The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-10-25
I v.

Few persons are aware that we owe more
| household sayings to Publius Syrus. COM
piler Of Latin proverbs who 1ourished about
42 B. G. than to all Of the great Latin authors
put together. all or most OF whose work was
| done before the beginning OF our err. Thus
from him have come down to us. As men we
are ali equal in the presence Of death" ITO
do two things ut once Is to do neither" I'VE
are interested in others when they are inter-
estcd In us:""A good reputation is moro valu-
able than money" 1T is we'll to moor your
bark with two nnchors;" "A sod could hardly
love and be wise." reproduced by Bacon In his
essay on love: and THE loss which 10 I'M
known Is no loss ut ALL" version OF which
seems to DO presented In the two well-known
lines from Othello:
lie that IL robbed. not wanting what Is stolen.
Let him not know't and he IL not robbed at AL
tits also from syrus that we get the maxims.
Many receive advice, few profit by it." You
should hammer your iron when It's glowing
hot;" What is left when honor is lost ?" "A
fair exterior is q silent recommendation: !"
There are some remedies worse than the
disease" quoted by Bacon and by another
English writer Of the same period: and " For
tune Is not satisfied with inflicting one calam.
ity." which seems to be the origin Of Shake
speare's When sorrows come they come not
moreover. who first noted that "A cock has
great influence on his own dung heap" Any
one can hold the helm when the sen Is calm :"
Practice is the best Of all Instructors" It is
better to have little than nothing" A roll
ing stone gathers no moss" Never prom
ise more than you can PERFORM "Neces-
sty knows no law except to conquer:" and
THE fear of death is more to be dreaded than
death ITSELF" OF which we meet with an Eng
lish translation in Shakespeare's The sense
OF death Is most In apprehension" One might
60 on much longer measuring tho extent Of
our Indebtedness to Syrus. Only a few more
Of his maxims can here be noted 1t is Syrus
who tells us that HE bids fair to grow wise
who has discovered that he is not so:' that "A
guilty conscience never feels secure" tShakc.
speare's Conscience does make towards OF
US all ~ but Pilpay had said this in India cen.
turtles before: Every day should be passed
as II 1t were to DO our last" q teaching
repeated and emphasized by Marcus Aurelius.
To Syrus. finally. We owe Familiarity breeds
contempt" Money alone sets all the world
in notion" 1T is better to learn late than
never" Prosperity makes friends. adversely
tries them:" Whom fortune wishes to destroy
she first makes mad" Let fool hold his
tongue and he will pass for a sage:" Il have
often regretted my speech. never my silence:"
Keep the golden mean between saying too
much and too little:" and 1T Is consola-
ton to the wretched to have companions in
misery"
We have confined ourselves to registration
OF some OF the proverbial sayings inherited
from such Greek and Latin writer's rs preceded
the Christian era. The reader will also find in
Mr. Bartletts collection many curious and in
teresting proofs Of our Indebtedness to later
classical authors. as for example to PhRdrus.
Pliny the Elder. Plutarch. Epictetus. Marcus
Aurelius. and DioCenes Laertius. We mention
these names because ono would naturally i'm
agine that our obligations for household words
would be greater or at least as great to Seneca.
Quintilian. Juvenal and Tacitus. Such. how
ever is not tho case. H. W. II.