The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-10-31
SOME JAPANESE Proverbs
SAYINGS OF THE EAST COMPARED
WITH THOSE OF TEE WEST.
Differ but Little from the Canned
wisdom of other Countries Re-
markabIe Resemblance of Japanese
Proverbs to Biblical sayinEs-The
Fish story Epi,Omized.

The very first of the popular sayings
I'm Ota Masayoshl's collection reminds
one of an English adage. Fortune ia
vors the brave" evidently conveys the
same hint of encouragement as the Jap
anese Fortune will cali at the smiling
gate" But the Oriental proverb is even
! nearer to the fancy which underlies that
medieval story about Virgil to the eff
| feet that he cast an enchantment upon
a certain gate in his beloved city of Ma
| pies, so that all who entered at one side,
where there was a sculptured face, 'all
jocund and smiling, prospered in their
business, while those who passed be-
meath the frowning face at the oppO-
size side were doomed TO the worst of
disasters. Fortunes wheel revolves,"
say the Japanese, showing that the
tickle goddess might be pictured as She
is in the West. Shakspeares line,
And giddy Fortunes furious tickle
wheel" would be as readily understood
in the land OF the Mikado as in Europe.
The wheel means the same thing in the
East as in the West; a japanese cOun-
terpart Of the Welsh Fluellen might
dwell on 1.-The moral of it, that she is
turning and inconstant, and mutability,
and variation" Another Japanese say
ing, Secret charity opens the vestibule
of fortune" expresses an idea that is
found also in certain familiar injunc-
! tons Of scripture. The biblical phrase is
even more closely met in another Jap
| aneSe adage, Secret virtue shall be re-
warded openly" The widows mite has
become proverbial. The Japanese incul-
cate the same truth in the sentence,
The one candle of the poor is equal to
ten thousand lamps of the rich man."
The injunction, Lend, hoping for moth
- again." may be compared with do
! kindness but expect no reward" In
the sermon on the Mount il is said, IF
! the light that is in thee be darkness
! how great is that darkness" So the
| japanese have it that IF the mind is
| clear, even in a dark room, there will
be radiance; if the thought is dark, at
| MONDAY there will be demons" OF the
! blind leading the blind, the Japanese
say that "All will fall into the fire-hole."
| n lesson of common life is embodied in
| the English phrase, Even the worm
will turn" meaning that the most help
| less creature will, in extremity, fight for
| its life. Shakespeare put the thought
more eloquently in the verses:
So towards fight when they can fly no
further.
So doves do peck the falcons piercing tai
onS.
The japanese express the same idea in
various ways. Sometimes they say that if
| you give rat a chance he will rival the
| tiger. In extremity they add: The bird
| will peck, the beast will spring, the man
| will lie" That the man who is down has
! no fear of falling is obvious to the
| japanese as to other peoples. They say
| that THE naked body has nothing TO
! lose or that those who are lying down
never fall, or that beggars have no fear
Of bankruptcy. Yet they have other pro-
| verbs which illustrate the fact that the
| utmost misery has untried depths. Thus
| they may express themselves almost in
! the form Of parable concerning one who.
| without a shelter in the world, took refuge
under tree boughs. But the dew fell, -
! they add by way Of suggesting the moral
Even in the broad world" runs another
| aphorism, 1.-THE sparrow may be without
lunch We say that living dog is bet
| ter than a dead lion. They make the
| same comparison between a living pauper
| and a dead millionaire. Hear both sides
! before judging" has a dose parallel in
| the popular lore of the West. The deep
| rooted tree need not fear the wind" sug-
| gestS Mrs. Thrale's cOuplet:
The tree of deepest root Is found
Least willing still to quit the ground.
The japanese are aware that the long
est way around is often the shortest way
| home. for they say, ''If you want to hurry
| up 60 around" They know how hard
! it is for truth to overtake error. Scan
dal" they say will travel a thousand
/ miles. but good report may not leave the
! gate" One may wear out his welcome in
| Japan, as in other countries, and 50 the
| people say that There is no cordlality for
! the too frequent visitor" That one can
| not touch pitch without being deiled,
| they express in the sentence, Approach
| too near to ink; you will be dyed with it. :"
| ''In Rome. do as Romans do" has an
exact counterpart in their lore. So has
| the caution walls have ears" II which
! Greeks explained with a fable the pen
| atty of unthrift Fable and moral are
| told i'm line by the japanese when they
| say that Summer insects are unac-
| quainted with snow" a wise Greek said /:
! call no man happy until he Is dead, ;"
! and the japanese have ii that ones ca
| reer is not finished until the lid is on ones
| coffin. Among the maXims Of the Egypt
| ian Ptah-Hotep, most antique of authors,
was this:
"Despise not thy neighbor. who is as
| thou vast. but treat him as thy equa;."
Somewhat similar is the japanese caution
against arrogance: What is today your
neighbours .ot tomorrow may be your
own" The Arabs illustrate the misforJ-
unes Of one who allows himself to be de-
prived of his rights by the example of the
man who was crowded out of his tent ny
his camel. The japanese have the same
thought in the expression. HE who has
the shelter of your caves viii claim your
the middle ages. issued from the schoo,
of SalernO. began with the grim assurance
that death is incurable. The Japanese
deemed the fact worthy of their lore
after death no medicine" say they, and
again. There is rescue from all but
DEATH The vox pOpuli voX Del of the
West meets its like in japan, where "thc
peoples mind" is said to be Heavens
mind" The spilled milk of the English
and American rustic phrase becomes
| ~, h1 Tatr,a a.f.
Poor Richard suggested modesty by hint
ing that little boats should keep near the
shore. The japanese imply as much by
SAIL Handsome is that handsome does
becomes with them Good behavior OBJ
llterates ugiiness." Corresponding 10 the
English saying that 'NBeauty is Only skin
deep" they say, Beauty is only one lay
err" For Enough is as good as q feast"
they offer the contrast. TOO much is as
bad as not enough" Love me little, iove
me long suggests the thought which the
Japanese put in this form, After excess
sive loving IS hatred a thous9rd-foid." A
! stranger al hand they say, is better than
a relative afar off. They have epfCmiZed
all fish stories in the phrase, The fish
which escapes from the hook is always
the largest" and have put in a nutshe..
a who.e philosophy with the command, IF
there is anything disagreeaole to do do 1t
tomorrow. N. Y. Tribune.
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