Wilmington daily commercial., 1873-03-24
Proverbs.

Proverbs are excellent things. They save
deal of thinking being general results hppn-
cable to the daily necessities OF men, ,they
often throw light upon perplexity soive
nroblen in morals express criticism upon
enrrent events, throw beam OF wit or humor
nnon eome dark spot. As ageneral thing news.
papers tend to destroy proverbs. a reaolnB anu
intelligent people are likely to form their own
opinions, aud give expression 70 them IN 1a tnelI
own way. An intelligent but not reading people
betAke themselves to proverbs. Every nation
has its own proverbs, though some proVerDsru run
through all languages
Precisely the same sentlment is expressed py
ve-y different forms. Thus while one says,
..Tbev that live in glass houses should not throw
stones.n another expresses the same notion
more quantity: 'Folks that have STRAW tails
should not play with fire. .,.,...
"a bird in the hand, &C., has an eqnlVslent
in siBetter one bird in the nest than hock in
the air" .-.a,,.
The Spanish have, in one collection, twenty-tour
thousand, and there have been gathered from
MANY Of them are hardly worth keeping, many
are synonyms but, after all the sitting the
number is very great and there is hardly side
| of human life and experience that has not some
shrewd proverb.
worth quoting:
Thy secret is thy prisoner if thou lettest go,
| thou art it's prisoner"
"Thy friend hath friend, and thy friends
friend hath friend; therefore, 4 thou hast q
| secret reveal it not unto friend"
Attention to ones business has given rise to
many thrifty proverbs -,
zone eye OF the master sees more than four
| Of the servant" -, -.
mot to oversee wOrkmen is to leave your
/ purse open.'
'The masters eye makes the horse fat"
| The Greeks hal the proverb before us. Per
| ses being asked what the best thing to make
/ horse fat replied, THE masters eye; and
| what the best manure, 1.-THE masters foot.
The same idea is expressed by Gellinus: !"
fat man riding upon lean horse was asked how
it came to pass that himself was 30 fat and his
horse so lean, and replied, 81 feed myself, my
servant feeds my horse"
There is a universal belief in luck, and pro
verbs swarm on that matter. "Give man lucl
and throw him into the sea, and he will come NJ
| with a fish in his mouth" This is probably al
Egyptian proyerb Of very great antiquity, as ltf
most ancient form was, Throw him into the
Nile"
"A drop OF luck ia worth cask Of wisdom.
| rlis 80 nroherh that exempfes the fact tina
elements OF life as men of very little sagaciry
| We see men stumble into fortunes which othe
men Of ten times their shrewdness seek in vai
for scores of years, and the proyeFb hits thes
cases yet every one knows that on the whole
success goes with the painstaking and wise,
Proverbs abound about reputation
HE that hath an ill name is half-hange1"
when all men say you are an ass, it is high
time to bray"
"A wild goose never laid tame egg is an
other rendering OF DO men gather grapes OF
thorns. or igs Of thistles -
The Italians have singular proverb as to pre-
paration for success. ''He that would trave
safely through the world should have hawk,
eye, an ASS ears, an apes face. q merchants
words camers back, "a hogs mouth, and hart,
legs
There are no end Of sarcastic hits at the yari
GUS trades and professions
The devil would have been weaver but fo
the lawyers"
. Put miller, weaver and tailor, in bal
and shake them up; the first one that Gomez
| out is thief"
" An honest miller has golden thumb"
Three dear years will earn bakers dauSht-
er's marriage portion"