Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-03-05
Sayings, and Who.Fir.t said Them.

Many of our common sayings, so trite and
pithy, are used without the least idea from
whose mouth or pen they first originated
Probably the works of Shakespeare furnish
us with more of these familiar sayings than
any other writer, for to him We owe IAN
is not gold that glitters" Make q virtue of
nece ssity, "Scre your courage to a stick
ing place" mot point, They laugh that
win, "This is the short and long of it"
Companions are odious, "As merry as the
day is long, "A Daniel come to judgment "
''Frailty thy name is woman" and hosts of
others.
Washington Irving gives us The Almigh-
ty Dollar Thomas Norton queried long ago
What will Mrs. Grundy say = while Gold
smith answers Ask me no questions and I'll
tell you no fibs." Charles c. Pickney Mil
lions for defence, but not one cent for trib-
ute First i'll war first in peace, and first
in the hearts of his fellow citizens" (not
countrymcn), appeared in the resolutions
presented to the House of Representatives in
December, 1890 prepared by Gen. Henry
Lee.
From the same we Gull, Make assurance
doubly sure" Christmas comes but once a
year Count their chickens ere they are
matched, and Look before you leap"
Thomas 1asser. writer of the sixteenth
century, gives us, Its an i'll wind turns no
good, Better late than never" Look ere
thou leap" and "1he stone that is rolling can
gather no moss" IAN cry and no wool" is
found in Buffers "Hudibras."
Dryden says: None but the brave de-
serve the fair" Men are but children of a
larger growth" Through thick and thin. "
mo pent-up Utica contracts our power" de-
clared Jonathan Sewell.
when Greeks join Greeks then was the
tug of war, Nathaniel Lee, 1852.
"Of two evils have chosen the least" and
The end must Justify the means" are from
Matthew Prior. We are Indebted to Colley
Cibber for the agreeable intelligence that
"Rchard is himself again" johnson tells us
of "A good hater, and Macintosh in l79l,
the phrase often attributed to John Randolph,
Wise and mastery inactivity"
''Variety's the very spice of life," and
mot much the worse for wear" Cowper.
Man proposes but God disposes,' Thomas
a Kempis.
Christopher Marlow gave forth the invita-
ton so often repeated by his brothers in
less public way, Love me little, love me
long Edward Cooke was of the opinion
that "A mans house is his castle" To Mil
ton We owe The paradise of fools, "A will
derness of sweets, and 'Moping melancholy
and moonstruck Madness
Edward Young tells us Death loves a shin
ing mark" "A fool at forty is a fool indeed
but, alas for his knowledge of human nature
when he tells us Man wants but little, nor
that little long"
From Bacon comes knowledge is power"
and Thomas Southerne reminds us that PHYS
akin TO love" Dean Swift thought that
Bread is the staff of life" Campbell found
that Coming events cast their shadows be-
fore" and "'Tis distance lends enchantment
to the view" "A thing of beauty is JOY
forever" is from Keats. Franklin said, God
helps them who help themselves" and Law
renee Sterne comforts us with the thought,
''God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb"
Even some of the slang" phrases of the
day have legitimate origin. Putting your
foot in it" is certainly not a very elegant
mode of expression, but according to the
'Asiatic Researches" it is quite fine point
of law; when the title to land is disputed in
Hindostan two holes are dug in the ground
and used to encase a limb of each lawyer (?),
and the one who tired first lost his clients
case Fancy, if you can, some famous Limbs
of the law" pleading in such manner 1t is
generally the client who puts his foot in
it."
When things are in disorder they are often
said to be turned topsy turvy this express
sion is derived from the way in which turf
used for fuel is placed to dry, the turf being
turned downward and the expression then
means top-side turfway.
Plutarch, in his life Of Arceslaus, King of
Sparta. gives us the origin of quaint and ia
miliar expression.
On certain occasion an ambassador from
Epirus, on a diplomatic mission, was shown
by the king over his capital. The ambassa-
dor knew of the monarch's fame-knew that
though only nominaly king of Sparta, he
was yet ruler of Greece-And he looked to
see massive walls rearing aloft their embattled
towers for the defence of the town but he
found nothing of the kind. He marveled
much at this, and spoke of it to the king.
Sire" he said, II have visited most of the
principal towns, and l find no walls reared
for defence. Why is this? -
"Indeed Sir Ambassador" replied Arcesi-
laus, ''thou canst not have looked carefully.
Come with me tomorrow morning. and will
show you the walls of Sparta"
Accordingly on the following morning the
king led his guest out upon the plains where
his army was drawn up in full battle array,
and pointing proudly to the serried hosts, he
said:
"There, thou beholdest the walls Of Sparta
ten thousand men, and every man brick !"