The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-02-21

Nor scatter thOInS but roses.
For our reaping by-and-by!
Then scatter seeds of kindness
For our reaping by-and-by.
|
FACTS ABOUT PROVERBS.
How Some Of the Worlds Pithiest Say
ings Originated.
A proverb is a common and pithy say
ing, in which more is designed than
usually meets the ear Adopted alike
by the learned and illiterate, it is not
to be considered the insignificant trife
of school-boy or the croaking CT old
woman. The learned among the an
clients recorded proverbs that they
might be enjoyed by their successors.
Plato, Plutarch, and many others re-
| garded the knowledge of proverbs an
honorable study; and Aristotle went
further by CHASING them among unde-
niable testimonies of truth.
Solomon compiled a book on this
subject, the object of which is to show
that proverb is the Interpretation of
the wise. Prob, C. i. V. 6 "To I'M
| derstand proverb, and their interpre-
| tation the words of the wise, and their
dark sayings"
The understanding of an adage is
not half so difficult as its proper appli
cation; still, there are many proverbs
familiar as household words, the ORR
| gin and real meaning of which are not
| generally known.
An instance of this we have, in part,
in the oft-repeated-''Go tempers the
wind to the shorn lamb"-a quotation
equally accredited to the Bible and to
| Shakespeare. but belonging to neither
having originated with Sterne.
"Man proposes, but God disposes "
words in the hearts and mouths of all;
| yet few are aware that Thomas a KEN
pis is the the man to whom we are in
debted for them.
cold friends are best, Jim Selden
told the world, some time during the
fifteenth century. Goldsmith, later,
said 81 love everything that's old
old friends, old times, old manners, old
books, old wine"
For EThe almighty dollar we have
to thank Washington Irwin, as the ex-
preston was first found in his "Creole
Village" .
"Where the shoe pinches." Plutarch
relates, in the Life of Emilius Pau
lus, " the story of Roman who obtain
ed a diverse from his wife without any
apparent reason for so doing. Being
questioned by his friends regarding her
faults and his motives, he held out his
foot-which was dressed in a new and
neat-ftting boot-and asked them to
tell where the shoe pinched.
Benjamin Franklin gave us the prov
erd, "God helps them that help them
selves - also, the equally familiar and
true one of "Three moves are as bad as
one fire." Likewise
''vessels large may venture more,
But little boats should keep near shore"
We quote from Oliver Goldsmith
"For he whs fights and runs away,
May live to fight another day."
But, previous, Butler, in 60 Hudibras,"
gives us:
For those that fly may fight again
Which he can never do that's slain"
Still earlier, we had the Latin prov
erb, by Erasmus
THAT same man that runn'th awaie
Male again fight another dale.
"HObson's choice" arose from one
Tobias HobsOn, who was the first man
in England that kept horses to hire
When customer came for a horse he
he led him into q stable where there
was great choice, but obliged him to
take the one standing next to the stable
door. So every one was served accord
ing to his chance. Hence the saying
when anything was forced upon one,
'FHobson's choice"
:" All that glistens is not gold, " we
find in the Merchant of Venice
Chaucar gave in substance the same
idea in his "Yeoman's Tale
"But all things, which that shineth as the gold,
No is no gold, l have herd it told"
Spencer, in his Fairie Queen" fur
nishes still another variation eve
find all as they say that glitters is
not gold"
'sSpeech is silver; silence is gold, is
a German proverb full of truth and
beauty.
In Scottish proverbs we have: CA
bawbee cat may look at a king" ga
man at five may be a fool at fifteen"
''Auld men are twice bairns;" s'Bloods
thicker than water" ''Faint heart ne'er
won fair LADY," He that is born to be
hanged will never be drowned" and
" Ae bird i the hand is worth ten fly
ing;" which last we have in Hebrew,
Zone bird in net is better than hun
bred flying" Later,
zone bird in the hand is better far
Than two that in tue bushes are"
Among later proverbs, we find the
same idea as, Better have an egg to-
day than hen tomorrow"
Again: :. A living dog is better than
dead lion.
The Danes express the shortness of
life in their proverb, To-day gold-to-
morrow dirt.
The FInlanders repeat the meaning
in To-day well, tomorrow cold in the |
mouth" "Better bend the neck than
bruise the forehead" comes from the |
same source, and notice it because the |
suggestion it contains is a particularly |
valuable one.
''To cast water into the Thames"
implies giving to them who had plenty |
before. which is too often the charity of |
the world.
"They agree like the clocks of Lon
don, =" is found among both the French |
and italian proverbs for an instance of
disagreement
"John Bull, name commonly use
to signify an Englishman. It was |
adopted from Swift's ludicrous history
of Europe, under which appellation the |
people of England are therein persona
fed.
Of all proverbs we can recall, we
know of none containing better advice,
or bringing more contentmeut and hap
piness, if only observed, than the Per-
sian one, of Never crossing q bridge |
until you come to it," or, as Horace ex-
pressed it, Seek not to inquire that
what the morrow will bring with it,
for one of our modern writer's has told |
us, "He is miserable once who feels
sorrow, but twice who fears it before it
comes"
So with Tom Moore, We'll sing
To-day, at least, to- ay be gar,
whate'el tomorrow brings"
Oliver Wendell Holmes says this is
the way women prepare to play on the
piano !: 'tIt was a young woman with
as many white founces round her as the
planet Saturn has rings, that did it.
She gave the music-stool twirl or two
and hnffed down on IL like q twirl of |