Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1869-05-27

THE SHELLS OF WISDOM.
A provcrb has been Vel defined 10 be
.thc wit of QUO man ard the wisdom Of
many"-the concentration Of the common
sense and experience Of many into selno
happy pithy expression The study Of
these quaint condensed sayings has ever
been favortc one with literary men
Cervantc, makes Saucho l'anzt's convcr-
pation a Whole string Of them, and IN otir
day Dickens hos frequently put them into
the mouth Of the inimitabla sam Weller,
while learned and grave divjncs have
found in these sparkling aeiHt'ilaf"ns a
pleasant relief from more serious occtF1@
tions. A reccut lecture by the author Of
n popular work on the Life and EpIstie'
Of St. Paul present. an interesting col
lection Of those witty aphorlsms. Com
plcte proverbial sentences are either eX-
hortativc, such as "Makc hay while the
sun shines !" Think of cnse, but work
on, Pull down thy hat on TIE windy
side" or the Spanish one If "p.ne with
thy aunt, but not every day ; or nGlea-
tive, such as Half a loaf is better than
no breaI5;" "Where the hedge is lowest
most people 20 over or, a poor Rich
ard SAID "Silks aud satins put out The
Kitchen fire" Poetry has always had a
tendency to run INTO rhyme and alhtera-
ton, and it is SO with proverbs. We
say. Time aud tide wait for no man :
but tho true form Is, Time and tide for
no man abide" Sometimes the form Is
merely aIltcratiyc, as Ever drunk, over
dry !" "Wiful waste makes wotul want;
or, as the Scotch say, NO swat, no
sweet" More often they assume thc
shape of absolute rhyae, such as There
Is many slip between the cup aud LIP
Well begun, half done : April wet,
good wheat .'Who goes borrowing
roes sorrowinr." These Oriental cX-
amplcs further illustrate this
Gods mills turn slow. '.N ho sncs mite
Rut they grind woe Ill catch hlte,
.,I, thu widow house f'N hen the tiles
There is no fat mouse. he shadow dies.
sWho doth the raven for guide invite
Must marvel not ON rarcaSses t. 'Eht-
\ dead dog drarnei5H ttwoUId det!r il still.
\ good provryb soon spreads, and pos
scSs,s wonderful vitality. Building a
golden bridge for flying enemy Is older
than Hcrodotus, and "I,ook not q
horse in the mouth" is found ii med "val
history and among Armenian proverbs
Proverbs are still being made Don
& shiver for last wears snow, and "Som'
), proplc seem 10 bc starchca before they
1 arc washed. +" arc recent additions The
same truth is often oppressed dlterent y
by different nations In Frjc>land they
say. "non't sell your herrings before you
catch them :" we say. .'pou't buy p'-
in poke" which III tho tropics K takes
the form Of No man buys yams while
they are vet in the ground. We oton
give point t. our advice hy saying. a
bird in the hand is worth two II the
bush" while on the hanks Of the Nile,
where cranes are abundant, the people
say. "A thousand cranes in tie air are
not equal TO one sparrow III the list. -
EVERY oak va once an acorn, Is. IL
Africa. The great eaiabash tree has a
seed tor its mother 'FlrSt build Your
house, and then think Of your furniture;
"A man envics every other man except
his son and his pupil At the doors q
tavcrns friends are Pl1nty n The door Of
the prison they are all gone; :; Throw
plenty Of mud, some ofitis sure to stick. :
are Hebrew proverbs. expressive ot saga
city. The French are fond of cpiEram
matte savings. The alage, "Ouc swal-
low does not makea summer, they rem
der. "Onc flower docsne. make q gar
land" \ characteristic Cftheir prove =
I. the frequent mention Of wolves Thus
-rralk OF the wolf and you will see hi.
tail" equivalent 70 "Falk u the deS'l
and he will appear. : 1T Is a sllyShcel
that makes the wolf her contessor
Nv bile the dogs erow,ed at each o'he'
tho wolves deyoured the sheep. These
are Germap eN5npl1s Little and Of
ten make heap IN time, Handsome
APPLES are sometmeS sour, 1t Is cas- -
to blame than 10 DO better Take the
world as tits, not as it ought 70 De :.
SOUR neighbors' children are always tbs
worst :" Forgive thy<eit nothing any
Others much :" The sun dial only count,
the bright hours = "Hc WAC blscNcuS
others does not whitcn himself; :; :" |,
change and DO better are diAlrcut things :
..Revenge cenytrtsa littFc rlshtinto grea
wrong ..Charity gives itself rich, but
coyetousneSs boards itself poor.
spain is rich in proverbs. One otthew
runs : by the road Of by-and -by enc ar
,iyrs \, III, town Of Never" There i:
much richness amt beauty IN the lta'"r
rrnxcrbs a. Time and Iau, aev euaos.