
probably a trite1 wayside saying4  #ab  
,the same1 under a different image1 in  
,spanish3 ,larga soga tira1 quien por   
muerte agena suspira4  #ac ,im ,becher  
ersaufen mehr als im ,meere4  #ad ,in   
,wein und ,bier ertrinken mehr denn im  
,wasser4  #ae ,here is the explanation  
of the perplexity of ,erasmus4 ,deinde  
fit1 nescio quo pacto1 ut sententia     
proverbio quasi vibrata feriat acrius   
auditoris animum1 et aculeos quosdam    
cogitationum relinquat infixos4  #af    
,so1 too1 in other languages2 ,qui      
prend1 se rend2--,qui se loue1          

s'emboue2--,chi v piano1 v sano1 e v    
lontano2--,chi compra terra1 compra     
guerra2--,quien se muda1 ,dios le       
ayuda2--,wie gewonnen1 so zerronnen2 and
 the ,latin medieval2--,qualis vita1    
finis ita2--,via crucis1 via            
lucis2--,uniti muniti4--,we sometimes   
regard rhyme as a modern invention1 and 
to the modern world no doubt the        
discovery of all its capabilities1 and  
the consequent large application of it  
belongs4 ,but proverbs alone would be   
sufficient to show that in itself it is 
not modern1 however restricted in old   
times the employment of it may have     
been4 ,for instance1 there is a ,greek  
proverb to express that men learn by    
their sufferings more than by any other 
teaching3 1  7,herod41 i4 #bjg27 one    
which in the ,latin1 ,nocumenta1        
documenta1 or1 ,qu nocent1 docent1 finds
 both in rhyme and sense its equivalent2
 to both of which evidently the         
inducement lay in the chiming and       
rhyming words4 ,another rhyming ,greek  

proverb which ,i have met1 1 1 implying 
that fulness of blessings is too often  
accompanied with forgetfulness of their 
,author 7,deut4 #h4 #aa-ad17 is1 ,i     
fancy1 not ancient--at least does not   
date further back than ,greek           
,christianity4 ,the sentiment would     
imply this1 and the fact that the word  
does not occur in classical ,greek would
 seem to be decisive upon it4  #ag ,so  
in ,latin3 ,nil sole et sale utilius2   
and in ,greek3 1 4  #ah ,this is ,st4   
,jerome's pun1 who complains that the   
,latin versions of the ,greek ,testament
 current in the ,church in his day were 
too many of them not versiones1 but     
eversiones4  #ai ,wrf er einen ,groschen
 aufs ,dach1 fiel ihm ,ein ,thaler      
herunter2--compare another3 ,wer ,glck  
hat1 dem kalbet ein ,ochs4  #bj ,thus in
 respect of this ,german proverb3       
,stultus und ,stolz     ,wachset aus    
,einem ,holz2  its transfer into any    
other languages is manifestly           
impossible4 ,the same may be affirmed of

 another1 commending stay-at-home habits
 to the wife3 ,die ,hausfrau soll nit   
sein eine ,ausfrau2 or again of this    
beautiful ,spanish one3 ,la verdad es   
siempre verde4  #ba ,habent enim hoc    
peculiare pleraque proverbia1 ut in e   
lingu sonare postulant in qu nata sunt2 
quod si in alienum sermonem demigrrint1 
multum grati decedat4 ,quemadmodum sunt 
et vina qudam qu recusant exportari1 nec
 germanam saporis gratiam obtineant1    
nisi in his locis in quibus proveniunt4 
,,lecture ,,ii4  ,,the ,,generation ,,of
 ,,proverbs4   ,in my preceding lecture 
,i occupied your attention with the form
 and definition of a proverb2 let us    
proceed in the present to realize to    
ourselves1 so far as this may be        
possible1 the processes by which a      
nation gets together the great body of  
its proverbs1 the sources from which it 
mainly derives them1 and the            
circumstances under which such as it    
makes for itself of new1 had their birth
 and generation4  ,and first1 ,i would  

call to your attention the fact that a  
vast number of its proverbs a people    
does not make for itself1 but finds     
ready made to its hands3 it enters upon 
them as a part of its intellectual and  
moral inheritance4 ,the world has now   
endured so long1 and the successive     
generations of men have thought1 felt1  
enjoyed1 suffered1 and altogether       
learned so much1 that there is an       
immense stock of wisdom which may be    
said to belong to humanity in common1   
being the gathered fruits of all this   
its experience in the past4 ,even       
,aristotle1 more than two thousand years
 ago1 could speak of proverbs as 8the   
fragments of an elder wisdom1 which1 on 
account of their brevity and aptness1   
had amid a general wreck and ruin been  
preserved40 ,these1 the common property 
of the civilized world1 are the original
 stock with which each nation starts2   
these1 either orally handed down to it1 
or made its own by those of its earlier 
writers who brought it into living      

communication with the past4 ,thus1 and 
through these channels1 a vast number of
 ,greek1 ,latin1 and medieval proverbs  
live on with us1 and with all the modern
 nations of the world4  ,sidenote3      
,antiquity of proverbs4  ,it is1 indeed1
 oftentimes a veritable surprise to     
discover the venerable age and antiquity
 of a proverb1 which we have hitherto   
assumed to be quite a later birth of    
modern society4 ,thus we may perhaps    
suppose that well-known word which      
forbids the too accurate scanning of a  
present1 ,one must not look a gift horse
 in the mouth1 to be of ,english        
extraction1 the genuine growth of our   
own soil4 ,i will not pretend to say how
 old it may be1 but it is certainly as  
old as ,jerome1 a ,latin father of the  
fourth century2 who1 when some found    
fault with certain writings of his1     
replied with a tartness which he could  
occasionally exhibit1 that they were    
voluntary on his part1 free-will        
offerings1 and with this quoted the     

proverb1 that it did not behove to look 
a gift horse in the mouth2 and before it
 comes to us1 we meet it once more in   
one of the rhymed ,latin verses1 which  
were such great favourites in the middle
 ages3      ,si quis dat mannos1 ne qure
 in dentibus annos4  ,again1 ,liars     
should have good memories is a saying   
which probably we assume to be modern2  
yet it is very far from so being4 ,the  
same ,jerome1 who1 ,i may observe by the
 way1 is a very great quoter of         
proverbs1 and who has preserved some    
that would not otherwise have descended 
to us1#bb speaks of one as 8unmindful of
 the old proverb1 ,liars should have    
good memories10#bc and we find it       
ourselves in a ,latin writer a good deal
 older than him4#bd ,so too ,i was      
certainly surprised to discover the     
other day that our own proverb3 ,good   
company on a journey is worth a coach1  
has come down to us from the ancient    
world4#be  ,sidenote3 ,rhymed ,latin    
proverbs4  ,having lighted just now on  

one of those ,latin rhymed verses1 let  
me by the way guard against an error    
about them1 into which it would be very 
easy to fall4 ,i have seen it suggested 
that these1 if not the source from      
which1 are yet the channels by which1 a 
great many proverbs have reached us4 ,i 
should greatly doubt it4 ,this much we  
may conclude from the existence of      
proverbs in this shape1 namely1 that    
since these rhymed or leonine verses    
went altogether out of fashion at the   
revival of a classical taste in the     
fifteenth century1 such proverbs as are 
found in this form may be affirmed with 
a tolerable certainty to date at least  
as far back as that period2 but not that
 in all or even in a majority of cases1 
this shape was their earliest4          
,oftentime the proverb in its more      
popular form is so greatly superior to  
the same in this its ,latin monkish     
dress1 that the latter by its tameness  
and flatness betrays itself at once as  
the inadequate translation1 and we      

cannot fail to regard the other as the  
genuine proverb4 ,many of them are 8so  
essentially ,teutonic1 that they        
frequently appear to great disadvantage 
in the ,latin garb which has been       
huddled upon them40#bf ,thus1 when we   
have on one side the ,english1 ,hungry  
bellies have no ears1 and on the other  
the ,latin1      ,jejunus venter non    
audit verba libenter1  who can doubt    
that the first is the proverb1 and the  
second only its versification8 ,or who  
would hesitate to affirm that the old   
,greek proverb1 ,a rolling stone gathers
 no moss1 may very well have come to us 
without the intervention of the medieval
 ,latin1      ,non fit hirsutus lapis   
hinc atque inde volutus8  ,and the true 
state of the case comes out still more  
clearly1 where there are two of these   
rhymed ,latin equivalents for the one   
popular proverb1 and these quite        
independent of each other4 ,so it is in 
respect of our ,english proverb3 ,a bird
 in the hand is worth two in the bush2  

which appears in this form3      ,una   
avis in dextr melior quam quatuor extra2
  and also in this3      ,capta avis est
 pluris quam mille in gramine ruris4    
,who can fail to see here two           
independent attempts to render the same 
saying8 ,sometimes the ,latin line      
confesses itself to be only the         
rendering of a popular word2 thus is it 
with the following3      ,ut dicunt     
multi1 cito transit lancea stulti2  in  
other words3 ,a fool's bolt is soon     
shot4  ,then1 besides this derivation   
from elder sources1 from the literature 
of nations which as such now no longer  
exist1 besides this process in which a  
people are merely receivers and         
borrowers1 there is also at somewhat    
later periods in its life a mutual      
interchange between it and other nations
 growing up beside1 and cotemporaneously
 with it1 of their own several          
inventions in this kind2 a free giving  
and taking1 in which it is often hard1  
and oftener impossible1 to say which is 

the lender and which the borrower4 ,thus
 the quantity of proverbs not drawn from
 antiquity1 but common to all1 or nearly
 all of the modern ,european languages1 
is very great4 ,the #8solidarity' 7to   
use a word which it is in vain to strive
 against7 of all the nations of         
,christendom comes out very noticeably  
here4  ,sidenote3 ,proverbs claimed by  
many4  ,there is indeed nothing in the  
study of proverbs1 in the attribution of
 them to their right owners1 in the     
arrangement and citation of them1 which 
creates a greater perplexity than the   
circumstances of finding the same       
proverb in so many different quarters1  
current among so many different nations4
 ,in quoting it as of one1 it often     
seems as if we were doing wrong to many1
 while yet it is almost1 or oftener     
still altogether1 impossible to         
determine to what nation it first       
belonged1 so that others drew it at     
second hand from that one2--even        
granting that any form in which we now  

possess it is really its oldest of all4 
,more than once this fact has occasioned
 a serious disappointment to the zealous
 collector of the proverbs of his native
 country4 ,proud of the rich treasures  
which in this kind it possessed1 he has 
very reluctantly discovered on a fuller 
investigation of the whole subject1 how 
many of these which he counted native1  
the peculiar heirloom and glory of his  
own land1 must at once and without      
hesitation be resigned to others1 who   
can be shown beyond all doubt to have   
been in earlier possession of them3     
while in respect of many more1 if his   
own nation can put in a claim to them as
 well as others1 yet he is compelled to 
feel that it can put in no better than1 
oftentimes not so good as1 many         
competitors4#bg  ,sidenote3             
,unregistered proverbs4  ,this single   
fact1 which it is impossible to         
question1 that nations are thus         
continually borrowing proverbs from one 
another1 is sufficient to show that1    

however the great body of those which   
are the portion of a nation may be1 some
 almost as old as itself1 and some far  
older1 it would for all this be a       
serious mistake to regard the sum of    
them as a closed account1 neither       
capable of1 nor actually receiving1     
addition--a mistake of the same         
character as that sometimes made in     
regard to the words of a language4 ,so  
long as a language is living1 it will be
 appropriating foreign words1 putting   
forth new words of its own4 ,exactly in 
the same way1 so long as a people have  
any vigorous energies at work in them1  
are acquiring any new experiences of    
life1 are forming any new moral         
convictions1 for the new experiences and
 convictions new utterances will be     
found2 and some of the happiest of these
 will receive that stamp of general     
allowance which shall constitute them   
proverbs4 ,and this fact makes it little
 likely that the collections which exist
 in print1 and certainly not the earlier

 ones1 will embrace all the proverbs in 
actual circulation4 ,they preserve1     
indeed1 many others2 all those which    
have now become obsolete1 and which     
would1 but for them1 have been          
forgotten2 but there are not a few1 as  
,i imagine1 which1 living on the lips of
 men1 have yet never found their way    
into books1 however worthy to have done 
so2 and this1 either because the sphere 
in which they circulate has continued   
always a narrow one1 or that the        
occasions which call them out are very  
rare1 or that they1 having only lately  
risen up1 have not hitherto attracted   
the attention of any who cared to record
 them4 ,it would be well1 if such as    
take an interest in the subject1 and are
 sufficiently well versed in the        
proverbial literature of their own      
country to recognise such unregistered  
proverbs when they meet them1 would     
secure them from that perishing1 which1 
so long as they remain merely oral1     
might easily overtake them2 and would   

make them at the same time1 what all    
good proverbs ought certainly to be1 the
 common heritage of all4#bh  ,and as new
 proverbs will be born from life and    
from life's experience1 so too there    
will be another fruitful source of their
 further increase1 namely1 the books    
which the people have made heartily     
their own4 ,portions of these they will 
continually detach1 most often word for 
word2 at other times wrought up into new
 shapes with that freedom which they    
claim to exercise in regard of whatever 
they thus appropriate to their own use4 
,these1 having detached1 they will give 
and take as part of their current       
intellectual money4 ,thus 8,evil        
communications corrupt good manners10#bi
 7#a ,cor4 xv4 #cc17 is word for word a 
metrical line from a ,greek comedy4 ,it 
is not probable that ,st4 ,paul had ever
 read this comedy1 but the words for    
their truth's sake had been taken up    
into the common speech of men2 and not  
as a citation1 but as a proverb1 he uses

 them4 ,and if you will1 from this point
 of view1 glance over a few pages of one
 of ,shakespeare's more popular         
dramas1--,hamlet1 for example1--you will
 be surprised1 in case your attention   
has never been called to this before1 to
 note how much has in this manner been  
separated from it1 that it might pass   
into the every day use and service of   
man2 and you will be prepared to        
estimate higher than ever what he has   
done for his fellow countrymen1 the     
8possession for ever0 which his writings
 have become for them4 ,and much no     
doubt is passing even now from favourite
 authors into the flesh and blood of a  
nation's moral and intellectual life2   
and as 8household words10 as parts of   
its proverbial philosophy1 for ever     
incorporating itself therewith4 ,we have
 a fair measure of an author's true     
popularity1 ,i mean of the real and     
lasting hold which he has taken on his  
nation's heart1 in the extent to which  
it has been thus done with his writings4

         99       99       99       99  
99  ,there is another way in which      
additions are from time to time made to 
the proverbial wealth of a people4 ,some
 event has laid strong hold of their    
imagination1 has stirred up the depths  
of their moral consciousness2 and this  
they have gathered up for themselves1   
perhaps in some striking phrase which   
was uttered at the moment1 or in some   
allusive words1 understood by everybody1
 and which at once summon up the whole  
incident before their eyes4  ,sidenote3 
,scriptural proverbs4  ,sacred history  
furnishes us with one example at the    
least of the generation in this wise of 
a proverb4 ,that word1 8,is ,saul also  
among the prophets80 is one of which we 
know the exact manner in which it grew  
to be a 8proverb in ,israel40 ,when the 
son of ,kish revealed of a sudden that  
nobler life which had hitherto been     
slumbering in him1 alike undreamt of by 
himself and by others1 took his part and
 place among the sons of the prophets1  

and1 borne along in their enthusiasm1   
praised and prophesied as they did1     
showing that he was indeed turned into  
another man1 then all that knew him     
beforehand said one to another1 some    
probably in sincere astonishment1 some  
in irony and unbelief1 8,is ,saul also  
among the prophets80 ,and the question  
they asked found and finds its          
application so often as any reveals of a
 sudden1 at some crisis of his life1    
qualities for which those who knew him  
the longest had hitherto given him no   
credit1 a nobleness which had been      
latent in him until now1 a power of     
taking his place among the worthiest and
 the best1 which none until now had at  
all deemed him to possess4 ,it will1 of 
course1 find equally its application1   
when one does not step truly1 but only  
affects suddenly to step1 into an higher
 school1 to take his place in a nobler  
circle of life1 than that in which      
hitherto he has moved4  ,sidenote3 ,the 
cranes of ,ibycus4  ,another proverb1   

and one well known to the ,greek        
scholar1 ,the cranes of ,ibycus1#cj had 
its rise in one of those remarkable     
incidents1 which1 witnessing for ,god's 
inscrutable judgments1 are eagerly      
grasped by men4 ,the story of its birth 
is indeed one to which so deep a moral  
interest is attached1 that ,i shall not 
hesitate to repeat it1 even at the risk 
that ,schiller's immortal poem on the   
subject1 or it may be the classical     
studies of some here present1 may have  
made it already familiar to a portion of
 my hearers4 ,ibycus1 a famous lyrical  
poet of ,greece1 journeying to ,corinth1
 was assailed by robbers3 as he fell    
beneath their murderous strokes he      
looked round1 if any witnesses or       
avengers were nigh4 ,no living thing was
 in sight1 save only a flight of cranes 
soaring high over head4 ,he called on   
them1 and to them committed the avenging
 of his blood4 ,a vain commission1 as it
 might have appeared1 and as no doubt it
 did to the murderers appear4 ,yet it   

was not so4 ,for these1 sitting a little
 time after in the open theatre at      
,corinth1 beheld this flight of cranes  
hovering above them1 and one said       
scoffingly to another1 8,lo1 there1 the 
avengers of ,ibycus60 ,the words were   
caught up by some near them2 for already
 the poet's disappearance had awakened  
anxiety and alarm4 ,being questioned1   
they betrayed themselves1 and were led  
to their doom2 and ,the cranes of       
,ibycus passed into a proverb1 very much
 as our ,murder will out1 to express the
 wondrous leadings of ,god whereby      
continually the secretest thing of blood
 is brought to the open light of day4   
,gold of ,toulouse#ca is another of     
these proverbs in which men's sense of a
 ,god verily ruling and judging the     
earth has found its embodiment4 ,the    
,consul ,q4 ,s4 ,cpio had taken the city
 of ,toulouse by an act of more than    
common perfidy and treachery2 and       
possessed himself of the immense hoards 
of wealth stored in the temples of the  

,gaulish deities4 ,from this day forth  
he was so hunted by calamity1 all       
extremest evils and disasters1 all shame
 and dishonour1 fell so thick on himself
 and all who were his1 and were so      
traced up by the moral instinct of      
mankind to this accursed thing which he 
had made his own1 that any wicked gains1
 fatal to their possessor1 acquired this
 name2 and of such a one it would be    
said 8,he has gold of ,toulouse40       
,another proverb1 which in ,english has 
run into the following posy1 ,there's   
many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip1 
descends to us from the ,greeks1 having 
a very striking story connected with it3
 ,a master treated with extreme cruelty 
his slaves who were occupied in planting
 and otherwise laying out a vineyard for
 him2 until at length one of them1 the  
most misused1 prophesied that for this  
his cruelty he should never drink of its
 wine4 ,when the first vintage was      
completed1 he bade this slave to fill a 
goblet for him1 which taking in his hand

 he at the same time taunted him with   
the non-fulfilment of his prophecy4 ,the
 other replied with words which have    
since become proverbial3 as he spake1   
tidings were hastily brought of a huge  
wild boar that was wasting the vineyard4
 ,setting down the untasted cup1 the    
master went out to meet the wild boar1  
and was slain in the encounter1 and thus
 the proverb1 ,many things find place   
between the cup and lip1 arose4#cb  ,a  
,scotch proverb1 ,he that invented the  
,maiden1 first hanselled it1 is not     
altogether unworthy to rank with these4 
,it alludes to the well-known historic  
fact that the ,regent ,morton1 the      
inventor of a new instrument of death   
called 8,the ,maiden10 was himself the  
first upon whom the proof of it was     
made4 ,men felt1 to use the language of 
the ,latin poet1 that 8no law was juster
 than that the artificers of death      
should perish by their own art10 and    
embodied their sense of this in the     
proverb4  ,sidenote3 ,gnomes become     

proverbs4  ,memorable words of          
illustrious men will frequently not die 
in the utterance1 but pass from mouth to
 mouth1 being still repeated with       
complacency1 till at length they have   
received their adoption into the great  
family of national proverbs4 ,such were 
the gnomes or sayings of the ,seven     
,wise ,men of ,greece1 supposing them to
 have been indeed theirs1 and not       
ascribed to them only after they had    
obtained universal currency and         
acceptance4 ,so too a saying1 attributed
 to ,alexander the ,great1 may very well
 have arisen on the occasion1 and under 
the circumstances1 to which its birth is
 commonly ascribed4 ,when some of his   
officers reported to him with something 
of dismay the innumerable multitudes of 
the ,persian hosts which were advancing 
to assail him1 the youthful ,macedonian 
hero silenced them and their            
apprehensions with the reply3 ,one      
butcher does not fear many sheep2 not in
 this applying an old proverb1 but      

framing a new1 and one admirably        
expressive of the confidence which he   
felt in the immeasurable superiority of 
the ,hellenic over the barbarian        
man2--and this word1 having been once   
set on foot by him1 has since lived on1 
and that1 because the occasions were so 
numerous on which a word like this would
 find its application4  ,and taking     
occasion from this royal proverb1 let me
 just observe by the way1 that it would 
be a great mistake to assume1 though the
 error is by no means an uncommon one1  
that because proverbs are popular1 they 
have therefore originally sprung from   
the bosom of the populace4 ,what was    
urged in my first lecture of their      
popularity was not at all intended in   
this sense2 and the sound common sense1 
the wit1 the wisdom1 the right feeling1 
which are their predominant             
characteristics1 alike contradict any   
such supposition4 ,they spring rather   
from the sound healthy kernel of the    
nation1 whether in high place or in low2

 and it is surely worthy of note1 how   
large a proportion of those with the    
generation of which we are acquainted1  
owe their existence to the foremost men 
of their time1 to its philosophers1 its 
princes1 and its kings2 as it would not 
be difficult to show4 ,and indeed the   
evil in proverbs testifies to this quite
 as much as the good4 ,thus the many    
proverbs in almost all modern tongues   
expressing scorn of the 8villain0 are   
alone sufficient to show that for the   
most part they are very far from having 
their birth quite in the lower regions  
of society1 but reflect much oftener the
 prejudices and passions of those higher
 in the social scale4  ,sidenote3 ,a    
,spanish proverb4  ,let me adduce       
another example of the proverbs which   
have thus grown out of an incident1     
which contain an allusion to it1 and are
 only perfectly intelligible when the   
incident itself is known4 ,it is this   
,spanish3 ,let that which is lost be for
 ,god2 one the story of whose birth is  

thus given by the leading ,spanish      
commentator on the proverbs of his      
nation3--,the father of a family1 making
 his will and disposing of his goods    
upon his death-bed1 ordained concerning 
a certain cow which had strayed1 and had
 been now for a long time missing1 that1
 if it were found1 it should be for his 
children1 if otherwise for ,god3 and    
hence the proverb1 ,let that which is   
lost be for ,god1 arose4 ,the saying was
 not one to let die2 it laid bare with  
too fine a skill some of the subtlest   
treacheries of the human heart2 for1    
indeed1 whenever men would give to ,god 
only their lame and their blind1 that   
which costs them nothing1 that from     
which they hope no good1 no profit1 no  
pleasure for themselves1 what are they  
saying in their hearts but that which   
this man said openly1 ,let that which is
 lost be for ,god4  ,this subject of the
 generation of proverbs1 upon which ,i  
have thus touched so slightly1 is yet   
one upon which whole volumes have been  

written4 ,those who have occupied       
themselves herein have sought to trace  
historically the circumstances out of   
which various proverbs have sprung1 and 
to which they owe their existence2 that 
so by the analogy of these we might     
realize to ourselves the rise of others 
whose origins lie out of our vision1    
obscure and unknown4 ,no one will deny  
the interest of the subject3 it cannot  
but be most interesting to preside thus 
at the birth of a saying which has lived
 on and held its ground in the world1   
and has not ceased1 from the day it was 
first uttered1 to be more or less of a  
spiritual or intellectual force among   
men4 ,still the cases where this is     
possible are exceedingly rare1 as       
compared with the far greater number    
where the first birth is veiled1 as is  
almost all birth1 in mystery and        
obscurity4 ,and indeed it could scarcely
 be otherwise4 ,the great majority of   
proverbs are foundlings1 the happier    
foundlings of a nation's wit1 which the 

collective nation has refused to let    
perish1 has taken up and adopted for its
 own4 ,but still1 as must be expected to
 be the case with foundlings1 they can  
for the most part give no distinct      
account of themselves4 ,they make their 
way1 relying on their own merits1 not on
 those of their parents and authors2    
whom they have forgotten2 and who seem  
equally to have forgotten them1 or1 at  
any rate1 fail to claim them4 ,not      
seldom1 too1 when a story has been given
 to account for a proverb's rise1 it    
must remain a question open to much     
doubt1 whether the story has not been   
subsequently imagined for the proverb1  
rather than that the proverb has indeed 
sprung out of history4#cc         99    
99       99       99       99           
,sidenote3 ,employment of proverbs4     
,the proverb having thus had its rise   
from life1 however it may be often      
impossible to trace that rise1 will     
continually turn back to life again2 it 
will attest its own practical character 

by the frequency with which it will     
present itself for use1 and will have   
been actually used upon earnest and     
important occasions2 throwing its weight
 into one scale or the other at some    
critical moment1 and sometimes with     
decisive effect4 ,i have little doubt   
that with knowledge sufficient one might
 bring together a large collection of   
instances wherein1 at significant       
moments1 the proverb has played its     
part1 and1 it may be1 very often helped 
to bring about issues1 of which all     
would acknowledge the importance4  ,in  
this aspect1 as having been used at a   
great critical moment1 and as part of   
the moral influence brought to bear on  
that occasion for effecting a great     
result1 no proverb of man's can be      
compared with that one which the ,lord  
used when ,he met his future ,apostle1  
but at this time his persecutor1 in the 
way1 and warned him1 of the             
fruitlessness and folly of a longer     
resistance to a might which must        

overcome him1 and with still greater    
harm to himself1 at the last3 ,it is    
hard for thee to kick against the       
pricks4#cd 7,acts xxvi4 #ad47 ,it is not
 always observed1 but yet it adds much  
to the fitness of this proverb's use on 
this great occasion1 that it was        
already1 even in that heathen world to  
which originally it belonged1           
predominantly used to note the madness  
of a striving on man's part against the 
superior power of the gods2 for so we   
find it in the chief passages of heathen
 antiquity in which it occurs4#ce  ,i   
must take the second illustration of my 
assertion from a very different quarter1
 passing at a single stride from the    
kingdom of heaven to the kingdom of     
hell1 and finding my example there4 ,we 
are told then1 that when ,catherine de  
,medicis desired to overcome the        
hesitation of her son ,charles the      
,ninth1 and draw from him his consent to
 the massacre1 afterwards known as that 
of ,st4 ,bartholomew1 she urged on him  

with effect a proverb which she had     
brought with her from her own land1 and 
assuredly one of the most convenient    
maxims for tyrants that was ever framed3
 ,sometimes clemency is cruelty1 and    
cruelty clemency4  ,later ,french       
history supplies another and more       
agreeable illustration4 ,at the siege of
 ,douay1 ,louis the ,fourteenth found   
himself with his suite unexpectedly     
under a heavy cannonade from the        
besieged city4 ,i do not believe that   
,louis was deficient in personal        
courage1 yet1 in compliance with the    
entreaties of most of those around him1 
who urged that he should not expose so  
important a life1 he was about1 in      
somewhat unsoldierly and unkingly       
fashion1 immediately to retire2 when ,m4
 de ,charost1 drawing close to him1     
whispered the well-known ,french proverb
 in his ear3 ,the wine is drawn2 it must
 be drunk4#cf ,the king remained exposed
 to the fire of the enemy a suitable    
period1 and it is said ever after held  

in higher honour than before the        
counsellor who had with this word saved 
him from an unseemly retreat4 ,let this 
on the generation of proverbs1 with the 
actual employment which has been made of
 them1 for the present suffice4         
,footnotes  #bb ,thus is it1 ,i believe1
 with1 ,bos lassus fortius figit pedem2 
a proverb with which he warns the       
younger ,augustine not to provoke a     
contest with him1 the weary1 but        
therefore the more formidable1          
antagonist4  #bc ,oblitus veteris       
proverbii3 mendaces memores esse        
oportere4 ,let me quote here ,fuller's  
excellent unfolding of this proverb3    
8,memory in a liar is no more than      
needs4 ,for first lies are hard to be   
remembered1 because many1 whereas truth 
is but one3 secondly1 because a lie     
cursorily told takes little footing and 
settled fastness in the teller's memory1
 but prints itself deeper in the        
hearers1 who take the greater notice    
because of the improbability and        

deformity thereof2 and one will remember
 the sight of a monster longer than the 
sight of an handsome body4 ,hence comes 
it to pass that when the liar hath      
forgotten himself1 his auditors put him 
in mind of the lie and take him         
therein40  #bd ,quintilian1 ,inst4 l4   
#d4  #be ,comes facundus in vi pro      
vehiculo est4  #bf ,kemble1 ,salomon and
 ,saturn1 p4 #ef4  #bg ,kelly1 in the   
preface to his very useful collection of
 ,scotch proverbs1 describes his own    
disappointment at making exactly such a 
discovery as this4  #bh ,the pages of   
the excellent ,notes and ,queries would 
no doubt be open to receive such1 and in
 them they might be safely garnered up4 
,that there are such proverbs to reward 
him who should carefully watch for them1
 is abundantly proved by the immense    
addition1 which1 as ,i shall have       
occasion hereafter to mention1 a        
,spanish scholar was able to make to the
 collected proverbs1 so numerous before1
 of ,spain4 ,nor do there want other    

indications of the like kind4 ,thus1 the
 editor of very far the best modern     
collection of ,german proverbs1 records 
this one1 found1 as he affirms1 in no   
preceding collection1 and by himself    
never heard but once1 and then from the 
lips of an aged lay servitor of a       
monastery in the ,black ,forest3 ,offend
 one monk1 and the lappets of all cowls 
will flutter as far as ,rome2           
7,beleidigestu einen ,mnch1 so knappen  
alle ,kuttenzipfel bis nach ,rom27 and  
yet who can doubt that we have a genuine
 proverb here1 and one excellently      
expressive of the common cause which the
 whole of the monastic orders1 despite  
their inner dissensions1 made ever1 when
 assailed from without1 with one        
another8 ,it is very easy to be deceived
 in such a matter1 and one must be      
content often to be so2 but the         
following1 which is current in ,ireland1
 ,i have never seen in print3 8,the man 
on the dyke always hurls well20 the     
looker-on at a game of hurling1 seated  

indolently on the wall1 always imagines 
that he could improve on the strokes of 
the actual players1 and1 if you will    
listen to him1 would have played the    
game much better than they2 a proverb of
 sufficiently wide application4  #bi   '
  4  #cj   4  #ca ,aurum ,tolosanum2 see
 ,c4 ,merivale1 ,fall of the ,roman     
,republic1 p4 #fc4  #cb       4 ,the    
,latin form of the proverb1 ,inter os et
 offam1 will not adapt itself to this   
story4  #cc ,livy's account of          
8,cantherium in foss10 and of the manner
 in which it became a rustic proverb in 
,italy1 7#bc1 #dg17 is a case in point1 
where it is very hard to give credit to 
the parentage which has been assigned to
 the saying4 ,see ,dderlein's ,lat4     
,synonyme1 v4 #d4 p4 #bhi4  #cd     4   
#ce schylus1 ,prom4 ,vinct4 #cbb2       
,euripides1 ,bacch4 #gie2 ,pindar1      
,pyth4 #b4 #id-if4 ,the image is of     
course that of the stubborn ox1 which   
when urged to go forward1 recalcitrates 
against the sharp-pointed iron goad1    

and1 already wounded1 thus only wounds  
itself the more4  #cf ,le vin est vers2 
il faut le boire4     ,,lecture ,,iii4  
,,the ,,proverbs ,,of ,,different       
,,nations ,,compared4   ,sidenote3      
,proverbs characteristic4  8,the genius1
 wit1 and spirit of a nation are        
discovered in its proverbs10--this is   
,lord ,bacon's well-worn remark2        
although1 indeed1 only well-worn because
 of its truth4 8,in them10 it has been  
further said1 8is to be found an        
inexhaustible source of precious        
documents in regard of the interior     
history1 the manners1 the opinions1 the 
beliefs1#cg the customs of the people   
among whom they have had their          
course40#ch ,let us put these assertions
 to the proof1 and see how far in this  
people's or in that people's proverbs1  
their innermost heart speaks out to us2 
how far the comparison of the proverbs  
of one nation with those of others may  
be made instructive to us2 what this    
comparison will tell us severally about 

each4 ,this only ,i will ask1 ere we    
enter upon the subject1 that if ,i      
should fail here in drawing out anything
 strongly characteristic1 if the        
proverbs regarded from this point of    
view should not seem to reveal to you   
any of the true secrets of national     
life1 you will not therefore misdoubt   
those assertions with which my lecture  
opened2 or assume that these documents  
would not yield up their secret1 if     
questioned aright2 but only believe that
 the test has been unskilfully applied2 
or1 if you will1 that my brief limits   
have not allowed me to make that clear1 
which with larger space ,i might not    
have wholly failed in doing4  ,i am very
 well aware that in following upon this 
track1 one is ever liable to deceive    
oneself1 to impose upon others1 picking 
out and adducing such proverbs as       
conform to a preconceived theory1       
passing over those which would militate 
against it4 ,quite allowing that there  
is such a danger which needs to be      

guarded against1 and also that there are
 a multitude of these sayings which     
cannot be made to illustrate difference1
 for they rest on the broad foundation  
of the universal humanity1 underlying   
and deeper than that which is peculiar  
and national1 ,i am yet persuaded that  
enough remain1 and such as may with     
perfect good faith be adduced1 to       
confirm these assertions2 ,i am         
convinced that we may learn from the    
proverbs current among a people1 what is
 nearest and dearest to their hearts1   
the aspects under which they contemplate
 life1 how honour and dishonour are     
distributed among them1 what is of good1
 what of evil report in their eyes1 with
 very much more which it can never be   
unprofitable to know4         99        
99       99       99       99  ,to      
begin1 then1 with the proverbs of       
,greece4 ,that which strikes one most in
 the study of these1 and which the more 
they are studied1 the more fills the    
thoughtful student with wonder1 is the  

evidence they yield of a leavening      
through and through of the entire nation
 with the most intimate knowledge of its
 own mythology1 history1 and poetry4    
,the infinite multitude of slight and   
fine allusions to the legends of their  
gods and heroes1 to the earlier         
incidents of their own history1 to the  
,homeric narrative1 the delicate side   
glances at all these which the ,greek   
proverbs constantly embody1#ci assume an
 acquaintance1 indeed a familiarity1    
with all this on their parts among whom 
they passed current1 which almost       
exceeds belief4 ,in many and most       
important respects1 the ,greek proverbs 
considered as a whole are inferior to   
those of many nations of modern         
,christendom4 ,this is nothing          
wonderful2 ,christianity would have done
 little for the world1 would have proved
 very ineffectual for the elevating1    
purifying1 and deepening of man's life1 
if it had been otherwise4 ,but1 with all
 this1 as bearing testimony to the high 

intellectual training of the people who 
employed them1 to a culture not         
restricted to certain classes1 but which
 must have been diffused through the    
whole nation1 no other collection can   
bear the remotest comparison with this4 
,sidenote3 ,roman proverbs4  ,it is     
altogether different with the ,roman    
proverbs4 ,these1 the genuine ,roman1   
the growth of their own soil1 are very  
far fewer in number than the ,greek1 as 
was indeed to be expected from the far  
less subtle and less fertile genius of  
the people4 ,hardly any of them are     
legendary or mythological2 which again  
agrees with the fact that the ,italian  
pantheon was very scantily peopled as   
compared with the ,greek4 ,very few have
 much poetry about them1 or any very    
rare delicacy or refinement of feeling4 
,in respect of love indeed1 not the     
,roman only1 but ,greek and ,roman      
alike1 are immeasurably inferior to     
those which many modern nations could   
supply4 ,thus a proverb of such         

religious depth and beauty as our own1  
,marriages are made in heaven1 it would 
have been quite impossible for all      
heathen antiquity to have produced1 or  
even remotely to have approached4#dj ,in
 the setting out not of love1 but of    
friendship1 and of the claims which it  
makes1 the blessings which it brings1 is
 exhibited whatever depth and tenderness
 they may have4#da ,this indeed1 as has 
been truly observed1#db was only to be  
expected1 seeing how much higher an     
ideal of that existed than of this1 the 
full realization of which was reserved  
for the modern ,christian world4 ,yet   
the ,roman proverbs are not without     
other substantial merits of their own4  
,a vigorous moral sense speaks out in   
many2#dc and even when this is not so   
prominent1 they wear often a thoroughly 
old ,roman aspect2 being business-like  
and practical1 frugal and severe1 wise  
saws such as the elder ,cato must have  
loved1 such as must have been often upon
 his lips2#dd while in the number that  

relate to farming1 they bear singular   
witness to that strong and lively       
interest in agricultural pursuits1 which
 was so remarkable a feature in the old 
,italian life4#de  ,sidenote3 ,number of
 ,spanish proverbs4  ,it will not be    
possible to pass under even this        
hastiest review more than two or three  
of the modern families of proverbs4 ,let
 us turn first to the proverbs of       
,spain4 ,i put these in the foremost    
rank1 because the ,spanish literature1  
poor in many provinces wherein other    
literatures are rich1 is probably richer
 in this province than any other in the 
world1 certainly than any other in the  
western world2 and this ,i should be    
inclined to believe1 both as respects   
the quantity and the quality4#df ,in    
respect of quantity1 the mere number of 
,spanish proverbs is astonishing4 ,a    
collection ,i have been using while     
preparing these lectures1 contains      
between seven and eight thousand1 and   
yet does not contain all2 for ,i have   

searched it in vain for several with    
which from other sources ,i had become  
acquainted4 ,nay1 it must be very far   
indeed from exhausting the entire stock1
 seeing that there exists a manuscript  
collection brought together by a        
distinguished ,spanish scholar1 in which
 the proverbs have attained to the      
almost incredible amount of from five   
and twenty to thirty thousand4#dg       
,sidenote3 ,spanish characteristics4    
,and in respect of their quality1 it    
needs only to call to mind some of      
those1 so rich in humour1 so            
double-shotted with homely sense1       
wherewith the ,squire in ,don ,quixote  
adorns his discourse2 being oftentimes  
indeed not the fringe and border1 but   
the main woof and texture of it3 and    
then1 if we assume that the remainder   
are not altogether unlike these1 we     
shall1 ,i think1 feel that it would be  
difficult to rate them more highly than 
they deserve4 ,and some are in a loftier
 vein2 for taking1 as we have a right to

 do1 ,cervantes himself as the truest   
exponent of the ,spanish character1 we  
should be prepared to trace in the      
proverbs of ,spain a grave              
thoughtfulness1 a stately humour1 to    
find them breathing the very spirit of  
chivalry and honour1 and indeed of      
freedom too2--for in ,spain1 as         
throughout so much of ,europe1 it is    
despotism1 and not freedom1 which is    
new4 ,nor are we disappointed in these  
our expectations4 ,how eminently        
chivalresque1 for instance1 the         
following3 ,white hands cannot hurt4#dh 
,what a grave humour lurks in this3 ,the
 ass knows well in whose face he        
brays4#di ,what a stately apathy1 how   
proud a looking of calamity in the face1
 speaks out in the admonition which this
 one contains3 ,when thou seest thine   
house in flames1 approach and warm      
thyself by it2#ej what a spirit of      
freedom1 which refuses to be encroached 
on even by the highest1 is embodied in  
another3 ,the king goes as far as he    

may1 not as far as he would2#ea what    
,castilian pride in the following3      
,every layman in ,castile might make a  
king1 every clerk a pope4 ,the          
,spaniard's contempt for his peninsular 
neighbours finds its emphatic utterance 
in another3 ,take from a ,spaniard all  
his good qualities1 and there remains a 
,portuguese4  ,we may too1 ,i think1    
remark how a nation will occasionally in
 its proverbs indulge in a fine irony   
upon itself1 and show that it is        
perfectly aware of its own weaknesses1  
follies1 and faults4 ,this the          
,spaniards must be allowed to do in     
their proverb1 ,succours of ,spain1     
either late1 or never4#eb ,however      
largely and confidently promised1 these 
succours of ,spain either do not arrive 
at all1 or only arrive after the        
opportunity in which they could have    
served have passed away4 ,certainly any 
one who reads the despatches of         
,england's ,great ,captain during the   
,peninsular ,war will find in almost    

every page of them that which abundantly
 justifies this proverb1 will own that  
those who made it read themselves       
aright1 and could not have designated   
broken pledges1 unfulfilled promises of 
aid1 tardy and thus ineffectual         
assistance1 by an happier title than    
,succours of ,spain4 ,and then again    
what a fearful glimpse of those blood   
feuds which1 having once begun1 seem as 
if they could never end1 blood touching 
blood1 and violence evermore provoking  
its like1 have we in the following3     
,kill1 and thou shalt be killed1 and    
they shall kill him who kills thee4#ec  
,the ,italians also are eminently rich  
in proverbs2 and yet if ever ,i have    
been tempted to retract or seriously to 
modify what ,i shall have occasion      
by-and-bye to affirm in regard of a     
nobler life and spirit as predominating 
in proverbs1 it has been after the study
 of some ,italian collection4 8,the     
,italian proverbs10 it has been said not
 without too much reason1 though perhaps

 also with overmuch severity1 8have     
taken a tinge from their deep and       
politic genius1 and their wisdom seems  
wholly concentrated in their personal   
interests4 ,i think every tenth proverb 
in an ,italian collection is some       
cynical or some selfish maxim1 a book of
 the world for worldlings40#ed          
,certainly many of them are shrewd      
enough1 and only too shrewd2            
8ungracious10 inculcating an universal  
suspicion1 teaching to look everywhere  
for a foe1 to expect1 as the ,greeks    
said1 a scorpion under every stone1     
glorifying artifice and cunning as the  
true guides and only safe leaders       
through the perplexed labyrinth of      
life1#ee and altogether seeming dictated
 as by the very spirit of ,machiavel    
himself4  ,sidenote3 ,proverbs on       
revenge4  ,and worse than this is the   
glorification of revenge which speaks   
out in too many of them4 ,i know nothing
 of its kind calculated to give one a   
more shuddering sense of horror than the

 series which might be drawn together of
 ,italian proverbs on this matter2      
especially when we take them with the   
commentary which ,italian history       
supplies1 and which shows them no empty 
words1 but the deepest utterances of the
 nation's heart4 ,there is no misgiving 
in these about the right of entertaining
 so deadly a guest in the bosom2 on the 
contrary1 one of them1 exalting the     
sweetness of revenge1 declares1 ,revenge
 is a morsel for ,god4#ef ,there is     
nothing in them1 7it would be far better
 if there were17 of blind and headlong  
passion1 but rather a spirit of         
deliberate calculation1 which makes the 
blood run cold4 ,thus one gives this    
advice3 ,wait time and place to act thy 
revenge1 for it is never well done in a 
hurry2#eg while another proclaims an    
immortality of hatred1 which no spaces  
of intervening time shall have availed  
to weaken3 ,revenge of an hundred years 
old hath still its sucking teeth4#eh ,we
 may well be thankful that we have in   

,england1 at least as far as ,i am      
aware1 no sentiments parallel to these1 
embodied as the permanent convictions of
 the national mind4  ,how curious again 
is the confession which speaks out in   
another ,italian proverb1 that the      
maintenance of the ,romish system and   
the study of ,holy ,scripture cannot go 
together4 ,it is this3 ,with the ,gospel
 one becomes an heretic4#ei ,no doubt   
with the study of the ,word of ,god one 
does become an heretic1 in the ,italian 
sense of the word2 and therefore it is  
only prudently done to put all obstacles
 in the way of that study1 to assign    
three years' and four years'            
imprisonment with hard labour to as many
 as shall dare to peruse it2 yet        
certainly it is not a little remarkable 
that such a confession should have      
embodied itself in the popular          
utterances of the nation4  ,sidenote3   
,italian proverbs4  ,but while it must  
be freely owned that the charges brought
 just now against the ,italian proverbs 

are sufficiently borne out by too many1 
they are not all to be included in the  
common shame4 ,very many there are not  
merely of a delicate refinement of      
beauty1 as this1 expressive of the      
freedom in regard of thine and mine     
which will exist between true friends3  
,friends tie their purses with a        
spider's thread2#fj of a subtle wisdom  
which has not degenerated into cunning  
and deceit2 but also of a nobler stamp2 
honour and honesty1 plain dealing and   
uprightness1 have here their praises    
too1 and are not seldom pronounced to be
 in the end more than a match for all   
cunning and deceit4 ,how excellent in   
this sense is the following3 ,for an    
honest man half his wits is enough1 the 
whole are too little for a knave2#fa the
 ways1 that is1 of truth and uprightness
 are so simple and plain1 that a little 
wit is abundantly sufficient for those  
that walk in them2 the ways of falsehood
 and fraud are so perplexed and tangled1
 that sooner or later all the wit of the

 cleverest rogue will not preserve him  
from being entangled therein4 ,how often
 and how wonderfully has this found its 
confirmation in the lives of evil men2  
so true it is1 to employ another proverb
 and a very deep one from the same      
quarter1 that ,the devil is subtle1 yet 
weaves a coarse web4#fb  ,again1 what   
description of ,egypt as it now is1 or  
indeed generally of the ,east1 could set
 us at the heart of its moral condition1
 could make us to understand all which  
long centuries of oppression and misrule
 have made of it and of its people1 what
 could do this so effectually as the    
collection of ,arabic proverbs now      
current in ,egypt1 which the traveller  
,burckhardt gathered1 and which1 after  
his death1 were published with his      
name8#fc ,in other books1 others        
describe the modern ,egyptians1 but here
 they unconsciously describe themselves4
 ,the selfishness1 the utter extinction 
of all public spirit1 the servility1    
which no longer as with an inward shame 

creeps into men's acts1 but utters      
itself boldly as the avowed law of their
 lives1 the sense of the oppression of  
the strong1 of the insecurity of the    
weak1 and1 generally1 the whole         
character of life1 alike outward and    
inward1 as poor1 mean1 sordid1 and      
ignoble1 with only a few faintest       
glimpses of that romance which one      
usually attaches to the ,east2 all this1
 as we study these documents1 rises up  
before us in truest1 though in          
painfullest1 outline4  ,thus only in a  
land where rulers1 being evil           
themselves1 feel all goodness to be     
their instinctive foe1 and themselves   
therefore entertain an instinctive      
hostility to it1 where they punish but  
never reward1 where not to be noticed by
 them is the highest ambition of those  
under their yoke1 in no other land could
 a proverb like the following1 ,do no   
good1 and thou shalt find no evil1 have 
ever come to the birth4 ,how settled a  
conviction that wrong1 and not right1   

was the lord paramount of the world must
 have grown up in men's spirits1 before 
such a word as this1 7,i know of no     
sadder one17 could have found utterance 
from their lips4#fd  ,sidenote3 ,irish  
proverb4  ,i have taken a wide circuit  
of nations2 with the proverb of a people
 nearer home ,i must bring this branch  
of the subject to an end4 ,it is one1   
and a very characteristic one1 which the
 poet ,spenser1 who long dwelt in       
,ireland1 records as current in his time
 among the ,irish2 in which were        
contained their offer of service to     
their native chiefs1 with a statement of
 what they expected in return3 ,spend   
me1 and defend me4 ,their leaders in all
 times have taken them only too well at 
their word in respect of the first half 
of the proverb1 and have not failed     
prodigally to spend them2 although their
 undertakings to defend have issued     
exactly as must ever issue all promises 
on the part of others to defend men from
 those evils1 from which none can really

 protect them but themselves4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,sidenote3 ,german proverbs4  ,other    
families of proverbs would each of them 
tell its own tale1 give up its own      
secret2 but ,i must not seek from this  
point of view to question them further4 
,i would rather bring now to your notice
 that even where they do not spring1 as 
they cannot all1 from the centre of a   
people's heart1 nor declare to us the   
secretest things which are there1 but   
dwell more on the surface of things1 in 
this case also they have often local or 
national features1 which to study and   
trace out may prove both curious and    
instructive4 ,of how many1 for example1 
we may note the manner in which they    
clothe themselves in an outward form and
 shape1 borrowed from1 or suggested by1 
the peculiar scenery or circumstances or
 history of their own land2 so that they
 could scarcely have come into          
existence1 not certainly in the shape   
which they now wear1 anywhere besides4  

,thus our own1 ,make hay while the sun  
shines1 is truly ,english1 and could    
have had its birth only under such      
variable skies as ours1--not1 at any    
rate1 in those southern lands where1    
during the summer time at least1 the sun
 always shines4 ,in the same way there  
is a fine ,cornish proverb in regard of 
obstinate wrongheads1 who will take no  
counsel except from calamities1 who dash
 themselves to pieces against obstacles1
 which with a little prudence and       
foresight they might easily have        
avoided4 ,it is this3 ,he who will not  
be ruled by the rudder1 must be ruled by
 the rock4 ,it sets us at once upon some
 rocky and wreck-strewn coast2 we feel  
that it could never have been the       
proverb of an inland people4 ,and this1 
,do not talk ,arabic in the house of a  
,moor1#fe--that is1 because there thy   
imperfect knowledge will be detected at 
once1--this we should confidently affirm
 to be ,spanish1 wherever we met it4 ,so
 also a traveller with any experience in

 the composition of ,spanish sermons and
 ,spanish ollas could make no mistake in
 respect of the following3 ,a sermon    
without ,augustine is as a stew without 
bacon4#ff ,thus ,big and empty1 like the
 ,heidelberg tun1#fg could have its home
 only in ,germany2 that enormous vessel1
 known as the ,heidelberg tun1          
constructed to contain nearly #cjj1jjj  
flasks1 having now stood empty for      
hundreds of years4 ,as regards1 too1 the
 following1 ,not every parish-priest can
 wear ,dr4 ,luther's shoes1#fh we could 
be in no doubt to what people it        
appertains4 ,and this1 ,the world is a  
carcase1 and they who gather round it   
are dogs1 plainly proclaims itself as   
belonging to those ,eastern lands1 where
 the unowned dogs prowling about the    
streets of a city are the natural       
scavengers1 that would assemble round a 
carcase thrown in the way4 ,so too the  
form which our own proverb1 ,man's      
extremity1 ,god's opportunity1 or as we 
sometimes have it1 ,when need is        

highest1 help is nighest assumes among  
the ,jews1 namely this1 ,when the tale  
of bricks is doubled1 ,moses comes1#fi  
plainly roots itself in the early       
history of that nation1 being an        
allusion to ,exod4 v4 #i-ai1 and without
 a knowledge of that history would be   
unintelligible altogether4 ,the same may
 be said of this3 ,we must creep into   
,ebal1 and leap into ,gerizim2 in other 
words1 we must be slow to curse1 and    
swift to bless4 7,deut4 xxvii4 #ab1     
#ac47  ,but while it is thus with some1 
which are bound by the very conditions  
of their existence to a narrow and      
peculiar sphere1 or at all events move  
more naturally and freely in it than    
elsewhere1 there are others on the      
contrary which we meet all the world    
over4 ,true cosmopolites1 they seem to  
have travelled from land to land1 and to
 have made themselves an home equally in
 all4 ,the ,greeks obtained them        
probably from the older ,east1 and again
 imparted them to the ,romans2 and from 

these they have found their way into all
 the languages of the western world4    
,much1 ,i think1 might be learned from  
knowing what those truths are1 which are
 so felt to be true by all nations1 that
 all have loved to possess them in these
 compendious forms1 wherein they may    
pass readily from mouth to mouth3 which1
 thus cast into some happy form1 have   
commended themselves to almost all      
people1 and have become a portion of the
 common stock of the world's wisdom1 in 
every land making for themselves a      
recognition and an home4 ,such a        
proverb1 for instance1 is ,man proposes1
 ,god disposes2#gj one which ,i am      
inclined to believe that every nation in
 ,europe possesses1 so deeply upon all  
men is impressed the sense of ,hamlet's 
words1 if not the words themselves3     
8,there's a divinity that shapes our    
ends1     ,rough-hew them how we will40 
,sidenote3 ,proverbs compared4          
,sometimes the proverb does not actually
 in so many words repeat itself in      

various tongues4 ,we have indeed exactly
 the same thought2 but it takes an      
outward shape and embodiment1 varying   
according to the various countries and  
periods in which it has been current3 we
 have proverbs totally diverse from one 
another in their form and appearance1   
but which yet1 when we look a little    
deeper into them1 prove to be at heart  
one and the same1 all these their       
differences being thus only1 so to      
speak1 variations of the same air4      
,these are almost always an amusing1    
often an instructive1 study2 and to     
trace this likeness in difference has an
 interest lively enough4 ,thus the forms
 of the proverb1 which brings out the   
absurdity of those reproving others for 
a defect or a sin1 to whom the same     
cleaves in an equal or in a greater     
degree1 have sometimes no visible       
connexion at all1 or the very slightest1
 with one another2 yet for all this the 
proverb is at heart and essentially but 
one4 ,we say in ,english3 ,the kiln     

calls the oven1 8,burnt house20--the    
,italians3 ,the pan says to the pot     
8,keep off1 or you'll smutch            
me20#ga--the ,spaniards3 ,the raven     
cried to the crow1 8,avaunt1            
blackamoor20#gb--the ,germans3 ,one ass 
nicknames another1 ,long-ears2#gc--while
 it must be owned there is a certain    
originality in the ,catalan version of  
the proverb3 ,death said to the man with
 his throat cut1 8,how ugly you look40  
,under how rich a variety of forms does 
one and the same thought array itself   
here4  ,sidenote3 ,various proverbs4    
,let me quote another illustration of   
the same fact4 ,we probably take for    
granted that ,coals to ,newcastle is a  
thoroughly ,english expression of the   
absurdity of sending to a place that    
which already abounds there1 water to   
the sea1 faggots to the wood3--and      
,english of course it is in the outward 
garment which it wears2 but in its      
innermost being it belongs to the whole 
world and to all times4 ,thus the       

,greeks said3 ,owls to ,athens1#gd      
,attica abounding with these birds2 the 
,rabbis3 ,enchantments to ,egypt1 ,egypt
 being of old esteemed the head quarters
 of all magic2 the ,orientals3 ,pepper  
to ,hindostan2 and in the middle ages   
they had this proverb3 ,indulgences to  
,rome1 ,rome being the centre and source
 of this spiritual traffic2 and these by
 no means exhaust the list4  ,let me    
adduce some other variations of the same
 descriptions1 though not running       
through quite so many languages4 ,thus  
compare the ,german1 ,who lets one sit  
on his shoulders1 shall have him        
presently sit on his head1#ge with the  
,italian1 ,if thou suffer a calf to be  
laid on thee1 within a little they'll   
clap on the cow1#gf and1 again1 with the
 ,spanish1 ,give me where ,i may sit    
down2 ,i will make where ,i may lie     
down4#gg ,they all three plainly contain
 one and the same hint that undue       
liberties are best resisted at the      
outset1 being otherwise liable to be    

followed up by other and greater ones2  
but this under how rich and humorous a  
variety of forms4 ,not very different   
are these that follow4 ,we say3 ,daub   
yourself with honey1 and you'll be      
covered with flies2 the ,danes3 ,make   
yourself an ass1 and you'll have every  
man's sack on your shoulders2 while the 
,french3 ,who makes himself a sheep1 the
 wolf devours him2#gh and the ,persians3
 ,be not all sugar1 or the world will   
gulp thee down2#gi to which they add1   
however1 as its necessary complement1   
nor yet all wormwood1 or the world will 
spit thee out4 ,or again1 we are content
 to say without a figure3 ,the          
receiver's as bad as the thief2 but the 
,french3 ,he sins as much who holds the 
sack1 as he who puts into it2#hj and the
 ,germans3 ,he who holds the ladder is  
as guilty as he who mounts the wall4#ha 
,we say3 ,a stitch in time saves nine2  
the ,spaniards3 ,who repairs not his    
gutter1 repairs his whole house4#hb ,we 
say3 ,misfortunes never come single2 the

 ,italians have no less than three      
proverbs to express the same popular    
conviction3 ,blessed is that misfortune 
which comes single2 and again3 ,one     
misfortune is the vigil of another2 and 
again3 ,a misfortune and a friar are    
seldom alone4#hc ,or once more1 the     
,russians say3 ,call a peasant1         
8,brother10 he'll demand to be called1  
8,father20 the ,italians3 ,reach a      
peasant your finger1 he'll grasp your   
fist4#hd ,many languages have this      
proverb3 ,god gives the cold according  
to the cloth2#he it is very beautiful1  
but attains not to the tender beauty of 
our own3 ,god tempers the wind to the   
shorn lamb4  ,and1 as in that last      
example1 so not seldom will there be an 
evident superiority of a proverb in one 
language over one1 which however        
resembles it closely in another4 ,moving
 in the same sphere1 it will yet be     
richer1 fuller1 deeper4 ,thus our own1  
,a burnt child fears the fire1 is good2 
but that of many tongues1 ,a scalded dog

 fears cold water1 is better still4     
,ours does but express that those who   
have suffered once will henceforward be 
timid in respect of that same thing from
 which they have suffered2 but that     
other the tendency to exaggerate such   
fears1 so that now they shall fear even 
where no fear is4 ,and the fact that so 
it will be1 clothes itself in an almost 
infinite variety of forms4 ,thus one    
,italian proverb says3 ,a dog which has 
been beaten with a stick1 is afraid of  
its shadow2 and another1 which could    
only have had its birth in the sunny    
,south1 where the glancing but harmless 
lizard so often darts across your path3 
,whom a serpent has bitten a lizard     
alarms4#hf ,with a little variation from
 this1 the ,jewish ,rabbis had said long
 before3 ,one bitten by a serpent1 is   
afraid of a rope's end2 even that which 
bears so remote a resemblance to a      
serpent as this does1 shall now inspire 
him with terror2 and the ,cingalese1    
still expressing the same thought1 but  

with imagery borrowed from their own    
tropic clime3 ,the man who has received 
a beating from a firebrand1 runs away at
 sight of a firefly4  ,sidenote3        
,rabbinical proverb4  ,some of our      
,lord's sayings contain the same lessons
 which the proverbs of the ,jewish      
,rabbis contained already2 for ,he was  
willing to bring forth even from his    
treasury things old as well as new2 but 
it is very instructive to observe how   
they acquire in his mouth a dignity and 
decorum which1 it may be1 they wanted   
before4 ,we are all familiar with that  
word in the ,sermon on the ,mount1      
8,whosoever shall compel thee to go a   
mile1 go with him twain40 ,the ,rabbis  
had a proverb to match1 lively and      
piquant enough1 but certainly lacking   
the gravity of this1 and which never    
could have fallen from the same lips3   
,if thy neighbour call thee ass1 put a  
packsaddle on thy back2 do not1 that is1
 withdraw thyself from the wrong1 but   
rather go forward to meet it4 ,but thus1

 in least as in greatest1 it was ,his to
 make all things new4  ,sidenote3       
,progress of ingratitude4  ,sometimes a 
proverb1 without changing its shape     
altogether1 will yet on the lips of     
different nations be slightly modified2 
and these modifications1 slight as often
 they are1 may not the less be eminently
 characteristic4 ,thus in ,english we   
say1 ,the river past1 and ,god          
forgotten1 to express with how mournful 
a frequency ,he whose assistance was    
invoked1 it may have been earnestly1 in 
the moment of peril1 is remembered no   
more1 so soon as by his help the danger 
has been surmounted4 ,the ,spaniards    
have the proverb too2 but it is with    
them3 ,the river past1 the saint        
forgotten1#hg the saints being in ,spain
 more prominent objects of invocation   
than ,god4 ,and the ,italian form of it 
sounds a still sadder depth of          
ingratitude3 ,the peril past1 the saint 
mocked2#hh the vows made to him in peril
 remaining unperformed in safety2 and he

 treated something as1 in ,greek story1 
,juno was treated by ,mandrabulus the   
,samian2 who1 having under her auspices 
and through her direction discovered a  
gold mine1 in his instant gratitude     
vowed to her a golden ram2 which he     
presently exchanged in intention for a  
silver one2 and again this for a very   
small brass one2 and this for nothing at
 all2 the rapidly descending scale of   
whose gratitude1 with the entire        
disappearance of his thank-offering1    
might very profitably live in our       
memories1 as so perhaps it would be less
 likely to repeat itself in our lives4  
,footnotes  #cg ,the writer might have  
added1 the superstitions2 for proverbs  
not a few involve and rest on popular   
superstitions1 and a collection of these
 would be curious and in many ways      
instructive4 ,such1 for instance1 is the
 ,latin1 7it is1 indeed1 also ,greek73  
,a serpent1 unless it devour a serpent1 
grows not to a dragon2 7,serpens1 nisi  
serpentem comederit1 non fit draco72    

which ,lord ,bacon moralizes so         
shrewdly3 8,the folly of one man is the 
fortune of another2 for no man prospers 
so suddenly as by other men's errors40  
,such again is the old ,german proverb3 
,the night is no man's friend2 7,die    
,nacht ist keines ,menschen ,freund27   
which rests1 as ,grimm has so truly     
observed 7,deutsche ,mythol41 p4 #gac7  
on the wide-spread feeling in the       
northern mythologies1 of the night as an
 unfriendly and1 indeed1 hostile power  
to man4 ,and such1 too1 the ,french3 ,a 
,sunday's child dies never of the       
plague2 7,qui nait le dimanche1 jamais  
ne meurt de peste47  #ch ,we may adduce 
further the words of ,salmasius3 ,argut 
h brevesque loquendi formul suas habent 
veneres1 et genium cujusque gentis penes
 quam celebrantur1 atque acumen         
ostendunt4  #ci ,thus o -- 4-- 4  #dj   
,this ,greek proverb on love is the     
noblest of the kind which ,i remember3  
1     4  #da ,in this respect the ,latin
 proverb1 ,mores amici noveris1 non     

oderis1 on which ,horace has furnished  
so exquisite a comment 7,sat4 i4 #c1    
#bd-ic71 and which finds its graceful   
equivalent in the ,italian1 ,ama l'amico
 tuo con il difetto suo 7,love your     
friend with his fault71 is worthy of all
 admiration4  #db ,by ,zell1 in his     
slight but graceful treatise1 ,on the   
proverbs of the ancient ,romans         
7,ferienschriften1 v4 #b1 p4 #a-if74    
#dc ,thus1 ,noxa caput                  
sequitur2--,conscientia1 mille testes4  
#dd ,he has preserved for us that very  
sensible and at the same time truly     
characteristic one1 ,quod non opus est1 
asse carum est4  #de ,these are two or  
three of the most notable--the first    
against 8high farming10 which it is     
strange if it has not been appealed to  
in the modern controversy on the        
subject3 ,nihil minus expedit quam agrum
 optime colere4 7,pliny1 ,h4 ,n41 #f4   
#ah47 ,over against this1 however1 we   
must set another1 warning against the   
attempt to farm with insufficient       

capital3 ,oportet agrum imbecilliorem   
esse quam agricolam2 and yet another1 on
 the liberal answer which the land will 
make to the pains and cost bestowed on  
it2 ,qui arat olivetum1 rogat fructum2  
qui stercorat1 exorat2 qui cdit1 cogit4 
#df ,this was the judgment of           
,salmasius1 who says3 ,inter ,europos   
,hispani in his excellunt1 ,itali vix   
cedunt1 ,galli proximo sequuntur        
intervallo4  #dg ,what may have become  
of this collection ,i know not2 but it  
was formerly in ,richard ,heber's       
library1 7see the ,catalogue1 v4 #i4 no4
 #afig47 ,juan ,yriarte was the         
collector1 and in a note to the         
,catalogue it is stated that he devoted 
himself with such eagerness to the      
bringing of it to the highest possible  
state of completeness1 that he would    
give his servants a fee for any new     
proverb they brought him2 while to each1
 as it was inserted in his list1 he was 
careful to attach a memorandum of the   
quarter from which it came2 and if this 

was not from books but from life1 an    
indication of the name1 the rank1 and   
condition in life of the person from    
whom it was derived4  #dh ,las manos    
blancas no ofenden4  #di ,bien sabe el  
asno en cuya cara rebozna4  #ej ,quando 
viers tu casa quemar1 llega te          
escalentar4  #ea ,el ,rey va hasta do   
puede1 y no hasta do quiere4  #eb       
,socorros de ,espaa1  tarde1  nunca4    
#ec ,matars1 y matarte han1 y matarn a  
quien te matare4  #ed ,curiosities of   
,literature1 p4 #cia4 ,london3 #ahch4   
#ee ,these may serve as examples3 ,chi  
ha sospetto1 di rado  in                
difetto4--,fidarsi  bene1 ma non fidarsi
  meglio4--,da chi mi fido1 mi guardi   
,iddio2 da chi non mi fido1 mi guarder  
io4--,con arte e con inganno si vive    
mezzo l'anno2 con inganno e con arte si 
vive l'altra parte4  #ef ,vendetta1     
boccon di ,dio4  #eg ,aspetta tempo e   
loco  far tua vendetta1 che la non si fa
 mai ben in fretta4 ,compare another3   
,vuoi far ,vendetta del tuo nemico1     

governati bene ed  bell'e fatta4  #eh   
,vendetta di cent'anni ha ancor i       
lattaiuoli4  #ei ,con l',evangelo si    
diventa eretico4  #fj ,gli amici legono 
la borsa con un filo di ragnatelo4  #fa 
,ad un uomo dabbene avanza la met del   
cervello2 ad un tristo non basta ne     
anche tutto4  #fb ,jeremy ,taylor       
appears to have found much delight in   
the proverbs of ,italy4 ,in the brief   
foot notes which he has appended to the 
,holy ,living alone ,i counted five and 
twenty such1 to which he makes more or  
less remote allusion in the text4 ,there
 is an excellent article on 8,tuscan    
,proverbs0 in ,fraser's ,magazine1 ,jan4
 #aheg4  #fc ,arabic ,proverbs of the   
,modern ,egyptians4 ,london3 #ahcj4  #fd
 ,yet this very mournful collection of  
,burckhardt's possesses at least one    
very beautiful proverb on the all       
conquering power of love3 ,man is the   
slave of beneficence4  #fe ,en casa del 
,moro no hables algarabia4  #ff ,sermon 
sin ,agostino1 olla sin tocino4  #fg    

,gross und leer1 wie das ,heidelberger  
,fass4  #fh ,doctor ,luther's ,schuhe   
sind nicht allen ,dorfpriestern gerecht4
  #fi ,cum duplicantur lateres1 ,moses  
venit4  #gj ,la gente pone1 y ,dios     
dispone4--,der ,mensch denkt's2 ,gott   
lenkt's4  #ga ,la padella dice al       
pajuolo1 ,fatti in l1 che tu mi tigni4  
#gb ,dij la corneja al cuervo1 ,qutate  
all1 negro4  #gc ,ein ,esel schimpft den
 andern1 ,langohr4  #gd   4  #ge ,wer   
sich auf der ,achsel sitzen lsst1 dem   
sitzt man nachher auf dem ,kopfe4  #gf  
,se ti lasci metter in spalla il        
vitello1 quindi a poco ti metteran la   
vacca4  #gg ,dame donde me asiente1 que 
yo har donde me acueste4  #gh ,qui se   
fait brebis1 le loup le mange4  #gi     
,there is a ,catalan proverb to the same
 effect3 ,qui de tot es moll1 de tot es 
foll4  #hj ,autant pche celui qui tient 
le sac1 que celui qui met dedans4  #ha  
,wer die ,leiter hlt1 ist so schuldig   
wie der ,dieb4  #hb ,quien no adoba     
gotera1 adoba casa entera4  #hc         

,benedetto  quel male1 che vien         
solo4--,un mal  la vigilia              
dell'altro4--,un male ed un ,frate di   
rado soli4  #hd ,al villano1 se gli     
porgi il dito1 ei prende la mano4  #he  
,dieu donne le froid selon le           
drap4--,cada cual siente el frio como   
anda vestido4  #hf ,cui serpe mozzica1  
lucerta teme4  #hg ,el rio passado1 el  
santo olvidado4  #hh ,passato il punto1 
gabbato il santo4     ,,lecture ,,iv4   
,,the ,,poetry1 ,,wit1 ,,and ,,wisdom   
,,of ,,proverbs4   ,it will be my       
endeavour in the three lectures which ,i
 have still to deliver to justify the   
attention which ,i have claimed on      
behalf of proverbs from you1 not merely 
by appealing to the authority of others1
 who at different times have prized and 
made much of them1 but by bringing out  
and setting before you1 so far as ,i    
have the skill to do it1 some of the    
merits and excellencies by which they   
are mainly distinguished4 ,their wit1   
their wisdom1 their poetry1 the         

delicacy1 the fairness1 the manliness   
which characterize so many of them1     
their morality1 their theology1 will all
 by turns come under our consideration4 
,yet shall ,i beware of presenting them 
to you as though they embodied these    
nobler qualities only4 ,i shall not keep
 out of sight that there are proverbs1  
coarse1 selfish1 unjust1 cowardly1      
profane2 8maxims0 wholly undeserving of 
the honour implied by that name4#hi     
,still as my pleasure1 and ,i doubt not 
yours1 is rather in the wheat than in   
the tares1 ,i shall1 while ,i do not    
conceal this1 prefer to dwell in the    
main on the nobler features which they  
present4  ,sidenote3 ,poetic imagery4   
,and first1 in regard of the poetry of  
proverbs--whatever is from the people1  
or truly for the people1 whatever either
 springs from their bosom1 or has been  
cordially accepted by them1 still more  
whatever unites both these conditions1  
will have poetry1 imagination1 in it4   
,for little as the people's craving     

after wholesome nutriment of the        
imaginative faculty1 and after an       
entrance into a fairer and more         
harmonious world than that sordid and   
confused one with which often they are  
surrounded1 is duly met and satisfied1  
still they yearn after all this with an 
honest hearty yearning1 which must put  
to shame the palled indifference1 the   
only affected enthusiasm of too many1   
whose opportunities of cultivating this 
glorious faculty have been so           
immeasurably greater than theirs4 ,this 
being so1 and proverbs being1 as we have
 seen1 the sayings that have found      
favour with the people1 their peculiar  
inheritance1 we may be quite sure that  
there will be poetry1 imagination1      
passion1 in them4 ,so much we might     
affirm beforehand2 our closer           
examination of them will confirm the    
confidence which we have been bold to   
entertain4  ,thus we may expect to find 
that they will contain often bold       
imagery1 striking comparisons2 and such 

they do4 ,let serve as an example our   
own3 ,gray hairs are death's            
blossoms2#ij or the ,italian3 ,time is  
an inaudible file2#ia or the ,greek3    
,man a bubble2#ib which ,jeremy ,taylor 
has expanded into such glorious poetry  
in the opening of the ,holy ,dying2 or  
that ,turkish3 ,death is a black camel  
which kneels at every man's gate2 to    
take up1 that is1 the burden of a coffin
 there2 or this ,arabic one1 on the     
never satisfied eye of desire3 ,nothing 
but a handful of dust will fill the eye 
of man2 or another from the same        
quarter1 worthy of ,mecca's prophet     
himself1 and of the earnestness with    
which he realized ,gehenna1 whatever    
else he may have come short in3 ,there  
are no fans in hell2 or this other1 also
 from the ,east3 ,hold all skirts of thy
 mantle extended1 when heaven is raining
 gold2 improve1 that is1 to the         
uttermost the happier crises of thy     
spiritual life2 or this ,indian1 to the 
effect that good should be returned for 

evil3 ,the sandal tree perfumes the axe 
that fells it2 or this one1 current in  
the ,middle ,ages3 ,whose life lightens1
 his words thunder2#ic or once more1    
this ,chinese3 ,towers are measured by  
their shadows1 and great men by their   
calumniators2 however this last may have
 somewhat of an artificial air as tried 
by our standard of the proverb4  ,there 
may be poetry in a play upon words2 and 
such we shall hardly fail to acknowledge
 in that beautiful ,spanish proverb3 ,la
 verdad es siempre verde1 which ,i must 
leave in its original form2 for were ,i 
to translate it1 ,the truth is always   
green1 its charm and chief beauty would 
be looked for in vain4 ,it finds its    
pendant and complement in another1 which
 ,i must also despair of adequately     
rendering3 ,gloria vana florece1 y no   
grana2 which would express this truth1  
namely1 that vain glory can shoot up    
into stalk and ear1 but can never attain
 to the full grain in the ear4 ,nor can 
we1 ,i think1 refuse the title of poetry

 to this ,eastern proverb1 in which the 
wish that a woman may triumph over her  
enemies1 clothes itself thus3 ,may her  
enemies stumble over her hair2--may she 
flourish so1 may her hair1 the outward  
sign of this prosperity1 grow so rich   
and long1 may it so sweep the ground1   
that her detractors and persecutors may 
be entangled by it and fall4         99 
99       99       99       99           
,sidenote3 ,witty proverbs4  ,and then1 
how exquisitely witty many proverbs are4
 ,thus1 not to speak of one familiar to 
us all1 which is perhaps the queen of   
all proverbs3 ,the road to hell is paved
 with good intentions2#id take this     
,scotch one3 ,a man may love his house  
well1 without riding on the ridge2 it is
 enough for a wise man to know what is  
precious to himself1 without making     
himself ridiculous by evermore          
proclaiming it to the world2 or this of 
our own3 ,when the devil is dead1 he    
never wants a chief mourner2 in other   
words1 there is no abuse so enormous1 no

 evil so flagrant1 but that the         
interests or passions of some will be so
 bound up in its continuance that they  
will lament its extinction2 or this     
,italian3 ,when rogues go in procession1
 the devil holds the cross2#ie when evil
 men have it thus far their own way1    
then worst is best1 and in the inverted 
hierarchy which is then set up1 the     
foremost in badness is foremost also in 
such honour as is going4 ,or consider   
how happily the selfishness and bye-ends
 which too often preside at men's very  
prayers are noted in this ,portuguese3  
,cobblers go to mass1 and pray that cows
 may die2#if that is1 that so leather   
may be cheap4 ,or1 take another1 a      
,german one1 noting with slightest      
exaggeration a measure of charity which 
is only too common3 ,he will swallow an 
egg1 and give away the shells in alms2  
or this from the ,talmud1 of which ,i   
will leave the interpretation to        
yourselves3 ,all kinds of wood burn     
silently1 except thorns1 which crackle  

and call out1 ,we too are wood4  ,the   
wit of proverbs spares few or none4     
,they are1 as may be supposed1          
especially intolerant of fools4 ,we say3
 ,fools grow without watering2 no need  
therefore of adulation or flattery1 to  
quicken them to a ranker growth2 for    
indeed ,the more you stroke the cat's   
tail1 the more he raises his back2#ig   
and the ,russians3 ,fools are not       
planted or sowed2 they grow of          
themselves2 while the ,spaniards3 ,if   
folly were a pain1 there would be crying
 in every house2#ih having further an   
exquisitely witty one on learned folly  
as the most intolerable of all follies3 
,a fool1 unless he know ,latin1 is never
 a great fool4#ii ,and here is          
excellently unfolded to us the secret of
 the fool's confidence3 ,who knows      
nothing1 doubts nothing4#ajj  ,sidenote3
 ,bohemian proverb4  ,the shafts of     
their pointed satire are directed with  
an admirable impartiality against men of
 every degree1 so that none of us will  

be found to have wholly escaped4 ,to    
pass over those1 and they are           
exceedingly numerous1 which are aimed at
 members of the monastic orders1#aja ,i 
must fain hope that this ,bohemian one1 
pointing at the clergy1 is not true2 for
 it certainly argues no very forgiving  
temper on our parts in cases where we   
have been1 or fancy ourselves to have   
been1 wronged4 ,it is as follows3 ,if   
you have offended a clerk1 kill him2    
else you never will have peace with     
him4#ajb ,and another proverb1 worthy to
 take its place among the best even of  
the ,spanish1 charges the clergy with   
being the authors of the chiefest       
spiritual mischiefs which have risen up 
in the ,church3 ,by the vicar's skirts  
the devil climbs up into the belfry4#ajc
 ,nor do physicians appear in the middle
 ages to have been in very high         
reputation for piety2 for a ,latin      
medieval proverb boldly proclaims3      
,where there are three physicians1 there
 are two atheists4#ajd ,and as for      

lawyers1 this of the same period1       
,legista1 nequista1#aje expresses itself
 not with such brevity only1 but with   
such downright plainness of speech1 that
 ,i shall excuse myself from attempting 
to render it into ,english4 ,nor do     
other sorts and conditions of men       
escape4 8,the miller tolling with his   
golden thumb10 has been often the object
 of malicious insinuations2 and of him  
the ,germans have a proverb3 ,what is   
bolder than a miller's neckcloth1 which 
takes a thief by the throat every       
morning8#ajf ,evenhanded justice might  
perhaps require that ,i should find caps
 for other heads2 and it is not that    
such are wanting1 nor yet out of fear   
lest any should be offended1 but only   
because ,i must needs hasten onward1    
that ,i leave this part of my subject   
without further development4  ,sidenote3
 ,proverbs about pride4  ,what a fine   
knowledge of the human heart will they  
often display4 ,i know not whether this 
,persian saying on the subtleties of    

pride is a proverb in the very strictest
 sense of the word1 but it is forcibly  
uttered3 ,thou shalt sooner detect an   
ant moving in the dark night on the     
black earth1 than all the motions of    
pride in thine heart4 ,and on the wide  
reach of this sin the ,italians say3 ,if
 pride were as art1 how many graduates  
we should have2#ajg and how excellent   
and searching is this word of theirs on 
the infinitely various shapes which this
 protean sin will assume3 ,there are who
 despise pride with a greater pride1#ajh
 one which might almost seem to have    
been founded on the story of ,diogenes1 
who1 treading under his feet a rich     
carpet of ,plato's1 exclaimed1 8,thus ,i
 trample on the ostentation of ,plato20 
#8,with an ostentation of thine own1'   
was the other's excellent retort2--even 
as on another occasion he observed1 with
 admirable wit1 that he saw the pride of
 the ,cynic peeping through the rents of
 his mantle3 for indeed pride can array 
itself quite as easily in rags as in    

purple2 can affect squalors as earnestly
 as splendours2 the lowest place and the
 last is of itself no security at all   
for humility2 and out of a sense of this
 we very well have said3 ,as proud go   
behind as before4  ,sometimes in their  
subtle observation of life1 they arrive 
at conclusions which we would very      
willingly question or reject1 but to    
which it is impossible to refuse a      
certain amount of assent4 ,thus it is   
with the very striking ,german proverb3 
,one foe is too many2 and an hundred    
friends too few4#aji ,there speaks out  
in this a sense of how much more active 
a principle in this world will hate be  
sometimes than love4 ,the hundred       
friends will wish you well2 but the one 
foe will do you ill4 ,their benevolence 
will be ordinarily passive2 his         
malevolence will be constantly active2  
it will be animosity1 or spiritedness in
 evil4 ,the proverb will have its use1  
if we are stirred up by it to prove its 
assertion false1 to show that1 in very  

many cases at least1 there is no such   
blot as it would set on the scutcheon of
 true friendship4 ,in the same rank of  
unwelcome proverbs ,i must range this   
,persian one3 ,of four things every man 
has more than he knows3 of sins1 of     
debts1 of years1 and of foes2 and this  
,spanish3 ,one father can support ten   
children2 ten children cannot support   
one father2 which1 in so far as it rests
 upon a certain ground of truth1        
suggests a painful reflection in regard 
of the less strength which there must be
 in the filial than in the paternal     
affection1 since to the one those acts  
of self-sacrificing love are easy1 which
 to the other are hard1 and often       
impossible4 ,but yet1 seeing that it is 
the order of ,god's providence in the   
world that fathers should in all cases  
support children1 while it is the       
exception when children are called to   
support parents1 one can only admire    
that wisdom which has made the instincts
 of natural affection to run rather in  

the descending than in the ascending    
line2 a wisdom to which this proverb1   
though with a certain exaggeration of   
the facts1 bears witness4  ,sidenote3   
,french proverb4  ,how exquisitely      
delicate is the touch of this ,french   
proverb3 ,it is easy to go afoot1 when  
one leads one's horse by the bridle4#aaj
 ,how fine and subtle an insight into   
the inner workings of the human heart is
 here2 how many cheap humilities are    
here set at their true worth4 ,it is    
easy to stoop from state1 when that     
state may be resumed at will2 easy for  
one to part with luxuries and           
indulgences1 which he only parts with   
exactly so long as it may please        
himself4 ,no reason indeed is to be     
found in this comparative easiness for  
the not #8going afoot2' on the contrary1
 it may be to him a most profitable     
exercise2 but every reason for not      
esteeming the doing so too highly1 nor  
setting it on a level with the trudging 
upon foot of him1 who has no horse to   

fall back on at whatever moment he may  
please4  ,there is1 and always must be1 
some rough work to be done in the world2
 work which1 though rough1 is not       
therefore in the least ignoble2 and the 
schemes1 so daintily conceived1 of a    
luxurious society1 which repose on a    
tacit assumption that nobody shall have 
to do this work1 are touched with a fine
 irony in this ,arabic proverb3 ,if ,i  
am master1 and thou art master1 who     
shall drive the asses8#aaa  ,again1 how 
clever is the satire of the following   
,haytian proverb1 which1 however1 ,i    
must introduce with a little preliminary
 explanation4 ,it was one current among 
the slave population of ,st4 ,domingo1  
and with it they ridiculed the ambition 
and pretension of the mulatto race      
immediately above them4 ,these1 in      
imitation of the ,french planters1 must 
have their duels too--duels1 however1   
which had nothing earnest or serious    
about them1 invariably ending in a      
reconciliation and a feast1 the kids    

which furnished the latter being in fact
 the only sufferers1 their blood that   
which alone was shed4 ,all this the     
proverb uttered3 ,mulattoes fight1 kids 
die4#aab  ,sidenote3 ,fuller's use of   
proverbs4  ,and proverbs1 witty in      
themselves1 often become wittier still  
in their application1 like gems that    
acquire new brilliancy from their       
setting1 or from some novel light in    
which they are held4 ,no writer that ,i 
know of has an happier skill in thus    
adding wit to the witty than ,fuller1   
the ,church historian4 ,let me confirm  
this assertion by one or two examples   
drawn from his writings4 ,he is         
describing the indignation1 the         
outcries1 the remonstrances1 which the  
thousandfold extortions1 the intolerable
 exactions of the ,papal ,see gave birth
 to in ,england during the reigns of    
such subservient kings as our ,third    
,henry2 yet he will not have his readers
 to suppose that the ,popes fared a whit
 the worse for all this outcry which was

 raised against them2 not so1 for ,the  
fox thrives best when he is most        
cursed2#aac the very loudness of the    
clamour was itself rather an evidence   
how well they were faring4 ,or again1 he
 is telling of that ,duke of            
,buckingham1 well known to us through   
,shakespeare's ,richard the ,third1 who1
 having helped the tyrant to a throne1  
afterwards took mortal displeasure      
against him2 this displeasure he sought 
to hide1 till a season arrived for      
showing it with effect1 in the deep of  
his heart1 but in vain2 for1 as ,fuller 
observes1 ,it is hard to halt before a  
cripple2 the arch-hypocrite ,richard1 he
 to whom dissembling was as a second    
nature1 saw through and detected at once
 the shallow ,buckingham's clumsier     
deceit4 ,and the ,church ,history       
abounds with similar happy applications4
 ,fuller1 indeed1 possesses so much of  
the wit out of which proverbs spring1   
that it is not seldom difficult to tell 
whether he is adducing a proverb1 or    

uttering some proverb-like saying of his
 own4 ,thus1 ,i cannot remember ever to 
have met any of the following1 which yet
 sound like proverbs--the first on      
solitude as preferable to ill           
fellowship3 ,better ride alone than have
 a thief's company2#aad the second      
against certain who disparaged one whose
 excellencies they would have found it  
very difficult to imitate3 ,they who    
complain that ,grantham steeple stands  
awry1 will not set a straighter by      
it1#aae and in this he warns against    
despising in any the tokens of          
honourable toil3 ,mock not a cobbler for
 his black thumbs4#aaf  ,but the glory  
of proverbs1 that1 perhaps1 which       
strikes us most often and most forcibly 
in regard of them1 is their shrewd      
common sense1 the sound wisdom for the  
management of our own lives1 and of our 
intercourse with our fellows1 which so  
many of them contain4 ,in truth1 there  
is no region of practical life which    
they do not occupy1 for which they do   

not supply some wise hints and counsels 
and warnings4 ,there is hardly a mistake
 which in the course of our lives we    
have committed1 but some proverb1 had we
 known and attended to its lesson1 might
 have saved us from it4 8,adages10      
indeed1 according to the more probable  
etymology of that word1 they are1 apt   
for action and use4#aag  ,sidenote3     
,wisdom of silence4  ,thus1 how many of 
these popular sayings and what good ones
 there are on the wisdom of governing   
the tongue1--,i speak not now of those  
urging the duty1 though such are by no  
means wanting1--but the wisdom1         
prudence1 and profit of knowing how to  
keep silence as well as how to speak4   
,the ,persian1 perhaps1 is familiar to  
many3 ,speech is silvern1 silence is    
golden2 with which we may compare the   
,italian3 ,who speaks1 sows2 who keeps  
silence1 reaps2#aah and on the safety   
that is in silence1 ,i know none happier
 than another from the same quarter1 and
 one most truly characteristic of       

,italian caution3 ,silence was never    
written down2#aai while1 on the other   
hand1 we are excellently warned of the  
irrevocableness of the word which has   
once gone from us in this ,eastern      
proverb3 ,of thine unspoken word thou   
art master2 thy spoken word is master of
 thee2 even as the same is set out      
elsewhere by many striking comparisons2 
it is the arrow from the bow1 the stone 
from the sling2 and1 once launched1 can 
as little be recalled as these4#abj ,our
 own1 ,he who says what he likes1 shall 
hear what he does not like1 gives a     
further motive for self-government in   
speech2 while this ,spanish is in an    
higher strain3 ,the evil which issues   
from thy mouth falls into thy bosom4#aba
 ,nor is it enough to abstain ourselves 
from all such words2 we must not make   
ourselves partakers in those of others2 
which it is only too easy to do2 for1 as
 the ,chinese have said very well3 ,he  
who laughs at an impertinence1 makes    
himself its accomplice4  ,and then1 in  

proverbs not a few what profitable      
warnings have we against the fruits of  
evil companionship1 as in that homely   
one of our own3 ,he that lies down with 
dogs shall rise up with fleas2#abb or1  
again1 in the old ,hebrew one3 ,two dry 
sticks will set on fire one green2 or1  
in another from the ,east1 which has to 
do with the same theme1 and plainly     
shows whither such companionship will   
lead3 ,he that takes the raven for a    
guide1 shall light upon carrion4        
,sidenote3 ,good sense in proverbs4     
,what warnings do many contain against  
unreasonable expectations1 against a    
looking for perfection in a world of    
imperfection1 and generally a demanding 
of more from life than life can yield4  
,we note very well the folly of one     
addicted to this1 saying3 ,he expects   
better bread than can be made of wheat2 
and the ,portuguese3 ,he that will have 
an horse without fault1 let him go      
afoot2 and the ,french3 ,where the goat 
is tied1 there she must browse4#abc     

,again1 what a good word of caution in  
respect of the wisdom of considering    
oftentimes a step which1 being once     
taken1 is taken for ever1 lies in the   
following ,russian proverb3 ,measure thy
 cloth ten times2 thou canst cut it but 
once4 ,and in this ,spanish the final   
issues of procrastination are well set  
forth3 ,by the street of 8,by-and-bye0  
one arrives at the house of             
8,never40#abd ,in how pleasant a way    
discretion in avoiding all appearance of
 evil is urged in the following         
,chinese3 ,in a field of melons tie not 
thy shoe2 under a plum-tree adjust not  
thy cap4 ,and this ,danish warns us well
 against relying too much on other men's
 silence1 since there is no rarer gift  
than the capacity of keeping a secret3  
,tell nothing to thy friend which thine 
enemy may not know4 ,here is a word     
which we owe to ,italy1 and which1 laid 
to heart1 might keep men out of         
law-suits1 or1 being in them1 from      
refusing to accept tolerable terms of   

accommodation3 ,the robes of lawyers are
 lined with the obstinacy of            
suitors4#abe ,other words of wisdom and 
warning1 for so ,i must esteem them1 are
 these2 this1 on the danger of being    
overset by prosperity3 ,everything may  
be borne1 except good fortune2#abf with 
which may be compared our own3 ,bear    
wealth1 poverty will bear itself2 and   
another ,italian which says3 ,in        
prosperity no altars smoke4#abg ,this is
 on the disgrace which will sooner or   
later follow upon dressing ourselves out
 in intellectual finery that does not   
belong to us3 ,who arrays himself in    
other men's garments1 is stripped in the
 middle of the street2#abh he is        
detected and laid bare when and where   
detection is most shameful4  ,of the    
same miscellaneous character1 and       
derived from quarters the most diverse1 
but all of them of an excellent sense or
 shrewdness1 are the following4 ,this is
 from ,italy3 ,who sees not the bottom1 
let him not pass the water4#abi ,this is

 current among the free blacks of       
,hayti3 ,before fording the river1 do   
not curse ,mrs4 ,alligator2#acj provoke 
not wantonly those in whose power you   
presently may be4 ,this is ,spanish3    
,call me not 8olive10 till you see me   
gathered2#aca being nearly parallel to  
our own3 ,praise a fair day at night2   
and this ,french3 ,take the first advice
 of a woman1 and not the second2#acb a  
proverb of much wisdom2 for in processes
 of reasoning1 out of which the second  
counsels would spring1 women may and    
will be1 inferior to us2 but in         
intuitions1 in moral intuitions above   
all1 they surpass us far2 they have what
 ,montaigne ascribes to them in a       
remarkable word1 8l'esprit              
primesautier10 the leopard's spring1    
which takes its prey1 if it be to take  
it at all1 at the first bound4  ,and ,i 
cannot but think that for as many as are
 seeking diligently to improve their    
time and opportunities of knowledge1    
with at the same time little of either  

which they can call their own1 a very   
useful hint and warning against an error
 which lies very near1 is contained in  
the little ,latin proverb3 ,compendia1  
dispendia4 ,nor indeed for them only1   
but for all1 and in numberless respects 
it often proves true that a short cut   
may be a very long way home2 yet the    
proverb can never be applied better than
 to those little catechisms of science1 
those skeleton outlines of history1     
those epitomes of all useful            
information1 those thousand delusive    
short cuts to the attainment of that    
knowledge1 which can indeed only be     
acquired by them that are content to    
travel on the king's highway1 on the    
old1 and as ,i must still call it1 the  
royal road of patience1 perseverance1   
and toil4 ,surely these compendia1 so   
meagre and so hungry1 with little food  
for the intellect1 with less for the    
affections1 we may style with fullest   
right dispendia1 wasteful as they       
generally prove of whatever time and    

labour and money is bestowed upon them2 
and every wise man will set his seal to 
this word1 as wisely as it is grandly   
spoken3 8,all spacious minds1 attended  
with the felicities of means and        
leisure1 will fly abridgements as bane40
  ,sidenote3 ,proverbs about books4     
,and being on the subject of books and  
the choice of books1 let me put before  
you a proverb1 and in this reading age a
 very serious one2 it comes to us from  
,italy1 and it says3 ,there is no worse 
robber than a bad book4#acc ,indeed1    
none worse1 nor so bad2 other robbers   
may spoil us of our money2 but this     
robber of our 8goods0--of our time at   
any rate1 even assuming the book to be  
only negatively bad2 but of how much    
more1 of our principles1 our faith1 our 
purity of heart1 supposing its badness  
to be positive1 and not negative only4  
,and one more on books may fitly find   
place here3 ,dead men open living men's 
eyes2 at least ,i take it to be such2   
and to contain implicitly the praise of 

history1 and an announcement of the     
instruction which it will yield us4#acd 
,here are one or two prudent words on   
education4 ,a child may have too much of
 its mother's blessing2 yes1 for that   
blessing may be no blessing1 but rather 
a curse1 if it take the shape of foolish
 and fond indulgence2 and in the same   
strain is this ,german3 ,better the     
child weep than the father4#ace ,and    
this1 like many others1 is found in so  
many tongues1 that it cannot be ascribed
 to one rather than another3 ,more      
springs in the garden than the gardener 
ever sowed4#acf ,it is a proverb for    
many1 but most of all for parents and   
teachers1 that they lap not themselves  
in a false dream of security1 as though 
nothing was at work or growing in the   
minds of the young in their             
guardianship1 but what they themselves  
had sown there1 as though there was not 
another who might very well have sown   
his tares beside and among any good seed
 of their sowing4 ,at the same time the 

proverb has also its happier side4      
,there may be1 there often are1 better  
things also in this garden than ever the
 earthly gardener set there1 seeds of   
the more immediate sowing of ,god4 ,in  
either of its aspects this proverb is   
one deserving to be laid to heart4      
,sidenote3 ,gold's worth is gold4       
,proverbs will sometimes outrun and     
implicitly anticipate conclusions1 which
 are only after long struggles and      
efforts arrived at as the formal and    
undoubted conviction of all thoughtful  
men4 ,after how long a conflict has that
 been established as a maxim in         
political economy1 which the brief      
,italian proverb long ago announced3    
,gold's worth is gold4#acg ,what        
millions upon millions of national      
wealth have been as much lost as if they
 had been thrown into the sea1 from the 
inability of those who have had the     
destinies of nations in their hands to  
grasp this simple proposition1 that     
everything which could purchase money1  

or which money would fain purchase1 was 
as really wealth as the money itself4   
,what forcing of national industries    
into unnatural channels has resulted    
from this1 what mischievous restrictions
 in the buying and selling of one people
 with another4 ,nay1 can the truth which
 this proverb affirms be said even now  
to be accepted without gainsaying--so   
long as the talk about the balance of   
trade being in favour of or against a   
nation1 as the fear of draining a       
country of its gold1 still survive8     
,here is a proverb of many tongues3 ,one
 sword keeps another in its             
scabbard2#ach--surely a far wiser and   
far manlier word than the puling yet    
mischievous babble of our shallow ,peace
 ,societies1 which1 while they fancy    
that they embody1 and they only embody1 
the true spirit of ,christianity1       
proclaim themselves in fact ignorant of 
all which it teaches2 for they dream of 
having peace the fruit1 while at the    
same time the root of bitterness out of 

which have grown all the wars and       
fightings that have ever been in the    
world1 namely the lusts which stir in   
men's members1 remain strong and        
vigorous as ever4 ,but no2 it is not    
they that are the peacemakers3 in the   
face of an evil world1 and of a world   
determined to continue in its evil1 ,he 
who bears the sword1 and though he fain 
would not1 yet knows how1 if need be1 to
 wield it1 he bears peace4#aci  ,one of 
the most remarkable features of a good  
proverb is the singular variety of      
applications which it will admit1 which 
indeed it challenges and invites4 ,not  
lying on the surface of things1 but     
going deep down to their heart1 it will 
be found capable of being applied again 
and again1 under circumstances the most 
different2 like the gift of which       
,solomon spake1 8whithersoever it       
turneth1 it prospereth20 or like a      
diamond cut and polished upon many      
sides1 which reflects and refracts the  
light upon every one4 ,there can be no  

greater mistake than the attempt to tie 
it down and restrict it to a single     
application1 when indeed the very       
character of it is that it is ever      
finding or making new ones for itself4  
,sidenote3 ,scriptural proverb4  ,it is 
nothing strange that with words of      
,eternal ,wisdom this should be so1 and 
in respect of them my assertion cannot  
need a proof4 ,i will1 notwithstanding1 
adduce as a first confirmation of it a  
scriptural proverb1 one which fell from 
the ,lord's lips in his last prophecies 
about ,jerusalem3 ,wheresoever the      
carcase is1 there will the eagles be    
gathered together2 7,matt4 xxiv4 #bh27  
and which probably ,he had taken up from
 ,job4 7xxxix4 #cj47 ,who would venture 
to say that he had exhausted the meaning
 of this wonderful saying8 ,for is it   
not properly inexhaustible8 ,all history
 is a comment on these words4 ,wherever 
there is a ,church or a people abandoned
 by the spirit of life1 and so a        
carcase1 tainting the atmosphere of     

,god's moral world1 around it assemble  
the ministers and messengers of ,divine 
justice1 8the eagles10 7or vultures more
 strictly1 for the true eagle does not  
feed on aught but what itself has       
slain17 the scavengers of ,god's moral  
world2 scenting out as by a mysterious  
instinct the prey from afar1 and charged
 to remove presently the offence out of 
the way4 ,this proverb1 for the saying  
has passed upon the lips of men1 and    
thus has become such1 is being fulfilled
 evermore4 ,the wicked ,canaanites were 
the carcase1 when the children of       
,israel entered into their land1 the    
commissioned eagles that should remove  
them out of sight4 ,at a later day the  
,jews were themselves the carcase1 and  
the ,romans the eagles2 and when in the 
progress of decay1 the ,roman empire had
 quite lost the spirit of life1 and     
those virtues of the family and the     
nation which had deservedly made it     
great1 the northern tribes1 the eagles  
now1 came down upon it1 to tear it limb 

from limb1 and make room for a new      
creation that should grow up in its     
stead4 ,again1 the ,persian empire was  
the carcase2 ,alexander and his         
,macedonian hosts1 the eagles that by   
unerring instinct gathered round it to  
complete its doom4 ,the ,greek ,church  
in the seventh century was too nearly a 
carcase to escape the destiny of such1  
and the armies of ,islam scented their  
prey1 and divided it among them4 ,in    
modern times ,poland was1 ,i fear1 such 
a carcase2 and this one may affirm      
without in the least extenuating their  
guilt who partitioned it2 for it might  
have been just for it to suffer1 what   
yet it was most unrighteous for others  
to inflict4 ,nay1 where do you not find 
an illustration of this proverb1 from   
such instances on the largest scale as  
these1 down to that of the silly and    
profligate heir1 surrounded by sharpers 
and black-legs1 and preyed on by these8 
,everywhere it is true that ,wheresoever
 the carcase is1 there will the eagles  

be gathered together4  ,sidenote3       
,extremes meet4  ,sidenote3 ,too far    
,east is ,west4  ,or1 again1 consider   
such a proverb as the short but         
well-known one3 ,extremes meet4 ,short  
as it is1 it is yet a motto on which    
whole volumes might be written1 which is
 finding its illustration every day1--in
 small and in great1--in things trivial 
and in things most important1--in the   
histories of single men1 and in those of
 nations and of ,churches4 ,consider    
some of its every-day fulfilments1--old 
age ending in second childhood1--cold   
performing the effects of heat1 and     
scorching as heat would have done1--the 
extremities alike of joy and of grief   
finding utterance in tears1--that which 
is above all value declared to have no  
value at all1 to be 8invaluable10--the  
second singular 8thou0 instead of the   
plural 8you10 employed in so many       
languages to inferiors and to ,god1     
never to equals2 just as servants and   
children are alike called by the        

,christian name1 but not those who stand
 in the midway of intimacy between them4
 ,or to take some further illustrations 
from the moral world1 of extremes       
meeting2 observe how often those who    
begin their lives as spendthrifts end   
them as misers2 how often the flatterer 
and the calumniator meet in the same    
person3 out of a sense of which the     
,italians say well3 ,who paints me      
before1 blackens me behind2#adj observe 
how those who yesterday would have      
sacrificed to ,paul as a god1 will      
to-day stone him as a malefactor2 7,acts
 xiv4 #ah1 #ai2 cf4 xxviii4 #d-f27 even 
as ,roman emperors would one day have   
blasphemous honours paid to them by the 
populace1 and the next their bodies     
would be dragged by a hook through the  
streets of the city1 to be flung into   
the common sewer4 ,or note again in what
 close alliance hardness and softness1  
cruelty and self-indulgence 78lust hard 
by hate071 are continually found2 or in 
law1 how the summum jus1 where          

unredressed by equity1 becomes the summa
 injuria1 as in the case of ,shylock's  
pound of flesh1 which was indeed no more
 than was in the bond4 ,or observe on a 
greater scale1 as lately in ,france1 how
 a wild and lawless democracy may be    
transformed by the base trick of a      
conjuror into an atrocious military     
tyranny4#ada ,or read thoughtfully the  
history of the ,church and of the sects1
 and you will not fail to note what     
things apparently the most remote are   
yet in the most fearful proximity with  
one another3 how often1 for example1 a  
false asceticism has issued in frantic  
outbreaks of fleshly lusts1 and those   
who avowed themselves at one time       
ambitious to live lives above men1 have 
ended in living lives below beasts4     
,again1 take note of ,england at the    
,restoration exchanging all in a moment 
the sour strictness of the ,puritans for
 a licence and debauchery unknown to it 
before4 ,or1 once more1 consider the    
exactly similar position in respect of  

,scripture1 taken up by the ,romanists  
on the one side1 the ,quakers and       
,familists on the other4 ,seeming1 and  
in much being1 so remote from one       
another1 they yet have this fundamental 
in common1 that ,scripture1 insufficient
 in itself1 needs a supplement from     
without1 those finding it in a ,pope1   
and these in the 8inward light40#adb    
,with these examples before you1 not to 
speak of the many others which might be 
adduced1#adc you will own1 ,i think1    
that this proverb1 ,extremes meet1 or   
its parallel1 ,too far ,east is ,west1  
reaches very far into the heart of      
things2 and with this for the present ,i
 must conclude4   ,footnotes  #hi ,regul
 qu inter maximas numerari merentur4    
#ij ,in ,german3 ,grau' ,hare sind      
,kirchhofsblumen4  #ia ,il tempo  una   
lima sorda4  #ib   4  #ic ,cujus vita   
fulgor1 ejus verba tonitrua4 ,cf4 ,mark 
iii4 #ag3  4  #id ,admirably glossed in 
the ,guesses at ,truth3 8,pluck up the  
stones1 ye sluggards1 and break the     

devil's head with them40  #ie ,quando i 
furbi vanno in processione1 il diavolo  
porta la croce4  #if ,va  missa         
apateiros1 roga a ,deos que morra os    
carneiros4  #ig ,this is ,swedish3 ,zu  
mera man stryken ,katten p ,swanzen1 zu 
mera pyser pan4  #ih ,si la locura fuese
 dolores1 en cada casa darian voces4    
#ii ,tonto1 sin saber latin1 nunca es   
gran tonto4  #ajj ,qui rien ne sait1 de 
rien ne doute4  #aja ,an earnest        
preacher of righteousness just before   
the ,reformation quotes this one as     
current about them3 ,quod agere veretur 
obstinatus diabolus1 intrepide agit     
reprobus et contumax monachus4  #ajb ,it
 is ,huss who1 denouncing the sins of   
the clergy of his day1 has preserved    
this proverb for us3 ,malum proverbium  
contra nos confinxerunt1 dicentes1 ,si  
offenderis clericum1 interfice eum2     
alias nunquam habebis pacem cum illo4   
#ajc ,por los haldas del vicario sube el
 diablo al campanario4  #ajd ,ubi tres  
,medici1 duo ,athei4 ,of course those   

which imply that they shorten rather    
than prolong the term of life1 are      
numerous1 as for instance1 the old      
,french3 ,qui court aprs le mire1 court 
aprs la bire4  #aje ,in ,german3        
,juristen1 bsen ,christen4  #ajf ,bebel3
 ,dicitur in proverbio nostro2 nihil    
esse audacius indusio molitoris1 cum    
omni tempore matutino furem collo       
apprehendat4  #ajg ,se la superbia fosse
 arte1 quanti ,dottori avressimo4  #ajh 
,tal sprezza la superbia con una maggior
 superbia4  #aji ,ein ,feind ist zu     
viel2 und hundert ,freunde sind zu      
wenig4  #aaj ,il est ais d'aller  pied1 
quand on tient son cheval par la bride4 
#aaa ,the ,gallegan proverb1 ,you a     
lady1 ,i a lady1 who shall drive the    
hogs a-field8 7,vos dona1 yo dona1 quen 
botara a porca fora87 is only a         
variation of this4  #aab ,mulates qua   
battent1 cabrites qua morts4  #aac ,a   
proverb of many tongues beside our own3 
thus in the ,italian3 ,quanto pi la     
volpe  maladetta1 tanto maggior preda   

fa4  #aad ,holy ,state1 b4 #c1 c4 #e4   
#aae ,b4 #b1 c4 #bc4  #aaf ,b4 #c1 c4   
#b4  #aag ,adagia1 ad agendum apta2 this
 is the etymology of the word given by  
,festus4  #aah ,chi parla semina1 chi   
tace raccoglie2 compare the ,swedish3   
,bttre tyga n illa tala 7,better silence
 than ill speech74  #aai ,il tacer non f
 mai scritto4  #abj ,palabra de boca1   
piedra de honda4--,palabra y piedra     
suelta no tiene vuelta4  #aba ,el mal   
que de tu boca sale1 en tu seno se cae4 
#abb ,quien con perros se echa1 con     
pulgas se levanta4  #abc ,la ou la chvre
 est attache1 il faut qu'elle broute4   
#abd ,por la calle de despues se va  la 
casa de nunca4  #abe ,le vesti          
degl'avvocati sono fodrate              
dell'ostinazion dei litiganti4  #abf    
,ogni cosa si sopporta1 eccetto il buon 
tempo4  #abg ,nella prosperit non fumano
 gl'altari4  #abh ,quien con ropa agena 
se viste1 en la calle se queda encueros4
  #abi ,chi non vede il fondo1 non passi
 l'acqua4  #acj ,avant travers rivier1  

pas jur maman caiman4 ,this and one or  
two other ,haytian proverbs quoted in   
this volume ,i have derived from a      
curious article1 ,les murs et la        
littrature ngres1 by ,gustave ,d',alaux1
 in the ,revue des deux ,mondes1 ,mai   
#aeme1 #aheb4  #aca ,no me digas oliva1 
hasta que me veas cogida4  #acb ,prends 
le premier conseil d'une femme1 et non  
le second4  #acc ,non v' il peggior     
ladro d'un cattivo libro4  #acd ,los    
muertos abren los ojos a los vivos4     
#ace ,es ist besser1 das ,kind weine    
denn der ,vater4  #acf ,nace en la      
huerta lo que no siembra el hortelano4  
#acg ,oro 1 che oro vale2--and of the   
multitudes that are rushing to the      
,australian gold-fields1 some may find  
this also true3 ,pi vale guadagnar in   
loto che perder in oro4  #ach ,una spada
 tien l'altra nel fodro4  #aci ,qui     
porte pe1 porte paix4  #adj ,chi dinanzi
 mi pinge1 di dietro mi tinge4 ,the     
history of the word 8sycophant10 and the
 manner in which it has travelled from  

its original to its present meaning1 is 
a very striking confirmation of this    
proverb's truth4  #ada ,how and why it  
is that extremes here meet1 and what are
 the inner affinities between a         
democracy and a tyranny1 ,plato has     
wonderfully traced1 ,rep41 ii4 p4 #bag4 
#adb ,see ,jeremy ,taylor's ,dissuasive 
from ,popery1 part #b1 b4 #a4 sect4 #aa1
  #f4  #adc 8,extremes meet4 ,truths1 of
 all others the most awful and          
interesting1 are too often considered as
 so true1 that they lose all the power  
of truths1 and lie bed-ridden in the    
dormitory of the soul1 side by side with
 the most despised and exploded         
errors40--,,coleridge1 ,aids to         
,reflection4     ,,lecture ,v4  ,,the   
,,morality ,,of ,,proverbs4   ,the      
morality of proverbs is a subject which 
,i have not been able to leave wholly   
untouched until now1 for of necessity it
 has offered itself to us continually1  
in one shape or another2 yet hitherto ,i
 have not regularly dealt with or       

considered it4 ,to it ,i propose to     
devote the present lecture4 ,but how1 it
 may be asked at the outset1 can any    
general verdict be pronounced about     
them8 ,in a family like theirs1 spread  
so widely over the face of the earth1   
must there not be found worthy members  
and unworthy1 proverbs noble and base1  
holy and profane1 heavenly and          
earthly2--yea1 heavenly1 earthly1 and   
devilish8 ,what common judgment of      
praise or censure can be pronounced upon
 all of these8 ,evidently none4 ,the    
only question1 therefore1 for our       
consideration must be1 whether there    
exists any such large and unquestionable
 preponderance either of the better sort
 or of the worse1 as shall give us a    
right to pronounce a judgment on the    
whole in their favour or against them1  
to affirm of them that their            
preponderating influence and weight is  
thrown into the balance of the good or  
of the evil4  ,and here ,i am persuaded 
that no one can have devoted any serious

 attention to this aspect of the        
subject1 but will own1 7and seeing how  
greatly popular morals are affected by  
popular proverbs1 will own with         
thankfulness17 that1 if not without     
serious exceptions1 yet still in the    
main they range themselves under the    
banners of the right and of the truth2  
he will allow that of so many as move in
 an ethical sphere at all1 very far more
 are children of light and the day than 
of darkness and night4 ,indeed1 the     
comparative paucity of unworthy proverbs
 is a very noticeable fact1 and one to  
the causes of which ,i shall have       
presently to recur4  ,sidenote3 ,coarse 
proverbs4  ,at the same time1 when ,i   
affirm this1 ,i find it necessary to    
make certain explanations1 to draw      
certain distinctions4 ,in the first     
place1 ,i would not1 by what ,i have    
said1 in the least deny that an ample   
number of coarse proverbs are extant3 it
 needs but to turn over a page or two of
 ,ray's ,collection of ,english         

,proverbs1 or of ,howell's1 or indeed of
 any collection in any tongue1 which has
 not been weeded carefully1 to convince 
oneself of the fact2--nor yet would ,i  
deny1 that of these many may1 more or   
less1 live upon the lips of men4 ,having
 their birth1 for the most part1 in a   
period of a nation's literature and     
life1 when men are much more            
plain-spoken1 and have far fewer        
reticences than is afterwards the case1 
it is nothing strange that some of them1
 employing words forbidden now1 but not 
forbidden then1 should sound coarse and 
indelicate enough in our ears3 while    
indeed there are others1 whose offence  
and grossness these considerations1     
while they may mitigate1 are quite      
insufficient to excuse4 ,but at the same
 time1 gross words and images1 7,i speak
 not of wanton ones17 bad as they may   
be1 are altogether different from       
immoral maxims and rules of life4 ,and  
it is these immoral maxims1 unrighteous1
 selfish1 or otherwise unworthy rules1  

of which ,i would affirm the number to  
be1 if not absolutely1 yet relatively   
small4  ,and then further1 in estimating
 the morality of proverbs1 this also    
will claim in justice not to be         
forgotten4 ,in the same manner as coarse
 proverbs are not necessarily immoral1  
so the application which is made of a   
proverb by us may very often be         
hardhearted and selfish1 while yet the  
proverb itself is very far from so      
being4 ,this selfishness and hardness   
lay not in it of primary intention1 but 
only by our abuse2 and in the cases of  
several1 these two things1 the proverb  
itself1 and the ordinary employment of  
it1 will demand to be kept carefully    
apart from one another4 ,for instance3  
,he has made his bed1 and now he must   
lie on it2--,as he has brewed1 so he    
must drink2--,as he has sown1 so must he
 reap2#add--;if these are employed to   
justify us in refusing to save others1  
so far as we may1 from the consequences 
of their own folly1 or imprudence1 or   

even guilt1 why then one can only say   
that they are very ill employed2 and    
there are few of us with whom it would  
not have gone hardly1 had all those     
about us acted in the spirit of these   
proverbs so misinterpreted2 had they    
refused to mitigate for us1 so far as   
they could1 the consequences of our     
errors4 ,but if the words are taken in  
their true sense1 as homely             
announcements of that law of divine     
retaliations in the world1 according to 
which men shall eat of the fruit of     
their own doings1 and be filled with    
their own ways1 who shall gainsay them8 
,what affirm they more than every page  
of ,scripture1 every turn of human life1
 is affirming too1 namely1 that the     
everlasting order of ,god's universe    
cannot be violated with impunity1 that  
there is a continual returning upon men 
of what they have done1 and that in     
their history we may read their         
judgment8  ,sidenote3 ,charity begins at
 home4  ,charity begins at home1 is the 

most obvious and familiar of these      
proverbs1 selfishly abused4 ,it may be1 
no doubt it often is1 made the plea for 
a selfish withholding of assistance from
 all but a few1 whom men may include in 
their 8at home10 while sometimes the    
proverb receives a narrower             
interpretation still2 and self1 and self
 only1 is accounted to be 8at home40    
,and yet1 in truth1 what were that      
charity worth1 which did not begin at   
home1 which did not preserve the divine 
order and proportion and degree8 ,it is 
not for nothing that we have been       
grouped in families1 neighbourhoods1 and
 nations2 and he who will not recognise 
the divinely appointed nearnesses to    
himself of some over others1 who thinks 
to be a cosmopolite without being a     
patriot1 a philanthropist without owning
 a distinguishing love for them that are
 peculiarly 8his own10 who would thus   
have a circumference without a centre1  
deceives his own heart2 and affirming   
all men1 to be equally dear to him1 is  

indeed affirming them to be equally     
indifferent4 ,home1 the family1 this is 
as the hearth at which the affections   
which are afterwards to go forth and    
warm in a larger circle1 are themselves 
to be kept lively and warm2 and the     
charity which did not exercise itself in
 outcomings of kindness and love in the 
narrower1 would be little likely to seek
 a wider range for itself4 ,wherever    
else it may end1 and the larger the     
sphere which it makes for itself the    
better1 it must yet begin at home4#ade  
,sidenote3 ,prudential morality4  ,there
 are1 again1 proverbs which1 from       
another point of view1 might seem of an 
ignoble cast1 and as calculated to lower
 the tone of morality among those who   
received them2 proposing as they do     
secondary1 and therefore unworthy1      
motives to actions1 which ought to be   
performed out of the highest4 ,i mean   
such as this3 ,honesty is the best      
policy2 wherein honesty is commended1   
not because it is right1 but because it 

is most prudent and politic1 and has the
 promise of this present world4 ,now    
doubtless there are proverbs not a few  
which1 like this1 move in the region of 
what has been by ,coleridge so well     
called 8prudential morality20 and did we
 accept them as containing the whole    
circle of motives to honesty or other   
right conduct1 nothing could be worse1  
or more fitted to lower the moral       
standard of our lives4 ,he who resolves 
to be honest because1 and only because1 
it is the best policy1 will be little   
likely long to continue honest at all4  
,but the proverb does not pretend to    
usurp the place of an ethical rule2 it  
does not presume to cast down the higher
 law which should determine to honesty  
and uprightness1 that it may put itself 
in its place2 it only declares that     
honesty1 let alone that it is the right 
thing1 is also1 even for this present   
world1 the wisest4 ,nor dare we1 let me 
further add1 despise prudential         
morality1 such as is embodied in sayings

 like this4 ,the motives which it       
suggests are helps to a weak and tempted
 virtue1 may prove great assistances to 
it in some passing moment of a violent  
temptation1 however little they can be  
regarded as able to make men for a      
continuance even outwardly upright and  
just4  ,and once more1 proverbs are not 
to be accounted selfish1 which announce 
selfishness2 unless they do it1 either  
avowedly recommending it as a rule and  
maxim of life1 or1 if not so1 yet with  
an evident complacency and satisfaction 
in the announcement which they make1 and
 in this more covert and perhaps still  
more mischievous way1 taking part with  
the evil which they proclaim4 ,there are
 a great many proverbs1 which a lover of
 his race would be very thankful if     
there had been nothing in the world to  
justify or to provoke2 for the          
convictions they embody1 the experiences
 on which they rest must be regarded as 
very far from complimentary to human    
nature3 but seeing they express that    

which is1 however we might desire it    
were not1 it would be idle to wish them 
away1 to wish that this evil had not    
found its utterance4 ,nay1 it is much   
better that it should so have done2 for 
thus taking form and shape1 and being   
brought directly under notice1 it may be
 better watched against and avoided4    
,such proverbs1 not selfish1 but rather 
detecting selfishness and laying it     
bare1 are the following2 this ,russian1 
on the only too slight degree in which  
we are touched with other men's         
troubles3 ,the burden is light on the   
shoulders of another2 with which the    
,french may be compared3 ,one has always
 enough strength to bear the misfortunes
 of one's friends4#adf ,such is this    
,italian3 ,every one draws the water to 
his own mill2#adg or as it appears in   
its eastern shape1 which brings up the  
desert-bivouack before one's eyes3      
,every one rakes the embers to his own  
cake4 ,such this ,latin1 on the         
comparative wastefulness wherewith that 

which is another's is too often used3   
,men cut broad thongs from other men's  
leather2#adh with many more of the same 
character1 which it would be only too   
easy to bring together4  ,sidenote3     
,selfish proverbs4  ,with all this1 ,i  
would not of course in the least deny   
that immoral proverbs1 and only too many
 of them1 exist4 ,for if they are1 as we
 have recognised them to be1 the genuine
 transcript of what is stirring in the  
hearts of men1 then1 since there is     
cowardice1 untruth1 selfishness1        
unholiness1 profaneness there1 how      
should these be wanting here8 ,the world
 is not so consummate an hypocrite as   
the entire absence of all immoral       
proverbs would imply4 ,there will be    
merely selfish ones1 as our own3 ,every 
one for himself and ,god for us all2 or 
as this ,dutch3 ,self's the man2#adi or 
more shamelessly cynical still1 as the  
,french3 ,better a grape for me1 than   
two figs for thee2#aej or again1 such as
 proclaim a doubt and disbelief in the  

existence of any high moral integrity   
anywhere1 as ,every man has his price2  
or assume that poor men can scarcely be 
honest1 as ,it is hard for an empty sack
 to stand straight2 or take it for      
granted that every man would cheat every
 other if he could1 as the ,french3     
,count after your father2#aea or1 if    
they do not actually 8speak good of the 
covetous10 yet assume it possible that a
 blessing can wait on that which a      
wicked covetousness has heaped together1
 as the ,spanish3 ,blessed is the son1  
whose father went to the devil2 or find 
cloaks and apologies for sin1 as the    
,german3 ,once is never2#aeb or such as 
would imply that the evil of a sin lay  
not in its sinfulness1 but in the       
outward disgrace annexed to it1 as the  
,italian3 ,a sin concealed is half      
forgiven4#aec ,or again there will be   
proverbs dastardly and base1 as the     
,spanish maxim of caution1 which advises
 to ,draw the snake from its hole by    
another man's hand2 to put1 that is1    

another1 and it may be for your own     
profit1 to the peril from which you     
shrink yourself2--or more dastardly     
still1 8scoundrel maxims10 an old       
,english poet has called them2 as for   
instance1 that one which is acted on    
only too often3 ,one must howl with the 
wolves2#aed in other words1 when a      
general cry is raised against any1 it is
 safest to join it1 lest one be supposed
 to sympathise with its object2 to howl 
with the wolves1 if one would not be    
hunted by them4 ,in the whole circle of 
proverbs ,i know no baser1 nor more     
dastardly than this4 ,and yet who will  
say that he has never traced in himself 
the cowardly temptation to obey it8     
,besides these there will be1 of which  
,i shall spare you any examples1        
proverbs wanton and impure1 and not     
merely proverbs thus earthly and        
sensual1 but devilish2 such as some of  
those ,italian on revenge which ,i      
quoted in my third lecture4  ,sidenote3 
,immoral proverbs rare4  ,but for all   

this these immoral proverbs1 rank weeds 
among the wholesome corn1 are           
comparatively rare4 ,in the minority    
with all people1 they are immeasurably  
in the minority with most4 ,the fact is 
not a little worthy of our note4 ,surely
 there lies in it a solemn testimony1   
that however men may and do in their    
conduct continually violate the rule of 
right1 yet these violations are ever    
felt to be such1 are inwardly confessed 
not to be the law of man's life1 but the
 transgressions of the law2 and thus1   
stricken as with a secret shame1 and    
paying an unconscious homage to the     
majesty of goodness1 they do not presume
 to raise themselves into maxims1 nor1  
for all the frequency with which they   
may be repeated1 pretend to claim       
recognition as abiding standards of     
action4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,sidenote3 ,alms the salt  
of riches4  ,as the sphere in which the 
proverb moves is no imaginary world1 but
 that actual and often very homely world

 which is round us and about us2 as it  
does not float in the clouds1 but sets  
its feet firmly on this common earth of 
ours from which itself once grew1 being 
occupied with present needs and         
every-day cares1 it is only natural that
 the proverbs having reference to money 
should be numerous2 and in the main it  
would be well if the practice of the    
world rose to the height of its         
convictions as expressed in these4      
,frugality is connected with so many    
virtues--at least1 its contrary makes so
 many impossible--that the numerous     
proverbial maxims inculcating this1 than
 which none perhaps are more frequent on
 the lips of men1 must be regarded as   
belonging to the better order2#aee      
especially when taken with the check of 
others1 which forbid this frugality from
 degenerating into a sordid and         
dishonourable parsimony2 such1 ,i mean1 
as our own3 ,the groat is ill saved     
which shames its master4 ,in how many   
the conviction speaks out that the      

hastily-gotten will hardly be the       
honestly-gotten1 that 8he who makes     
haste to be rich shall not be innocent10
 as when the ,spaniards say3 ,he who    
will be rich in a year1 at the half-year
 they hang him2#aef in how many others1 
the confidence that the ill-won will    
also be the ill-spent1#aeg that he who  
shuts up unlawful gain in his           
storehouses1 is shutting up a fire that 
will one day destroy them4 ,very solemn 
and weighty in this sense is the ,german
 proverb3 ,the unrighteous penny        
corrupts the righteous pound2#aeh and   
the ,spanish1 too1 is striking3 ,that   
which is another's always yearns for its
 lord2#aei it yearns1 that is1 to be    
gone and get to its true owner4 ,in how 
many the conviction is expressed that   
this mammon1 which more than anything   
else men are tempted to think ,god does 
not concern ,himself about1 is yet given
 and taken away by ,him according to the
 laws of his righteousness2 given       
sometimes to his enemies and for their  

greater punishment1 that under its fatal
 influence they may grow worse and      
worse1 for ,the more the carle riches1  
he wretches2 but oftener withdrawn1     
because no due acknowledgment of ,him   
was made in its use2 as when the ,german
 proverb declares3 ,charity gives itself
 rich2 covetousness hoards itself       
poor2#afj and the ,danish3 ,give alms1  
that thy children may not ask them2 and 
the ,rabbis1 with a yet deeper          
significance3 ,alms are the salt of     
riches2 the true antiseptic1 which as   
such shall prevent them from themselves 
corrupting1 and from corrupting those   
that have them2 which shall hinder them 
from developing a germ of corruption1   
such as shall in the end involve in one 
destruction them and their owners4#afa  
,at the same time1 as it is the very    
character of proverbs to look at matters
 all round1 there are others to remind  
us that even this very giving itself    
shall be with forethought and           
discretion2 with selection of right     

objects1 and in right proportion to     
each4 ,teaching this1 the ,greeks said1 
,sow with the hand1 and not with the    
whole sack2#afb for as it fares with the
 seed corn1 which if it shall prosper1  
must be providently dispersed with the  
hand1 not prodigally shaken from the    
sack's mouth1 so is it with benefits1   
which shall do good either to those who 
impart1 or to those who receive them4   
,thus again1 there is a ,danish which   
says1 ,so give to-day1 that thou shalt  
be able to give to-morrow2 and another3 
,so give to one1 that thou shalt have to
 give to another4#afc ,and as closing   
this series1 as teaching us in a homely 
but striking manner1 with an image      
,dantesque in its vigor1 that a man     
shall carry nothing away with him when  
he dieth1 take this ,italian1 ,our last 
robe1 that is our winding sheet1 is made
 without pockets4#afd  ,sidenote3 ,manly
 proverbs4  ,let me further invite you  
to observe and to admire the prevailing 
tone of manliness which pervades the    

great body of the proverbs of all       
nations3 let me urge you to take note   
how very few there are which would fain 
persuade you that 8luck is all10 or that
 your fortunes are in any other hands1  
under ,god1 than your own4 ,this our own
 proverb1 ,win purple and wear purple1  
proclaims4 ,there are some1 but they are
 exceptions1 to which the gambler1 the  
idler1 the so-called 8waiter upon       
,providence10 can appeal4 ,for the most 
part1 however1 they courageously accept 
the law of labour1 ,no pains1 no        
gains1--,no sweat1 no sweet1--,no mill1 
no meal1#afe as the appointed law and   
condition of man's life4 ,where wilt    
thou go1 ox1 that thou wilt not have to 
plough8#aff is the ,catalan remonstrance
 addressed to one1 who imagines by any  
outward change of circumstances to evade
 the inevitable task and toil of        
existence4 ,and this is ,turkish3 ,it is
 not with saying ,honey1 ,honey1 that   
sweetness will come into the mouth2 and 
to many languages another with its      

striking image1 ,sloth1 the key of      
poverty1#afg belongs3 while1 on the     
other hand1 there are in almost all     
tongues such proverbs as the following3 
,god helps them that help               
themselves2#afh or as it appears with a 
slight variation in the ,basque3 ,god is
 a good worker1 but ,he loves to be     
helped4 ,and these proverbs1 let me     
observe by the way1 were not strange1 in
 their import at least1 to the founder  
of that religion which is usually       
supposed to inculcate a blind and       
indolent fatalism--however some who call
 themselves by his name may have        
forgotten the lesson which they convey4 
,certainly they were not strange to     
,mahomet himself2 if the following      
excellently-spoken word has been rightly
 ascribed to him4 ,one evening1 we are  
told1 after a weary march through the   
desert1 he was camping with his         
followers1 and overheard one of them    
saying1 8,i will loose my camel1 and    
commit it to ,god20 on which ,mahomet   

took him up3 8,friend1 tie thy camel1   
and commit it to ,god20#afi do1 that is1
 whatever is thine to do1 and then leave
 the issue in higher hands2 but till    
thou hast done this1 till thou hast thus
 helped thyself1 thou hast no right to  
look to ,heaven to help thee4           
,sidenote3 ,persian proverb4  ,how      
excellently this unites genuine modesty 
and manly self-assertion3 ,sit in your  
own place1 and no man can make you rise2
 and how good is this ,spanish1 on the  
real dignity which there often is in    
doing things for ourselves1 rather than 
in standing by and suffering others to  
do them for us3 ,who has a mouth1 let   
him not say to another1 ,blow4#agj ,and 
as a part of this which ,i have called  
the manliness of proverbs1 let me       
especially note the noble utterances    
which so many contain1 summoning to a   
brave encountering of adverse fortune1  
to perseverance under disappointment and
 defeat and a long-continued inclemency 
of fate2 breathing as they do1 a noble  

confidence that for the brave and bold  
the world will not always be adverse4   
,where one door shuts another opens2#aga
 this belongs to too many nations to    
allow of our ascribing it especially to 
any one4 ,and this ,latin3 ,the sun of  
all days has not yet gone down1#agb     
however1 in its primary application     
intended for those who are at the top of
 ,fortune's wheel1 to warn them that    
they be not high-minded1 for there is   
yet time for many a revolution in that  
wheel1 is equally good for those at the 
bottom1 and as it contains warning for  
those1 so strength and encouragement for
 these2 for1 as the ,italians say3 ,the 
world is his who has patience4#agc ,and 
then1 to pass over some of our own1 so  
familiar that they need not be adduced1 
how manful a lesson is contained in this
 ,persian proverb3 ,a stone that is fit 
for the wall1 is not left in the way4   
,it is a saying made for them who appear
 for a while to be overlooked1          
neglected1 passed by2 who perceive in   

themselves capacities1 which as yet no  
one else has recognised or cared to turn
 to account4 ,only be fit for the wall2 
square1 polish1 prepare thyself for it2 
do not limit thyself to the bare        
acquisition of such knowledge as is     
absolutely necessary for thy present    
position2 but rather learn languages1   
acquire useful information1 stretch     
thyself out on this side and on that1   
cherishing and making much of whatever  
aptitudes thou findest in thyself2 and  
it is certain thy turn will come4 ,thou 
wilt not be left in the way2 sooner or  
later the builders will be glad of thee2
 the wall will need thee to fill up a   
place in it1 quite as much as thou      
needest a place to occupy in the wall4  
,for the amount of real capacity in this
 world is so small1 that places want    
persons to fill them quite as really as 
persons want to fill places2 although it
 must be allowed1 they are not always as
 much aware of their want4  ,and this   
proverb1 ,italian and ,spanish1 ,if ,i  

have lost the ring1 yet the fingers are 
still here1#agd is another of these     
brave utterances of which ,i have been  
speaking4 ,in it is asserted the        
comparative indifference of that loss   
which reaches but to things external to 
us1 so long us we ourselves remain1 and 
are true to ourselves4 ,the fingers are 
far more than the ring3 if indeed those 
had gone1 then the man would have been  
maimed2 but another ring may come for   
that which has disappeared1 or even with
 none the fingers will be fingers still4
 ,and as at once a contrast and         
complement to this1 take another1       
current among the free blacks of ,hayti1
 and expressing well the little profit  
which there will be to a man in pieces  
of mere good luck1 which are no true    
outgrowths of anything which is in him2 
the manner in which1 having no root in  
himself out of which they grew1 they    
will1 as they came to him by hazard1 go 
from him by the same3 ,the knife which  
thou hast found in the highway1 thou    

wilt lose in the highway4#age           
,sidenote3 ,abuse of proverbs4  ,but    
these numerous proverbs1 urging         
self-reliance1 bidding us first to aid  
ourselves1 if we would have ,heaven to  
aid us1 must not be dismissed without a 
word or two at parting4 ,prizing them1  
as we well may1 and the lessons which   
they contain1 at the highest1 yet it    
will be profitable for us at the same   
time always to remember that to such    
there lies very near such a mischievous 
perversion as this3 8,aid thyself1 and  
thou wilt need no other aid20 even as   
they have been sometimes1 no doubt1     
understood in this sense4 ,as1 then1 the
 pendant and counter-weight to them all1
 not as unsaying what they have said1   
but as fulfilling the other hemisphere  
in the complete orb of truth1 let me    
remind you of such also as the          
following1 often quoted or alluded to by
 ,greek and ,latin authors3 ,the net of 
the sleeping 7fisherman7 takes2#agf--;a 
proverb the more interesting1 that we   

have in the words of the ,psalmist1     
7,ps4 cxxvii4 #b17 when accurately      
translated1 a beautiful and perfect     
parallel3 8,he giveth his beloved0 7not 
8sleep10 as in our version1 but7 8in    
sleep20 ,god's gifts gliding into his   
bosom1 he knowing not how1 and as little
 expecting as having laboured for them4 
,of how many of the best gifts of every 
man's life will he not thankfully       
acknowledge this to have been true2 or1 
if he refuse to allow it1 and will      
acknowledge no eudmonia1 no #8favourable
 providence' in his prosperities1 but   
will see them all as of work1 how little
 he deserves1 how little likely he is1  
to retain them to the end4 ,let us hold 
fast1 then1 this proverb as the most    
needful complement of those4         99 
99       99       99       99           
,sidenote3 ,proverbs for young men4  ,i 
feel that ,i should be wanting to       
hearers such as those who are assembled 
here1 that ,i should fail in that       
purpose which has been1 more or less1   

present to me even in dealing with the  
lighter portions of my subject1 if ,i   
did not earnestly remind you of the many
 of these sayings that there are1 which1
 while they have their lesson for all1  
yet seem more directly addressed to     
those standing1 as not a few of us here1
 at the threshold of the more serious   
and earnest portion of their lives4     
,lecturing to a ,young ,men's ,society1 
,i shall not unfitly press these upon   
your notice4 ,take this ,italian one1   
for instance3 ,when you grind your corn1
 give not the flour to the devil1 and   
the bran to ,god2--in the distribution1 
that is1 of your lives1 apportion not   
your best years1 your strength and your 
vigour to the service of sin and of the 
world1 and only the refuse and rejected 
to your ,maker1 the wine to others1 and 
the lees only to ,him4 ,not so2 for     
there is another ancient proverb1#agg   
which we have made very well our own1   
and which in ,english runs thus3 ,it is 
too late to spare1 when all is spent4   

,the words have obviously a primary     
application to the goods of this present
 life2 it is ill saving here1 when      
nothing or next to nothing is left to   
save4 ,but they are applied well by a   
heathen moralist1 7and the application  
lies very near17 to those who begin to  
husband precious time1 and to live for  
life's true ends1 when life is nearly   
gone1 is now at its dregs2 for1 as he   
well urges1 it is not the least only    
which remains at the bottom1 but the    
worst4#agh ,on the other hand1 ,the     
morning hour has gold in its mouth2#agi 
and this1 true in respect of each of our
 days1 in which the earlier hours given 
to toil will yield larger and more      
genial returns than the later1 is true  
in a yet higher sense1 of that great    
life-day1 whereof all the lesser days of
 our life make up the moments1 is true  
in respect of moral no less than mental 
acquisition4 ,the evening hours have    
often only silver in their mouths at the
 best4 ,nor is this ,arabic proverb1 as 

it appears to me1 other than a very     
solemn one1 being far deeper than at    
first sight it might seem3 ,every day in
 thy life is a leaf in thy history2 a   
leaf which shall once be turned back to 
again1 that it may be seen what was     
written there2 and that whatever was    
written may be read out in the hearing  
of all4  ,and among the proverbs having 
to do with a prudent ordering of our    
lives from the very first1 this ,spanish
 seems well worthy to be adduced3 ,that 
which the fool does in the end1 the wise
 man does at the beginning2#ahj the wise
 with a good grace what the fool with an
 ill2 the one to much profit what the   
other to little or to none4 ,a word     
worth laying to heart2 for1 indeed1 that
 purchase of the ,sibylline books by the
 ,roman king1 what a significant symbol 
it is of that which at one time or      
another1 or1 it may be1 at many times1  
is finding place in almost every man's  
life2--the same thing to be done in the 
end1 the same price to be paid at the   

last1 with only the difference1 that    
much of the advantage1 as well as all   
the grace1 of an earlier compliance has 
past away4 ,the nine precious volumes   
have shrunk to six1 and these dwindled  
to three1 while yet the like price is   
demanded for the few as for the many2   
for the remnant now as would once have  
made all our own4  ,sidenote3 ,study of 
the ,classics4  ,i have already in a    
former lecture adduced a proverb which  
warns against a bad book as the worst of
 all robbers4 ,in respect too of books  
which are not bad1 nay1 of which the    
main staple is good1 but in which there 
is yet an admixture of evil1 as is the  
case with so many that have come down to
 us from that old world not as yet      
partaker of ,christ1 there is a proverb1
 which may very profitably accompany us 
in our study of all these3 ,where the   
bee sucks honey1 the spider sucks       
poison4 ,very profitably may this word  
be kept in mind by such as at any time  
are making themselves familiar with the 

classical literature of antiquity1 the  
great writers of heathen ,greece and    
,rome4 ,how much of noble1 how much of  
elevating do they contain3 what love of 
country1 what zeal for wisdom1 may be   
quickened in us by the study of them2   
yea1 even to us ,christians what        
intellectual1 what large moral gains    
will they yield4 ,let the student be as 
the bee looking for honey1 and from the 
fields and gardens of classical         
literature he may store it abundantly in
 his hive4 ,and yet from this same body 
of literature what poison is it possible
 to draw2 what loss1 through familiarity
 with evil1 of all vigorous abhorrence  
of it1 till even the foulest enormities 
shall come to be regarded with a        
speculative curiosity rather than with  
an earnest hatred1--yea1 what lasting   
defilements of the imagination and the  
heart may be contracted hence1 till     
nothing shall be pure1 the very mind and
 conscience being defiled4 ,let there   
come one whose sympathies and affinities

 are with the poison and not with the   
honey1 and in these fields it will not  
be impossible for him to find deadly    
flowers and weeds from which he may suck
 poison enough4  ,with a few remarks on 
two proverbs more ,i will bring this    
lecture to an end4 ,here is one with an 
insight at once subtle and profound into
 the heart of man3 ,ill doers are ill   
deemers2 and instead of any commentary  
on this of my own let me quote some     
words which were not intended to be a   
commentary upon it at all1 and which    
furnish notwithstanding a better than   
any which ,i could hope to give4 ,they  
are words of a great ,english divine of 
the #agth century1 who is accounting for
 the offence which the ,pharisee took at
 the ,lord's acceptance of the          
affectionate homage and costly offering 
of the woman that was a sinner3 8,which 
familiar and affectionate officiousness1
 and sumptuous cost1 together with that 
sinister fame that woman was noted with1
 could not but give much scandal to the 

,pharisees there present4 ,for that     
dispensation of the law under which they
 lived making nothing perfect1 but only 
curbing the outward actions of men2 it  
might very well be that they1 being     
conscious to themselves of no better    
motions within than of either bitterness
 or lust1 how fair soever they carried  
without1 could not deem ,christ's       
acceptance of so familiar and           
affectionate a service from a woman of  
that fame to proceed from anything      
better than some loose and vain         
principle 444 for by how much every one 
is himself obnoxious to temptation1 by  
so much more suspicious he is that      
others transgress1 when there is        
anything that may tempt out the         
corruptions of a man40#aha  ,sidenote3  
,chinese proverb4  ,and in this ,chinese
 proverb which follows1 ,better a       
diamond with a flaw1 than a pebble      
without one1 there is1 to my mind1 the  
assertion of a great ,christian truth1  
and of one which reaches deep down to   

the very foundations of ,christian      
morality1 the more valuable as coming to
 us from a people beyond the range and  
reach of the influences of direct       
,revelation4 ,we may not be all aware of
 the many and malignant assaults which  
were made on the ,christian faith1 and  
on the morality of the ,bible1 through  
the character of ,david1 by the blind   
and self-righteous ,deists of a century 
or more ago4 ,taking the ,scripture     
testimony about him1 that he was the man
 after ,god's heart1 and putting beside 
this the record of those great sins     
which he committed1 they sought to set  
these great1 yet still isolated1        
offences in the most hateful light2 and 
thus to bring at once him1 and the ,book
 which praised him1 to a common shame4  
,but all this while1 the question of the
 man1 what he was1 and what the moral   
sum total of his life1 to which alone   
the ,scripture testimony bore witness1  
and to which alone it was pledged1 this 
was a question with which they concerned

 themselves not at all2 while yet it was
 a far more important question than what
 any of his single acts may have been2  
and it was this which1 in the estimate  
of his character1 was really at issue4  
,to this question we answer1 a diamond1 
which1 if a diamond with a flaw1 as are 
all but the one 8entire and perfect     
chrysolite10 would yet outvalue a       
mountain of pebbles without one1 such as
 they were2 even assuming the pebbles to
 be without2 and not merely to seem so1 
because their flaw was an all-pervading 
one1 and only not so quickly detected1  
inasmuch as the contrast was wanting of 
any clearer material which should at    
once reveal its presence4   ,footnotes  
#add ,they have for their ,latin        
equivalents such as these2 ,colo quod   
aptsti1 ipsi tibi nendum est4--,qui     
vinum bibit1 fcem bibat4--,ut sementem  
feceris1 ita metes4  #ade ,in respect of
 other proverbs1 such as the following1 
,tunica pallio propior2--,frons         
occipitio prior2 ,i have greater doubt4 

,the misuse lies nearer2 the selfishness
 may very probably be in the proverb    
itself1 and not in our application of   
it2 though even these seem not incapable
 of a fair interpretation4  #adf ,on a  
toujours assez de force pour supporter  
le malheur de ses amis4 ,i confess this 
sounds to me rather like an imitation of
 ,rochefoucault than a genuine proverb4 
#adg ,ognun tira l'acqua al suo molino4 
#adh ,ex alieno tergore lata secantur   
lora4  #adi ,zelf is de ,man4  #aej     
,j'aime mieux un raisin pour moi que    
deux figues pour toi4  #aea ,comptez    
aprs votre pre4 ,compare the ,spanish3  
,entre dos amigos un notario y dos      
testigos4  #aeb ,einmal1 keinmal4 ,this 
proverb was turned to such bad uses1    
that a ,german divine thought it        
necessary to write a treatise against   
it4 ,there exist indeed several old     
works in ,german with such titles as the
 following1 ,ungodly ,proverbs and their
 ,refutation4 ,it is not for nothing    
that ,jeremy ,taylor in one place gives 

this warning3 8,be curious to avoid all 
proverbs and propositions1 or odd       
sayings1 by which evil life is          
encouraged1 and the hands of the spirit 
weakened40 ,in like manner ,chrysostom  
7,hom4 #gc in ,matt47 denounces the     
,greek proverb3    4  #aec ,peccato     
celato1 mezzo perdonato4  #aed ,badly   
turned into a rhyming pentameter3       
,consonus esto lupis1 cum quibus esse   
cupis4  #aee ,there are very few        
inculcating an opposite lesson3 this    
however is one3 ,spend1 and ,god will   
send2 which ,howell glosses well2 8,yes1
 a bag and a wallet40  #aef ,quien en un
 ao quiere ser rico1 al medio le        
ahorcan4  #aeg ,male parta male         
dilabuntur4--,wie gewonnen1 so          
zerronnen4  #aeh ,ungerechter ,pfennig  
verzehrt gerechten ,thaler4  #aei ,lo   
ageno siempre pia por su dueo4  #afj    
,der ,geiz sammlet sich arm1 die ,milde 
giebt sich reich4 ,in the sense of the  
latter half of this proverb we say1     
,drawn wells are seldom dry2 though this

 word is capable of very far wider      
application4  #afa ,there is one        
remarkable ,latin proverb on the moral  
cowardliness which it is the character  
of riches to generate1 saying more      
briefly the same which ,wordsworth said 
when he proclaimed--                    
8that riches are akin      ,to fear1 to 
change1 to cowardice1 and death20  it is
 this3 ,timidus ,plutus3 and has        
sometimes suggested to me the question  
whether he might not have had it in his 
mind when he composed his great sonnet  
in prospect of the invasion3            
8,these times touch monied worldlings   
with dismay20  not that his genius      
needed any such solicitation from       
without2 for the poem is only the       
natural outgrowth of that spirit and    
temper in which the whole series of     
noble and ennobling poems1 the ,sonnets 
to ,liberty1 is composed1 and in perfect
 harmony with the rest2 yet is it1      
notwithstanding1 in a very wonderful way
 shut up in the two words of the ancient

 proverb4  #afb    1     4  #afc ,giv   
saa i ,dag1 at du og kandst give i      
morgen4--,giv een at du kand give en    
anden4  #afd ,l'ultimo vestito ce lo    
fanno senza tasche4  #afe ,this is the  
,english form of that worthy old        
classical proverb3  1  1 or in ,latin3  
,qui vitat molam1 vitat farinam4  #aff  
,ahont anirs1 bou1 que no llaures8 ,i   
prefer this form of it to the ,spanish3 
,adonde yr el buey1 que no are8  #afg   
,pereza1 llave de pobreza4  #afh ,dii   
facientes adjuvant4  #afi ,according to 
the ,spanish proverb3 ,quien bien ata1  
bien desata4  #agj ,quien tiene boca1 no
 diga  otro1 ,sopla4  #aga ,donde una   
puerta se cierra1 otra se abre4  #agb   
,nondum omnium dierum sol occidit4  #agc
 ,il mondo 1 di chi ha pazienza4  #agd  
,se ben ho perso l'anello1 ho pur anche 
le dita2--,si se perdieron los anillos1 
aqui quedaron los dedillos4  #age ,in   
their bastard ,french it runs thus3     
,gambette ous trouv nen gan chimin1 nen 
gan chimin ous va pd li4 ,it may have   

been originally ,french1 at any rate the
 ,french have a proverb very much to the
 same effect3 ,ce qui vient par la      
flute1 s'en va par le tambour2 and      
compare the modern ,greek proverb3 1 4  
7,what the wind gathers1 the devil      
scatters47  #agf   4--,dormienti rete   
trahit4 ,the reader with a ,plutarch's  
,lives within his reach may turn to the 
very instructive little history told in 
connexion with this proverb1 of         
,timotheus the ,athenian commander2 an  
history which only requires to be       
translated into ,christian language to  
contain a deep moral for all4 7,sulla1  
c4 #f47  #agg ,sera in imo parsimonia4  
#agh ,seneca 7,ep4 i473 ,non enim tantum
 minimum in imo1 sed pessimum remanet4  
#agi ,morgenstund' hat ,gold im ,mund4  
#ahj ,lo que hace el loco  la postre1   
hace sabio al principio4  #aha ,henry   
,more1 ,on ,godliness1 b4 #h4 ,how      
remarkable a confirmation of the fact   
asserted in that proverb and in this    
passage lies in the twofold uses of the 

,greek word 2 having1 for its first     
meaning1 an evil disposition in a man's 
self1 it has for its second an          
interpreting on his part for the worst  
of all the actions of other men4        
,,lecture ,,vi4  ,,the ,,theology ,,of  
,,proverbs4   ,i sought1 as best ,i     
could1 in my last lecture to furnish you
 with some helps for estimating the     
ethical worth of proverbs4 ,their       
theology alone remains2 the aspects1    
that is1 under which they contemplate1  
not now any more man's relations with   
his fellow-man1 but those on which in   
the end all other must depend1 his      
relations with ,god4 ,between the       
subject matter1 indeed1 of that lecture 
and of this ,i have found it nearly     
impossible to draw any very accurate    
line of distinction4 ,much which was    
there might nearly as fitly have been   
here2 some which ,i have reserved for   
this might already have found its place 
there4 ,it is this1 however1 which ,i   
propose more directly to consider1      

namely1 what proverbs have to say       
concerning the moral government of the  
world1 and1 more important still1       
concerning its ,governor8 ,how does all 
this present itself to the popular mind 
and conscience1 as attested by these8   
,what1 in short1 is their theology8 for 
such1 good or bad1 it is evident that   
abundantly they have4  ,here1 as        
everywhere else1 their testimony is a   
mingled one4 ,the darkness1 the error1  
the confusion of man's heart1 out of    
which he oftentimes sees distortedly1   
and sometimes sees not at all1 have all 
embodied themselves in his word4 ,yet   
still1 as it is the very nature of the  
false1 in its separate manifestations1  
to resolve into nothingness1 though only
 to be succeeded by new births in a like
 kind1 while the true abides and        
continues1 it has thus come to pass that
 we have generally in those utterances  
on which the stamp of permanence has    
been set1 the nobler voices1 the truer  
faith of humanity1 in respect of its own

 destinies and of ,him by whom those    
destinies are ordered4  ,i would not    
hesitate to say that the great glory of 
proverbs in this their highest aspect1  
and that which makes many of them so    
full of blessing to those who cordially 
accept them1 is the conviction of which 
they are full1 that1 despite all        
appearances to the contrary1 this world 
is ,god's world1 and not the world of   
the devil1 or of those wicked men who   
may be prospering for an hour2 there is 
nothing in them so precious as their    
faith that in the long run it will      
approve itself to be such3 which being  
so1 that it must be well in the end with
 the doer of the right1 the speaker of  
the truth2 no blind 8whirligig of time10
 but the hand of the living ,god1 in due
 time 8bringing round its revenges40 ,it
 is impossible to estimate too highly   
their bold and clear proclamation of    
this conviction2 for it is1 after all1  
the belief of this or the denial of     
this1 on which everything in the life of

 each one of us turns4 ,on this depends 
whether we shall separate ourselves from
 the world's falsehood and evil1 and do 
vigorous battle against them2 or        
acquiesce in1 and be ourselves absorbed 
by1 them4  ,sidenote3 ,a lie has no     
legs4  ,listen to proverbs such as      
these2 surely they are penetrated with  
the assurance that one who1 ,himself    
being ,the ,truth1 will make truth in   
small and in great to triumph at the    
last1 is ruling over all3 and first1    
hear a proverb of our own3 ,a lie has no
 legs2 it is one true alike in its      
humblest application and its highest2 be
 the lie the miserable petty falsehood  
which disturbs a family or a            
neighbourhood for a day2 or one of the  
larger frauds1 the falsehoods not in    
word only but in act1 to which a longer 
date and a far larger sphere are        
assigned1 which for a time seem to fill 
the world1 and to carry everything in   
triumph before them4 ,still the lie1 in 
that it is a lie1 always carries within 

itself the germs of its own dissolution4
 ,it is sure to destroy itself at last4 
,its priests may prop it up from        
without1 may set it on its feet again1  
after it has once fallen before the     
presence of the truth1 yet this all will
 be labour in vain2 it will only be1    
like ,dagon1 again to fall1 and more    
shamefully and more irretrievably than  
before4#ahb ,on the other hand1 the     
vivacity of the truth1 as contrasted    
with this short-lived character of the  
lie1 is well expressed in a ,swiss      
proverb3 ,it takes a good many          
shovelfuls of earth to bury the truth4  
,for1 bury it as deep as men may1 it    
will have a resurrection                
notwithstanding4 ,they may roll a great 
stone1 and seal the sepulchre in which  
it is laid1 and set a watch upon it1 yet
 still1 like its ,lord1 it comes forth  
again at its appointed hour4 ,it cannot 
die1 being of an immortal race2 for1 as 
the ,spanish proverb nobly declares1    
,the truth is daughter of ,god4#ahc     

,again1 consider this proverb3 ,tell the
 truth1 and shame the devil4 ,it is one 
which will well repay a few thoughtful  
moments bestowed on it1 and the more so1
 because1 even while we instinctively   
feel its truth1 the deep moral basis on 
which it rests may yet not reveal itself
 to us at once4 ,nay1 the saying may    
seem to contradict the actual experience
 of things2 for how often telling the   
truth--confessing1 that is1 some great  
fault1 taking home to ourselves1 it may 
be1 some grievous sin--would appear     
anything rather than shaming the devil2 
shaming indeed ourselves1 but rather    
bringing glory to him1 whose glory1 such
 as it is1 is in the sin and shame of   
men4 ,and yet the word is true1 and     
deeply true1 notwithstanding4 ,the      
element of lies is that in which alone  
he who is 8the father of them0 lives and
 thrives4 ,so long then as a wrong-doer 
presents to himself1 or seeks to present
 to others1 the actual facts of his     
conduct different from what they really 

are1 conceals1 palliates1 denies        
them1--so long1 in regard of that man1  
,satan's kingdom stands4 ,but so soon as
 the things concerning himself are seen 
and owned by a man as they indeed exist 
in ,god's sight1 as they are when       
weighed in the balances of the eternal  
righteousness2 when once a man has      
brought himself to tell the truth to    
himself1 and1 where need requires1 to   
others also1 then having done1 and in so
 far as he has done this1 he has        
abandoned the devil's standard1 he      
belongs to the kingdom of the truth2 and
 as belonging to it he may rebuke1 and  
does rebuke and put to shame1 all makers
 and lovers of a lie1 even to the very  
prince of them all4 8,give glory to     
,god10 was what ,joshua said to ,achan1 
when he would lead him to confess his   
guilt4 ,this is but the other and fairer
 side of the tapestry2 this is but shame
 the devil1 on its more blessed side4   
,sidenote3 ,vox populi1 vox ,dei4  ,once
 more2--the ,latin proverb1 ,the voice  

of the people1 the voice of ,god1#ahd is
 one which it is well worth our while to
 understand4 ,if it were affirmed in    
this that every outcry of the multitude1
 supposing only it be loud enough and   
wide enough1 ought to be accepted as the
 voice of ,god speaking through them1 no
 proposition more foolish or more       
impious could well be imagined4 ,but the
 voice of the people is something very  
different from this4 ,the proverb rests 
on the assumption that the foundations  
of man's being are laid in the truth2   
from which it will follow1 that no      
conviction which is really a conviction 
of the universal humanity1 but reposes  
on a true ground2 no faith1 which is    
indeed the faith of mankind1 but has a  
reality corresponding to it3 for1 as    
,jeremy ,taylor has said3 8,it is not a 
vain noise1 when many nations join their
 voices in the attestation or           
detestation of an action20 and ,hooker3 
8,the general and perpetual voice of men
 is as the sentence of ,god ,himself4   

,for that which all men have at all     
times learned1 nature herself must needs
 have taught2 and ,god being the author 
of nature1 her voice is but his         
instrument40 7,eccles4 ,pol41 b4 i4     
#h47 ,the task and difficulty1 of       
course1 must ever be to discover what   
this faith and what these convictions   
are2 and this can only be done by an    
induction from a sufficient number of   
facts1 and in sufficiently different    
times1 to enable us to feel confident   
that we have indeed seized that which is
 the constant quantity of truth in them 
all1 and separated this from the        
inconstant one of falsehood and error1  
evermore offering itself in its room2   
that we have not taken some momentary   
cry1 wrung out by interest1 by passion1 
or by pain1 for the voice of ,god2 but  
claimed this august title only for that 
true voice of humanity1 which1 unless   
everything be false1 we have a right to 
assume an echo of the voice of ,god4    
,thus1 to take an example1 the natural  

horror everywhere felt in regard of     
marriages contracted between those very 
near in blood1 has been always and with 
right appealed to as a potent argument  
against such unions4 ,the induction is  
so large1 that is1 the nations who have 
agreed in entertaining this horror are  
so many1 oftentimes nations disagreeing 
in almost everything besides2 the times 
during which this instinctive revolt    
against such unions has been felt1      
extend through such long ages2 that the 
few exceptions1 even where they are of  
civilized nations1 as of the ,egyptians 
who married their sisters1 or of the    
,persians1 among whom marriages more    
dreadful still were permitted1 cannot be
 allowed any weight2 and of course still
 less the exception of any savage tribe1
 in which all that constitutes the human
 in humanity has now disappeared4 ,these
 exceptions can only be regarded as     
violations of the divine order of man's 
life2 not as evidences that we have     
falsely imagined an order where there   

was none4 ,here is a true voice of the  
people2 and on the grounds laid down    
above1 we have a right to assume this to
 be a voice of ,god as well4 ,and so    
too1 with respect to the existence of a 
,first ,cause1 ,creator and ,upholder of
 all things1 the universal consent and  
conviction of all people1 the consensus 
gentium1 must be considered of itself a 
mighty evidence in its favour2 a        
testimony which ,god is pleased to      
render to ,himself through his          
creatures4 ,this man or that1 this      
generation or the other1 might be       
deceived1 but all men and all           
generations could not2 the vox populi   
makes itself felt as a vox ,dei4 ,the   
existence here and there of an atheist  
no more disturbs our conclusion that it 
is of the essence of man's nature to    
believe in a ,god1 than do such         
monstrous births as from time to time   
find place1 children with two heads or  
with no arms1 shake our assurance that  
it is the normal condition of man to    

have one head and two arms4  ,this last 
is one of the proverbs which may be said
 to belong to the ,apology for ,natural 
,religion4 ,there are others1 of which  
it would not be far-fetched to affirm   
that they belong to the ,apology for    
,revealed4 ,thus it was very usual with 
,voltaire and other infidels of his time
 to appeal to the present barrenness and
 desolation of ,palestine1 in proof that
 it could never have supported the vast 
population which the ,scripture         
everywhere assumes or affirms4 ,a       
proverb in the language of the          
arch-scoffer himself might1 if he had   
given heed to it1 have put him on the   
right track1 had he wished to be put    
upon it1 for understanding how this     
could have been3 ,as the man is worth1  
his land is worth4#ahe ,man is lord of  
his outward condition to a far greater  
extent than is commonly assumed2 even   
climate1 which seems at first sight so  
completely out of his reach1 it is his  
immensely to modify2 and if nature      

stamps herself on him1 he stamps himself
 yet more powerfully on nature4 ,it is  
not a mere figure of speech1 that of the
 ,psalmist1 8,a fruitful land maketh ,he
 barren for the wickedness of them that 
dwell therein40 7,ps4 cvii4 #cd47 ,god  
makes it barren1 and ever less capable  
of nourishing its inhabitants2 but ,he  
makes it so through the sloth1 the      
indolence1 the short-sightedness of     
those that should have dressed and kept 
it4 ,in the condition of a land may be  
found the echo1 the reflection1 the     
transcript of the moral and spiritual   
condition of those that should cultivate
 it3 where one is waste1 the other will 
be waste also4 ,under the desolating    
curse of ,mohammedan domination the     
fairest portions of the earth have gone 
back from a garden to a wilderness3 but 
only let that people for whom ,palestine
 is yet destined return to it again1 and
 return a righteous nation1 and in a    
little while all the descriptions of its
 earlier fertility will be more than    

borne out by its later1 and it will     
easily sustain its millions again4      
99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,proverb of ,pythagoras4     
,how many proverbs1 which cannot be     
affirmed to have been originally made   
for the kingdom of heaven1 do yet in    
their highest fulfilment manifestly     
belong to it1 so that it seems as of    
right to claim that for its own1 even as
 it claims1 or rather reclaims1 whatever
 else is good or true in the world1 the 
seeds of truth wherever dispersed       
abroad1 as belonging rightfully to      
itself4 ,thus there is that beautiful   
proverb1 of which ,pythagoras is reputed
 the author3 ,the things of friends are 
in common4#ahf ,where does this find its
 exhaustive fulfilment1 but in the      
communion of saints1 their communion not
 with one another merely1 though indeed 
this is a part of its fulfilment1 but in
 their communion with ,him1 who is the  
friend of all good men8 ,that such a    
conclusion lay legitimately in the words

 ,socrates plainly saw2 who argued from 
it1 that since good men were the friends
 of the gods1 therefore whatever things 
were the gods'1 were also theirs2 being1
 when he thus concluded1 as near as one 
who had not the highest light of all1   
could be to that great word of the      
,apostle's1 8,all things are yours40    
,nor can ,i otherwise than esteem the   
ancient proverb as a very fine one1 and 
one which we may gladly claim for our   
own3 ,many meet the gods1 but few salute
 them4 ,how often do the gods1 7for ,i  
will keep in the language which this    
proverb suggests and supplies17 meet men
 in the shape of a sorrow which might be
 a purifying one1 of a joy which might  
elevate their hearts to thankfulness and
 praise2 in a sickness or a recovery1 a 
disappointment or a success2 and yet how
 few1 as it must be sadly owned1 salute 
them2 how few recognise their august    
presences in this joy or this sorrow1   
this blessing added1 or this blessing   
taken away4 ,as this proverb has        

reference to men's failing to see the   
,divine presences1 so let me observe by 
the way1 there is a very grand ,french  
one which expresses the same truth1     
under the image of a failing to hear the
 divine voices1 those voices being      
drowned by the deafening hubbub of the  
world3 ,the noise is so great1 one      
cannot hear ,god thunder4#ahg           
,sidenote3 ,one man1 no man  ,here is   
another proverb which the ,church has   
long since claimed1 at least in its     
import1 for her own3 ,one man1 no       
man4#ahh ,i should find it very hard    
indeed to persuade myself that whoever  
uttered it first1 attached to it no     
deeper meaning than ,erasmus gives him  
credit for--namely1 that nothing        
important can be effected by a single   
man1 destitute of the help of his       
fellows4#ahi ,the word is a far more    
profound one than this1 and rests on    
that great truth upon which the deeper  
thinkers of antiquity laid so much      
stress--namely1 that in the idea the    

state precedes the individual1 man not  
being merely accidentally gregarious1   
but essentially social4 ,the solitary   
man1 it would say1 is a monstrous       
conception1 so utterly maimed and       
crippled must he be2 the condition of   
solitariness involving so entire a      
suppression of all which belongs to the 
development of that wherein the true    
idea of humanity resides1 of all which  
differences man from the beasts of the  
field2 and in this sense ,one man is no 
man2 and this1 ,i am sure1 the proverb  
from the first intended4 ,nor may we    
stop here4 ,this word is capable of1 and
 seems to demand1 a still higher        
application to man1 as a destined member
 of the kingdom of heaven4 ,but he can  
only be in training for this1 when he   
is1 and regards himself1 as not alone1  
but the member of a family4 ,as one man 
he is no man2 and the strength and value
 of what is called ,church teaching is  
greatly this1 that it does recognise and
 realize this fact1 that it contemplates

 and deals with the faithful man1 not as
 isolated1 but as one of an organic     
body1 with duties which flow as moral   
necessities from his position therein2  
rather than by himself1 and as one whose
 duties to others are indeed only the   
exercise of private graces for his own  
benefit4 ,and all that are called       
,church doctrines1 when they really     
understand themselves1 have their root  
and their real strength in that great   
truth which this proverb declares1 that 
,one man is no man1 that only in a      
fellowship and communion is or can any  
man be aught4  ,and then there is       
another proverb1 which ,plato so loved  
to quote against the sophists1 the men  
who flattered and corrupted the nobler  
youth of ,athens1 promising to impart to
 them easy short cuts to the attainment 
of wisdom and knowledge and philosophy2 
and this1 without demanding the exercise
 of any labour or patience or           
self-denial on their parts4 ,but with   
the proverb1 ,good things are hard1#aij 

he continually rebuked their empty      
pretensions2 with this he made at least 
suspicious their promises2 and this     
proverb1 true in the sense wherein      
,plato used it1 and that sense was      
earnest and serious enough1 yet surely  
reappears1 glorified and transfigured1  
but recognisable still1 in the          
,saviour's words3 8,the kingdom of      
heaven is taken by violence1 and the    
violent take it by force40#aia          
,sidenote3 ,witnesses for the truth4    
,this method of looking in proverbs for 
an higher meaning than any which lies on
 their surface1 or which they seem to   
bear on their fronts2 or rather of      
searching out their highest intention1  
and claiming that as their truest1 even 
though it should not be that perceived  
in them by most1 or that which lay      
nearest to them at their first          
generation1 is one that will lead us in 
many interesting paths4 ,and it is not  
merely those of heathen antiquity which 
shall thus be persuaded often1 and that 

without any forcing1 to render up a     
,christian meaning2 but 7as was indeed  
to be expected7 still more often those  
of a later time1 even those which the   
world had seemed to claim for its own1  
shall be found to move in a spiritual   
sphere as their truest4 ,let me offer in
 evidence of this these four or five1   
which come to us from ,italy3 ,he who   
has love in his heart1 has spurs in his 
sides2--,love rules without law2--,love 
rules his kingdom without a             
sword2--,love knows nothing of          
labour2--,love is the master of all     
arts4#aib ,take these1 even with the    
necessary drawbacks of my ,english      
translation2 but still more1 in their   
original beauty2 and how exquisitely do 
they set forth1 in whatever light you   
regard them1 the free creative impulses 
of love1 its delight to labour and to   
serve2 how worthily do they glorify the 
kingdom of love as the only kingdom of a
 free and joyful obedience4 ,while yet  
at the same time1 if we would appreciate

 them at all their worth1 is it possible
 to stop short of an application of them
 to that kingdom of love1 which1 because
 it is in the highest sense such1 is    
also a kingdom of heaven8 ,and then1    
what precious witness do these          
utterances contain1 the more precious as
 current among a people nursed in the   
theology of ,rome1 against the shameless
 assertion that selfishness is the only 
motive sufficient to produce good 787   
works3 for in such an assertion the     
,romish impugners of a free             
justification constantly deal2 evermore 
charging this that we hold1 of our      
justification by faith only1 7which1    
when translated into the language of    
ethics1 is at least as important in the 
province of morality as it is in that of
 theology17 with being an immoral       
doctrine1 and not so fruitful in deeds  
of love as one which should connect     
these deeds with a selfish thought of   
promoting our own safety thereby4       
,sidenote3 ,christian proverbs4  ,there 

are proverbs which reach the height of  
evangelical morality4 8,little          
gospels0#aic the ,spaniard has somewhat 
too boldly entitled his2 and certainly  
there are many which at once we feel    
could nowhere have arisen or obtained   
circulation but under the influence of  
,christian faith1 being in spirit1 and  
often in form no less than in spirit1   
the outbirths of it4 ,thus is it with   
that exquisitely beautiful proverb of   
our own3 ,the way to heaven is by       
,weeping-,cross2#aid nor otherwise with 
the ,spanish3 ,god never wounds with    
both hands2#aie not with both1 for ,he  
ever reserves one with which to bind up 
and to heal4 ,and another ,spanish1     
evidently intended to give the sum and  
substance of all which in life is to be 
desired the most1 ,peace and patience1  
and death with penitence1#aif gives this
 sum certainly only as it presents      
itself to the ,christian eye4 ,and this 
of ours is ,christian both in form and  
in spirit3 ,every cross hath its        

inscription2--the name1 that is1        
inscribed upon it1 of the person for    
whom it was shaped2 it was intended for 
those shoulders upon which it is laid1  
and will adapt itself to them2 that     
fearful word is never true which a      
spirit greatly vexed spake in the hour  
of its impatience3 8,i have little faith
 in the paternal love which ,i need2 so 
ruthless1 or so negligent seems the     
government of this earth40#aig  ,so too 
is it with that ancient ,german proverb3
 ,when ,god loathes aught1 men presently
 loathe it too4#aih ,he who first       
uttered this must have been one who had 
watched long the ways by which shame and
 honour travel in this world2 and in    
this watching must have noted how it    
ever came to pass that even worldly     
honour tarried not long with them from  
whom the true honour which cometh from  
,god had departed4 ,for the worldly     
honour is but a shadow and reflex that  
waits upon the heavenly2 it may indeed  
linger for a little1 but it will be only

 for a little1 after it is divorced from
 its substance4 ,where the honour from  
,him has been withdrawn1 he causes in   
one way or another the honour from men  
ere long to be withdrawn too4 ,when ,he 
loathes1 presently man loathes also4    
,the saltless salt is not merely cast   
out by ,him1 but is trodden under foot  
of men4 7,matt4 v4 #ac47 ,a ,louis the  
,fifteenth's death-bed is in its way as 
hideous to the natural as it is to the  
spiritual eye4#aii  ,sidenote3 ,sir     
,matthew ,hale's proverb4  ,we are told 
of the good ,sir ,matthew ,hale who was 
animated with a true zeal for holiness1 
an earnest desire to walk close to ,god1
 that he had continually in his mouth   
the modern ,latin proverb1 ,we perish by
 permitted things4#bjj ,assuredly it is 
one very well worthy to be of all       
remembered1 searching as it does into   
the innermost secrets of men's lives4   
,it is no doubt true that nearly as much
 danger threatens the soul from things  
permitted as from things unpermitted2 in

 some respects more danger2 for these   
being disallowed altogether1 do not make
 the insidious approaches of those1     
which1 coming in under allowance1 do yet
 so easily slip into dangerous excess4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,sidenote3 ,proverbs and ,scripture4    
,it would be interesting to collect1 as 
with reverence one might1 variations on 
scriptural proverbs or sayings1 which   
the proverbs of this world supply2 and  
this1 both in those cases where the     
latter have grown out of the former1    
owing more nearly or more remotely their
 existence to them1 and in those also   
where they are independent of them1--so 
far1 that is1 as anything true can be   
independent of the absolute ,truth4     
,some of those which follow evidently   
belong to one of these classes1 some to 
the other4 ,thus ,solomon has said3 8,it
 is better to dwell in the corner of the
 housetop than with a brawling woman in 
a wide house20 7,prov4 xxi4 #i27 and    
again3 8,better a dry morsel and        

quietness therewith1 than an house full 
of sacrifices with strife40 7,prov4     
xvii4 #a47 ,with these compare the two  
proverbs1 a ,latin and ,spanish1 adduced
 below4#bja ,the ,psalmist has said3    
8,as he loved cursing1 so let it come   
unto him40 7,ps4 cix4 #ag47 ,the ,turks 
express their faith in this same law of 
the divine retaliations3 ,curses1 like  
chickens1 always come home to roost2    
they return1 that is1 to those from whom
 they went forth1 while in the ,yoruba  
language there is a proverb to the same 
effect3 ,ashes always fly back in the   
face of him that throws them2 while our 
own1 ,harm watch1 harm catch1 and the   
,spanish1 ,who sows thorns1 let him not 
walk barefoot1#bjb are utterances of    
very nearly the same conviction4 ,our   
,lord declares1 that without his ,father
 there falls no single sparrow to the   
ground1 that 8not one of them is        
forgotten before ,god40 7,luke xii4 #f47
 ,the same truth of a providentia       
specialissima1 7between which and no    

providence at all there is indeed no    
tenable position17 is asserted in the   
,catalan proverb3 ,no leaf moves1 but   
,god wills it4#bjc ,again1 ,he has said3
 8,no man can serve two masters40       
7,matt4 vi4 #bd47 ,and the ,spanish     
proverb3 ,he who must serve two masters1
 must lie to one4#bjd ,or compare with  
,matt4 xix4 #bi1 this remarkable ,arabic
 proverb3 ,purchase the next world with 
this2 so shalt thou win both4 ,he has   
spoken of 8mammon of                    
unrighteousness0--indicating hereby1 in 
,leighton's words1 8that iniquity is so 
involved in the notion of riches1 that  
it can very hardly be separated from    
them20 and this phrase ,jerome          
illustrates by a proverb that would not 
otherwise have reached us2 8that        
saying10 he says1 8appears true to me3  
,a rich man is either himself an unjust 
one1 or the heir of one40#bje ,again1   
the ,lord has said3 8,many be called1   
but few chosen20 7,matt4 xx4 #af27 many 
have the outward marks of a ,christian  

profession1 few the inner substance4    
,some early ,christian ,fathers loved   
much to bring into comparison with this 
a ,greek proverb1 spoken indeed quite   
independently of it1 and long           
previously2 and the parallel certainly  
is a singularly happy one3 ,the         
thyrsus-bearers are many1 but the       
bacchants few2#bjf many assume the signs
 and outward tokens of inspiration1     
whirling the thyrsus aloft2 but those   
whom the god indeed fills with his      
spirit are few all the while4#bjg ,with 
our ,lord's words concerning the mote   
and the beam 7,matt4 vii4 #c1 #e7       
compare this ,chinese proverb3 ,sweep   
away the snow from thine own door1 and  
heed not the frost upon thy neighbour's 
tiles4  ,sidenote3 ,proverbs in sermons4
  ,it has been sometimes a matter of    
consideration to me whether we of the   
clergy might not make larger use1 though
 of course it would be only occasional1 
of proverbs in our public teaching than 
we do4 ,great popular preachers of time 

past1 or1 seeing that this phrase has   
now so questionable a sound1 great      
preachers for the people1 such as have  
found their way to the universal heart  
of their fellows1 addressing themselves 
not to that which some men had different
 from others1 but to that rather which  
each had in common with all1 have been  
ever great employers of proverbs4 ,thus 
he who would know the riches of those in
 the ,german tongue1 with the vigorous  
manifold employment of which they are   
capable1 will find no richer mine to dig
 in than the works of ,luther4 ,and such
 employment of them would1 ,i believe1  
with our country congregations1 be      
especially valuable4 ,any one1 who by   
after investigation has sought to       
discover how much our rustic hearers    
carry away1 even from the sermons to    
which they have attentively listened1   
will find that it is hardly ever the    
course and tenor of the argument1       
supposing the discourse to have         
contained such2 but if anything was     

uttered1 as it used so often to be by   
the best puritan preachers1 tersely1    
pointedly1 epigrammatically1 this will  
have stayed by them1 while all beside   
has passed away4 ,now1 the merits of    
terseness and point1 which have caused  
other words to be remembered1 are       
exactly those which signalize the       
proverb1 and generally in a yet higher  
degree4  ,it need scarcely be observed1 
that1 if thus used1 they will have to be
 employed with prudence and discretion1 
and with a careful selection4 ,thus1    
even with the example of so grave a     
divine as ,bishop ,sanderson before me1 
,i should hesitate to employ in a sermon
 such a proverb as ,over shoes1 over    
boots--one which he declares to be the  
motto of some1 who having advanced a    
certain way in sin1 presently become    
utterly wretchless1 caring not1 and     
counting it wholly indifferent1 how much
 further in evil they advance4 ,nor     
would ,i exactly recommend such use of a
 proverb as ,st4 ,bernard makes1 who1 in

 a sermon on the angels1 desiring to    
shew  priori the extreme probability of 
their active and loving ministries in   
the service of men1 adduces the ,latin  
proverb3 ,who loves me1 loves my        
dog2#bjh and proceeds to argue thus2 ,we
 are the dogs under ,christ's table2 the
 angels love ,him1 they therefore love  
us4  ,but1 although not exactly thus1   
the thing1 ,i am persuaded1 might be    
done1 and with profit4 ,thus1 in a      
discourse warning against sins of the   
tongue1 there are many words which we   
might produce of our own to describe the
 mischief it inflicts that would be     
flatter1 duller1 less likely to be      
remembered than the old proverb3 ,the   
tongue is not steel1 but it cuts4 ,on   
,god's faithfulness in sustaining1      
upholding1 rewarding his servants1 there
 are feebler things which we might bring
 out of our own treasure-house1 than to 
remind our hearers of that word3 ,he who
 serves ,god1 serves a good ,master4    
,and this one might sink deep1 telling  

of the enemy whom every one of us has   
the most to fear3 ,no man has a worse   
friend than he brings with him from     
home4 ,it stands in striking agreement  
with ,augustine's remarkable prayer     
8,deliver me from the evil man1 from    
myself40#bji ,or again3 ,ill weeds grow 
apace2--with how lively an image does   
this set forth to us the rank luxuriant 
up-growth of sinful lusts and desires in
 the garden of an uncared-for1 untended 
heart4 ,i know not whether we might     
presume sufficient quickness of         
apprehension on the part of our hearers 
to venture on the following3 ,the horse 
which draws its halter is not quite     
escaped2 but ,i can hardly imagine an   
happier illustration of the fact1 that  
so long as any remnant of a sinful habit
 is retained by us1 so long as we draw  
this halter1 we make but an idle boast  
of our liberty2 we may1 by means of that
 which we still drag with us1 be at any 
moment again entangled altogether in the
 bondage from which we seemed to have   

entirely escaped4  ,in every language   
some of its noblest proverbs1 such as   
oftentimes are admirably adapted for    
this application of which ,i am         
speaking1 are those embodying men's     
confidence in ,god's moral government of
 the world1 in his avenging             
righteousness1 however much there may be
 in the confusions of the present evil  
time to provoke a doubt or even a denial
 of this4 ,thus1 ,punishment is lame1   
but it comes1 which1 if not old1 yet    
rests on an image derived from          
antiquity1 is good2 although inferior in
 every way1 in energy of expression1 as 
in fulness of sense1 to the ancient     
,greek one3 ,the mill of ,god grinds    
late1 but grinds to powder2#baj for this
 brings in the further thought1 that his
 judgments1 however long they tarry1    
yet1 when they arrive1 are crushing     
ones4 ,there is indeed another of our   
own1 not unworthy to be set beside this1
 announcing1 though with quite another  
image1 the same fact of the tardy but   

terrible arrivals of judgment3 ,god     
comes with leaden feet1 but strikes with
 iron hands4 ,and then1 how awfully     
sublime another which has come down to  
us as part of the wisdom of the ancient 
heathen world2 ,i mean the following3   
,the feet of the 7avenging7 deities are 
shod with wool4#baa ,here a new thought 
is introduced1--the noiseless approach  
and advance of these judgments1 as      
noiseless as the steps of one whose feet
 were wrapped in wool1--the manner in   
which they overtake secure sinners even 
in the hour of their utmost security4   
,who that has studied the history of the
 great crimes and criminals of the      
world1 but will with a shuddering awe   
set his seal to the truth of this       
proverb8 ,indeed1 meditating on such and
 on the source from which we have       
derived them1 one is sometimes tempted  
to believe that the faith in a divine   
retribution evermore making itself felt 
in the world1 this sense of a ,nemesis1 
as men used to call it1 was stronger and

 deeper in the earlier and better days  
of heathendom1 than alas6 it is in a    
sunken ,christendom now4  ,sidenote3    
,proverbs not profane4  ,but to resume4 
,even those proverbs which have acquired
 an use which seems to unite at once the
 trivial and the profane1 may yet on    
closer inspection be found to be very   
far from having either triviality or    
profaneness cleaving to them4 ,there is 
one1 for instance1 often taken lightly  
enough upon the lips3 ,talk of the      
devil1 and he is sure to appear2 or as  
it used to be3 ,talk of the devil1 and  
his imps will appear2 or as in ,german  
it is3 ,paint the devil on the wall1 and
 he will shew himself anon2--which yet  
contains truth serious and important    
enough1 if we would only give heed to   
it3 it contains1 in fact1 a very solemn 
warning against a very dangerous sin1 ,i
 mean1 curiosity about evil4 ,it has    
been often noticed1 and is a very       
curious psychological fact1 that there  
is a tendency in a great crime to       

reproduce itself1 to call forth1 that   
is1 other crimes of the same character3 
and there is a fearful response which   
the evil we may hear or read about1 is  
in danger of finding in our own hearts4 
,this danger1 then1 assuredly makes it  
true wisdom1 and a piece of moral       
prudence on the part of all to whom this
 is permitted1 to avoid knowing or      
learning about the evil2 especially when
 neither duty nor necessity oblige them 
thereto4 ,it is men's wisdom to talk as 
little about the devil1 either with     
themselves or with others1 as they can2 
lest he appear to them4 8,i agree with  
you10 says ,niebuhr very profoundly in  
one of his letters1#bab 8that it is     
better not to read books in which you   
make the acquaintance of the devil40    
,and certainly there is a remarkable    
commentary on this proverb1 so          
interpreted1 in the earnest warning     
given to the children of ,israel1 that  
they should not so much as inquire how  
the nations which were before them in   

,canaan1 served their gods1 with what   
cruelties1 with what abominable         
impurities1 lest through this inquiry   
they should be themselves entangled in  
the same4 7,deut4 xii4 #bi1 #cj47 ,they 
were not to talk about the devil1 lest  
he should appear to them4  ,and other   
proverbs1 too1 which at first sight may 
seem over-familiar with the name of the 
great enemy of mankind1 yet contain     
lessons which it would be an infinite   
pity to lose2 as this ,german3 ,where   
the devil cannot come1 he will send2#bac
 a proverb of very serious import1 which
 excellently sets out to us the         
penetrative character of temptations1   
and the certainty that they will follow 
and find men out in their secretest     
retreats4 ,it rebukes the absurdity of  
supposing that by any outward           
arrangements1 cloistral retirements1    
flights into the wilderness1 sin can be 
kept at a distance4 ,so far from this1  
temptations will inevitably overleap all
 these outward and merely artificial    

barriers which may be raised up against 
them2 for our great enemy is as         
formidable from a seeming distance as in
 close combat2 where he cannot come1 he 
will send4 ,there are others of the same
 family1 as the following3 ,the devil's 
meal is half bran2 or all bran1 as the  
,italians still more boldly proclaim    
it2#bad unrighteous gains are sure to   
disappoint the getter2 the pleasures of 
sin1 even in this present time1 are     
largely dashed with its pains4 ,and     
this3 ,he had need of a long spoon that 
eats with the devil2--men fancy they can
 cheat the arch-cheater1 can advance in 
partnership with him up to a certain    
point1 and then1 whenever the connexion 
becomes too dangerous1 break it off at  
their will2 being sure in this to be    
miserably deceived2 for1 to quote       
another in the same tone3 ,he who has   
shipped the devil1 must carry him over  
the water4 ,granting these and the like 
to have been often carelessly uttered1  
yet they all rest upon a true moral     

basis in the main4 ,this last series of 
proverbs ,i will close with an ,arabic  
one1 to which not even this appearance  
of levity can be ascribed2 for it is as 
solemn and sublime in form as it is     
profoundly deep in substance3 ,the      
blessings of the evil ,genii are curses4
 ,how deep a meaning the story of       
,fortunatus acquires1 when taken as a   
commentary on this4  ,but ,i am warned  
to draw my lecture to an end4 ,i have   
adduced in the course of these lectures 
no inconsiderable number of proverbs1   
and have sought for the most part to    
deduce from them lessons1 which were    
lessons in common for us all4 ,there is 
one1 however1 which ,i must not pass    
over1 for ,i feel that it contains an   
especial lesson for myself1 and a lesson
 which ,i should do wisely and well at  
this present time to lay to heart4 ,when
 the ,spaniards would describe a tedious
 writer1 one who possesses the art of   
exhausting the patience of his readers1 
they say of him3 ,he leaves nothing in  

his inkstand4 ,the phrase is a          
singularly happy one1 for assuredly     
there is no such secret of tediousness1 
no such certain means of wearing out the
 attention of our readers or our        
hearers1 as the attempt to say          
everything ourselves1 instead of leaving
 something to be filled up by their     
intelligence2 while the merits of a     
composition are often displayed as      
really1 if not so prominently1 in what  
is passed over as in what is set down2  
in nothing more than in the just measure
 of the confidence which it shows in the
 capacities and powers of those to whom 
it is addressed4 ,i would not willingly 
come under the condemnation1 which waits
 on them who thus leave nothing in their
 inkstand2 and lest ,i should do so1 ,i 
will bring now this my final lecture to 
its close1 and ask you to draw out for  
yourselves those further lessons from   
proverbs1 which ,i am sure they are     
abundantly capable of yielding4         
,footnotes  #ahb ,perhaps the ,spanish  

form of this proverb is still better3   
,la mentira tiene cortas las piernas2   
for the lie does go1 though not far4    
,compare the ,french3 ,la vrit1 comme   
l'huile1 vient au dessus4  #ahc ,la     
verdad es hija de ,dios4  #ahd ,vox     
populi1 vox ,dei4  #ahe ,tant vaut      
l'homme1 tant vaut sa terre4  #ahf    4 
#ahg ,le bruit est si fort1 qu'on       
n'entend pas ,dieu tonner4  #ahh  1  4  
#ahi ,sensus est nihil egregium prstari 
posse ab uno homine1 omni auxilio       
destituto4  #aij   4  #aia ,the         
deepening of a proverb's use among      
,christian nations as compared with     
earlier applications of the same may be 
illustrated by an example1 which        
however1 as not being directly          
theological1 and thus not bearing       
immediately upon the matter in hand1 ,i 
shall prefer to append in a note4 ,an   
old ,greek and ,latin proverb1 ,a great 
city1 a great solitude1 7,magna civitas1
 magna solitudo17 seems to have dwelt   
merely on the outside of things1 and to 

have meant no more than this1 namely1   
that a city ambitiously laid out and    
upon a large scheme would with          
difficulty find inhabitants sufficient1 
would wear an appearance of emptiness   
and desolation2 as there used to be a   
jest about ,washington1 that strangers  
would sometimes imagine themselves deep 
in the woods1 when indeed they were in  
the centre of the city4 ,but with deeper
 cravings of the human heart after love 
and affection1 the proverb was claimed  
in an higher sense4 ,we may take in     
proof these striking words of ,de       
,quincey1 which are the more striking   
that neither they nor the context       
contain any direct reference to the     
proverb3 8,no man10 he says1 8ever was  
left to himself for the first time in   
the streets1 as yet unknown1 of ,london1
 but he must have felt saddened and     
mortified1 perhaps terrified1 by the    
sense of desertion and utter loneliness 
which belongs to his situation4 ,no     
loneliness can be like that which weighs

 upon the heart in the centre of faces  
never ending1 without voice or utterance
 for him2 eyes innumerable that have    
#8no speculation' in their orbs which he
 can understand2 and hurrying figures of
 men and women weaving to and fro1 with 
no apparent purposes intelligible to a  
stranger1 seeming like a masque of      
maniacs1 or a pageant of shadowy        
illusions40 ,a direct reference to the  
proverb is to be found in some affecting
 words of ,lord ,bacon1 who glosses and 
explains it exactly in this             
sense2--8,for a crowd is not company1   
and faces are but a gallery of pictures1
 and talk but a tinkling cymbal1 where  
there is no love40  #aib ,chi ha l'amor 
nel petto1 ha lo sprone a i             
fianchi4--,amor regge senza legge4 7,cf4
 ,rom4 xiii4 #i1 #aj47--;,amor regge il 
suo regno senza spada4--,amor non       
conosce travaglio4 7,cf4 ,gen4 xxix4    
#bj1 #cj47--;,di tutte le arti maestro  
amore4--,di tutto condimento  amore4    
#aic ,evangelios pequeos4  #aid ,der    

,weg zum ,himmel geht durch ,kreuzdorn4 
,compare the medieval obverse of the    
same3 ,via ,crucis1 via lucis4  #aie ,no
 hiere ,dios con dos manos4  #aif ,paz y
 paciencia1 y muerte con penitencia4    
#aig ,memoirs of ,margaret ,fuller1 vol4
 #c1 p4 #bff4 ,in respect of words like 
these1 wrung out from moments of agony1 
and not the abiding convictions of the  
utterer1 may we not venture to hope that
 our own proverb1 ,for mad words deaf   
ears1 is often graciously true1 even in 
the very courts of heaven8  #aih ,wenn  
,gott ein ,ding verdreufst1 so          
verdreufst es auch bald die ,menschen4  
#aii ,the following have all a right to 
be termed ,christian proverbs3 ,chi non 
vuol servir ad un solo ,signor1  molti  
ha da servir2--,e padron del mondo chi  
lo disprezza1 schiavo chi lo            
apprezza2--,quando ,dios quiere1 con    
todos vientos llueve4  #bjj ,perimus    
licitis4  #bja ,non quam late sed quam  
lte habites1 refert4--,mas vale un      
pedazo de pan con amor1 que gallinas con

 dolor4  #bjb ,quien siembra abrojos1 no
 ande descalzo4 ,compare the ,latin3 ,si
 vultur es1 cadaver expecta2 and the    
,french3 ,maudissons sont feuilles2 qui 
les seme1 il les recueille4  #bjc ,no se
 mou la fulla1 que ,deu no ha vulla4    
,this is one of the proverbs of which   
the peculiar grace and charm nearly     
disappears in the rendering4  #bjd      
,quien  dos seores ha de servir1 al uno 
ha de mentir4  #bje ,verum mihi videtur 
illud3 ,dives aut iniquus1 aut iniqui   
hres4 ,out of a sense of the same1 as ,i
 take it1 the striking ,italian proverb 
had its rise3 ,mai divent fiume grande1 
chi non v'entrasse acqua torbida4  #bjf 
1    4  #bjg ,the fact which this       
proverb proclaims1 of a great gulf      
existing between what men profess and   
what they are1 is one too frequently    
repeating itself and thrusting itself on
 the notice of all1 not to have found   
its utterance in an infinite variety of 
forms1 although none perhaps so deep and
 poetical as this4 ,thus there is       

another ,greek line1 fairly represented 
by this ,latin3      ,qui tauros        
stimulent multi1 sed rarus arator2  and 
there is the classical ,roman proverb3  
,non omnes qui habent citharam1 sunt    
cithardi2 and the medieval rhyming      
verse3      ,non est venator quivis per 
cornua flator2  and this ,eastern word3 
,hast thou mounted the pulpit1 thou art 
not therefore a preacher2 with many     
more4  #bjh ,qui me amat1 amat et canem 
meum4 7,in ,fest4 ,s4 ,mich4 ,serm4 #a1 
#c47  #bji ,libera me ab homine malo1 a 
meipso4  #baj    1   4 ,we may compare  
the ,latin3 ,habet ,deus suas horas1 et 
moras2 and the ,spanish3 ,dios no se    
queja1 mas lo suyo no lo deja4  #baa    
,dii laneos habent pedes4  #bab ,life1  
vol4 i4 p4 #cab4  #bac ,wo der ,teufel  
nicht hin mag kommen1 da send er seinen 
,boten hin4  #bad ,la farina del diavolo
 se ne v in semola4     ,,appendix4     
,,on ,,the ,,metrical ,,latin ,,proverbs
 ,,of ,,the ,,middle ,,ages4 7,see p4   
#bi47   ,i have not seen anywhere       

brought together a collection of these  
medieval proverbs cast into the form of 
a rhyming hexameter4 ,erasmus1 though he
 often illustrates the proverbs of the  
ancient world by those of the new1 does 
not quote1 as far as ,i am aware1       
through the whole of his enormous       
collection1 a single one of these which 
occupy a middle place between the two2 a
 fact which in its way is curiously     
illustrative of the degree to which the 
attention of the great ,humanists at the
 revival of learning was exclusively    
directed to the classical literature of 
,greece and ,rome4 ,yet proverbs in this
 form exist in considerable number2     
being of very various degrees of merit1 
as will be seen from the following      
selection2 in which some are keen and   
piquant enough1 while others are of very
 subordinate value2 those which seemed  
to me utterly valueless--and they were  
not few--,i have excluded altogether4   
,the reader familiar with proverbs will 
detect correspondents to very many of   

them1 besides the few which ,i have     
quoted1 in one modern language or       
another1 often in many4      ,accipe1   
sume1 cape1 tria sunt gratissima ,pap4  
,let me observe here1 once for all1 that
 the lengthening of the final syllable  
in cap1 is not to be set down to the    
ignorance or carelessness of the writer2
 but in the theory of the medieval      
hexameter1 the unavoidable stress or    
pause on the first syllable of the third
 foot was counted sufficient to lengthen
 the shortest syllable in that position4
      ,ad secreta poli curas extendere  
noli4      gro sanato1 frustra dices1   
,numerato4      ,amphora sub veste raro 
portatur honeste4      ,ante ,dei vultum
 nihil unquam restat inultum4      ,ante
 molam primus qui venit1 non molat imus4
  ,a rule of natural equity3 ,prior     
tempore1 prior jure2--,first come1 first
 serve4--8,whoso first cometh to the    
mill1 first grint40--,chaucer4          
,arbor naturam dat fructibus atque      
figuram4      ,arbor ut ex fructu1 sic  

nequam noscitur actu4      ,ars         
compensabit quod vis tibi magna negabit4
      ,artem natura superat sine vi1    
sine cur4      ,aspera vox1 ,ite1 sed   
vox est blanda1 ,venite4  ,an allusion  
to ,matt4 xxv4 #cd1 #da4      ,cari     
rixantur1 rixantes conciliantur4        
,carius est carum1 si prgustatur amarum4
      ,casus dementis correctio fit     
sapientis4      ,catus spe satur cum    
capto mure jocatur4      ,cautus homo   
cavit1 si quem natura notavit4          
,conjugium sine prole1 dies veluti sine 
sole4      ,contra vim mortis non       
herbula crescit in hortis4      ,cui    
puer assuescit1 major dimittere nescit4 
,the same appears also in a pentameter1 
and under an ,horatian image3 ,quod nova
 testa capit1 inveterata sapit4         
,cui sunt multa bona1 huic dantur       
plurima dona4      ,cum jocus est verus1
 jocus est malus atque severus4  ,so the
 ,spanish3 ,malas son las burlas        
verdaderas4      ,curvum se prbet quod  
in uncum crescere debet4      ,curia    

,romana non qurit ovem sine lan4        
,dat bene1 dat multum1 qui dat cum      
munere vultum4  8,he that sheweth mercy1
 with cheerfulness40 7,rom4 xii4 #h47   
,cf4 ,ecclus4 xxxv4 #i2 ,,seneca1 ,de   
,benef41 i4 #a4      ,deficit ambobus   
qui vult servire duobus4      ,dormit   
secure1 cui non est functio cur4  ,far  
from court1 far from care4      ,ebibe  
vas totum1 si vis cognoscere potum4     
,est facies testis1 quales intrinsecus  
estis4      ,est nulli certum cui pugna 
velit dare sertum4      ,ex lingu stult 
veniunt incommoda multa4      ,ex minimo
 crescit1 sed non cito fama quiescit4   
,fmina ridendo flendo fallitque canendo4
      ,frangitur ira gravis1 cum fit    
responsio suavis4      ,fures in lite   
pandunt abscondita vit4  ,so in         
,spanish3 ,rien las comadres1 y dicense 
las verdades4      ,furtivus potus      
plenus dulcedine totus4      ,hoc retine
 verbum1 frangit ,deus omne superbum4   
,illa mihi patria est1 ubi pascor1 non  
ubi nascor4      ,impedit omne forum    

defectus denariorum4      ,in           
vestimentis non stat sapientia mentis4  
,in vili veste nemo tractatur honeste4  
,the ,russians have a worthier proverb3 
,a man's reception is according to his  
coat2 his dismissal according to his    
sense4      ,linguam frnare plus est    
quam castra domare4      ,lingua        
susurronis est pejor felle draconis4    
,musca1 canes1 mimi veniunt ad fercula  
primi4      ,mus salit in stratum1 cum  
scit non adfore catum4      ,ne credas  
undam1 placidam non esse profundam4     
,nil cito mutabis1 donec meliora        
parabis4      ,nobilitas morum plus     
ornat quam genitorum4      ,non colit   
arva bene1 qui semen mandat aren4       
,non est in mundo dives qui dicit1      
,abundo4      ,non habet anguillam1 per 
caudam qui tenet illam4      ,non stat  
securus1 qui protinus est ruiturus4     
,non vult scire satur quid jejunus      
patiatur4      ,omnibus est nomen1 sed  
idem non omnibus omen4  ,in a world of  
absolute truth1 every name would be the 

exact utterance of the thing or person  
that bore it2 but in our world not every
 ,irenus is peaceable1 nor every        
,blanche a blonde4 ,vigilantius ought   
rather1 according to ,jerome1 to have   
been named ,dormitantius2 and ,antiochus
 ,epiphanes1 7the ,illustrious17 was for
 the ,jews ,antiochus ,epimanes1 7the   
,insane47      ,parvis imbutus tentabis 
grandia tutus4      ,pelle sub agnin    
latitat mens spe lupina4      ,per      
multum1 ,cras1 ,cras1 omnis consumitur  
tas4      ,prodigus est natus de parco  
patre creatus4      ,quando tumet       
venter1 produntur facta latenter4       
,qui bene vult fari1 debet bene         
prmeditari4      ,quidquid agit mundus1 
monachus vult esse secundus4      ,qui  
petit alta nimis1 retro lapsus ponitur  
imis4      ,qui pingit florem non pingit
 floris odorem4      ,qui se non noscat1
 vicini jurgia poscat4      ,quisquis   
amat luscam1 luscam putat esse venustam4
      ,quisquis amat ranam1 ranam putat 
esse ,dianam4      ,quod raro cernit    

oculi lux1 cor cito spernit4      ,quo  
minime reris1 de gurgite pisce frueris4 
,quos vult sors ditat1 et quos vult sub 
pede tritat4      ,res satis est nota1  
plus ftent stercora mota4               
,scribatur portis1 ,meretrix est janua  
mortis4      ,sepes calcatur1 qu pronior
 esse putatur4      ,si curiam curas1   
pariet tibi curia curas4      ,si       
nequeas plures1 vel te solummodo cures4 
,si non morderis1 cane quid latrante    
vereris8      ,stare diu nescit1 quod   
non aliquando quiescit4      ,subtrahe  
ligna focis1 flammam restinguere si vis4
      ,sunt asini multi solum bino pede 
fulti4      ,sus magis in cno gaudet    
quam fonte sereno4      ,tam male nil   
cusum1 quod nullum prosit in usum4      
,tot equidem novi plus test pars valet  
ovi4      ,ultra posse viri non vult    
,deus ulla requiri4      ,verba satis   
celant mores1 eademque revelant4        
,vos inopes nostis1 quis amicus quisve  
sit hostis4      ,vulpes vult fraudem1  
lupus agnum1 fmina laudem4         99   

99       99       99       99  ,add to  
these a few of the same description1 but
 unrhymed3      ,catus amat pisces1 sed 
non vult tingere plantam4  ,it is with  
this proverb1 which is almost of all    
languages1 that ,lady ,macbeth taunts   
her husband1 as one--      8,letting1 ,i
 dare not1 wait upon1 ,i would1         
,like the poor cat i' the adage40--,act 
,i4 ,scene #g4      ,cochlea consiliis1 
in factis esto volucris4      ,dat ,deus
 omne bonum1 sed non per cornua taurum4 
,the ,chinese say3 ,even the ripest     
fruit does not drop into one's mouth2   
and another ,latin3 ,non volat in buccas
 assa columba tuas4      ,ense cadunt   
multi1 perimit sed crapula plures4      
,furfure se miscens porcorum dentibus   
estur4  ,with a slight variation the    
,italian3 ,chi si fa fango1 il porco lo 
calpesta4      ,ipsa dies quandoque     
parens1 quandoque noverca4      ,invidus
 haud eadem semper quatit ostia ,dmon4  
,mirari1 non rimari1 sapientia vera est4
      ,nomina si nescis1 perit et       

cognitio rerum4      ,non stillant omnes
 quas cernis in are nubes4      ,non    
venit ad silvam1 qui cuncta rubeta      
veretur4      ,occurrit cuicunque ,deus1
 paucique salutant4      ,pro ratione   
,deus dispertit frigora vestis4         
,quod rarum carum2 vilescit quotidianum4
      ,sermones blandi non radunt ora   
loquentis4      ,stultorum calami       
carbones1 mnia chart4  ,so the ,french3 
,muraille blanche1 papier des sots4     
99       99       99       99       99  
,add further a few which occupy two     
lines3      ,argue consultum1 te        
diliget2 argue stultum1     ,avertet    
vultum1 nec te dimittet inultum4        
,balnea cornici non prosunt1 nec        
meretrici2     ,nec meretrix munda1 nec 
cornix alba fit und4      ,dives eram   
dudum2 fecerunt me tria nudum2          
,alea1 vina1 ,venus2 tribus his sum     
factus egenus4      ,quando mulcetur    
villanus1 pejor habetur2     ,ungentem  
pungit1 pungentem rusticus ungit4       
,latin medieval ones in the same spirit 

abound3 among others this detestable one
 with its curious triple rhyme3 ,rustica
 gens est optima flens1 et pessima      
ridens4      ,si bene barbatum faceret  
sua barba beatum1     ,nullus in hoc    
circo queat esse beatior hirco4      ,si
 qu sede sedes1 et sit tibi commoda     
sedes1     ,ill sede sede1 nec ab ill   
sede recede4      ,hoc scio pro certo1  
quod si cum stercore certo1       ,vinco
 seu vincor1 semper ego maculor4        
,multum deliro1 si cuique placere       
requiro2       ,omnia qui potuit1 hc    
sine dote fuit4      ,permutant mores   
homines1 cum dantur honores2            
,corde stat inflato pauper1 honore dato4
   ,,the ,,end4   ,,london3 ,,savill    
,,and ,,edwards1 ,,printers1 ,,chandos  
,,street4     ,transcriber's ,note      
,errors corrected were as follows3      
,footnote #bd3 8#a0 changed to 8l0      
7,quintilian1 ,inst4 l4 #d72  ,footnote 
#ij3 8,kirchkofsblumen0 changed to      
8,kirchhofsblumen0 7,hare sind          
,kirchhofsblumen72  ,footnote #if3      

8,missa apateiros0 changed to 8missa    
apateiros0 7,va  missa apateiros74  ,in 
addition1 obvious punctuation errors    
were repaired4  ,variable hyphenation   
and spelling were preserved4 ,apart from
 the corrections above1 errors in       
foreign languages have also been left   
uncorrected4