The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-11-20
SOME TURKISH PROVERBS.
Sayings of the Turk that Are Very Like Or

If the Turk has been qualified as
'sunspeakable, he is very far from
being inarticulate. Strange as it may
seem to those who have formed their
opinion of him from hearsay, it is not
the less true that he is commonly
good conversationalist, and can say
well and pointedly what he has got to
say, with a wealth OF illustration in
anecdote, quotation, and proverb. The
latter form conmnndS Itself especially
to the Sententious Turkish mind. The
synthetic form of the language, too,
secure brevity and conciseness. and
opportunities are afforded for those
assonaEces, or rhyming vowels. which
are so dear to the Oriental. On look
ing over notebook containing sew
eral hundred Turkish proverbs, taken
down in the course of reading aud
conversation, or borrowed from col
lection made at the Oriental academy
at Vienna. the writer has amused him.
self by grouping them roughly under
certain heads, so as to Illustrate some
aspects of the national character and
surroundings.
But first it may be interesting to re-
mark how many well-known English
and other European proverbs have
their exact counterpart in Turkish.
How far are these to be accounted for
by contact with or conquest of lndo-
European races? Or has it been a
case of ''les beaux csprits Sc rem
contrcnt?'' For instance, we find
You shall not looS a gift horse in the
mouth in exactly the same words, as
well as '.He that is born to be hanged
will never be drowned" the Trukish
version having the advantage of being
expressed in two words. The change
of words is but slight in Troubled
waters suit the fisher" lone flower
does not make summer and THE
robe does not make the dervish;"
while in Turkey it is not pot that says
to kettle, but negro to negro, that his
face is black. We are disposed to pre-
fer "'The nail saved the shoe, the shoe
the horse. the horse the man, the man
the kingdom" to our somewhat lum-
bering "For want of nail the shoe
was lost" etc. wake not the sleep
ing dog has as corollary "Step
not on the sleeping serpent" and we
are warned that there is ''No rose
without thorn, nor love without a
rival. One instance in which our
proverbial wisdom is opposed to the
Turkish is to be found in the expires.
sion TO kill two birds with one
! stone The attempt to do this is con.
demncd by sundry proverbs, such as
'sOne arrow does not bring down two
BIRDS and "You can not knock down
! nine walnuts with one stone
4 Often we are reminded of scriptura
proverbs and aphorisms. 'Nothlno
unheard of in the world sounds Solo
monian enough, while "Out with the
eve that profits me not" The negro
4 does not whiten with washing" ane
| THAT which thcu sowest, that alst
shalt thou reap are strikingly like
| New Testament teaching. Agar
/ and again we find expressed il
other words lessons of charity, consid
erateness. and justice that would no
be unworthy of Christian teacher, a
"Thc strangers prayer is heard,
"The hearts testimony is stronge
than thousand witnesses canon!
the blind, close your eyes ''In trutl
Is right" Justice is half religion,
"Neighbor's right, Gods right
The heading under which, perhaps
the largest number of proverbs can b
grouped is that of opportune speecl
and silence. If the Turk, as has bee
said, talks well. he also knows how t
hold his tongue. He looks down wit
the greatest contempt on the idle chat
terer, and does not even think tina
good manners require him to max
small-talk when he has nothing to say
In fact, when on visit to well-bre
Turk with whom you have no com
mon subjects of interest to discuss
after exhausting those suggested b
politeness-his health. your own, tha
of your family, the weather, and tn
water Ca most interesting topic in th
easD YOU may safely fall back upo
that golden silence which their pr,
verb. like ours. rates above silve
speech Here his comment on tn
chatterer: There is no ass but brays;
''The dog barks, the caravan passes;
Fool is he who alone talks, and is hi
only listener:' 1.-The tool wears h
heart on his tongue, the wise ma
keeps his tongue in his heart an
Many words, an unscund heart.
He warns us of the mischief of ev
speaking: 1.-The knife's wound heal
the tongues never" "The tongy
slavs more than the sword,' and '.'Tt
ton rue is boneless. but it breal
bones Again, he feels keenly tt
danger of free speech under corrul
and despotic rule, while he extols hol
esty and good faith, and generals co
demns lying. The latter is condone
in certain cases, for Some lies a
better than truth" and we NAV ''Li
but with measure. The suppress
veri is even strongly recommends
for is not the ''truth-tcller banisht
out of nine cities2" while .'He wi
holds his tongue saves his head al
"There is 10 better answer than thi
L know not, saw not. y
But to turn to something pleasante
we will quote a few sayings still f
miliar in our Turks mouth, viii,
have survived the corruption of Il
palace and official kings, and see
still to breathe the hardy and ind
pendent spirit OF the old days. VIII
: courage and enterprise were the on
passports to the highest places in
conquering empire. Then 1t could
said that '.The horse is to him tn
mounts, the sword to him who cir
it on" .Thc brave mans word is
coat of mail, y Fortune is not +
from the brave mans head y 1T
hero is known on the battlefield
and "Fear not to-morrow's m
y chance" Who but a conquering ra
a couid have produced such prove
as Power on my head. or the raw
). on my corpse?" and who can fail
bo.r a trua rion IN sspaasapt aroct