New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-08-12
JAPANESE LORE.
A SMALL COLLECTION OF POPULAR
PROVERBS

|
The very nrst OF the popular sayings IN ms IN
.ercs,InR collection reminds one OF an Engisn
| ,da,e Fortune favors the brave" evidently con-
| vcys the same hint OF encouragement as the 1apa-
| nose Fortune Will call ut the smiling gaze bu'
| the Oriental proverb IL even nearer to inc FANCY
! which undcrlles that medieval story about virgil
! To the effect that he cast an enchantment upon
! c,r,s,n gate IN his beloved city OF Naples. so THAI
| al who entered ut one side where there was
! scuuursi face all jocund and smiling prosperea
| IN their business. while thos" who passed beneath
the frown.ng face a, the opposite side were doomed
to the worst OF disasters. Fortunes wheeI re-
wolves" say the japanese. showing that the tickle
! goddess might be pictured as she IL in the west.
! Shakespeares line. And gidly Fortunes furious
ecsle whee" would be as readily understood In
| the ,anI Of the Mlkado In Europe The wheel
means the same thing In the East as In the "es''
a Japanese counterpart Of the Welsh Fluellen might
iwr, on ".he moral Of II. that she Is turning and
| lncon.tant and mutabity. and variation Another
japanese saying Secret charity opens the vesti-
bule u fortune" expresses an idea that Is found
also In certain familiar injunctlons OF Scripture
! The Biblical phrase IL even more Glossy met IN
another japanese adagc 'secr~; virtue shall be
rewarded openly" The widows rlte has become
provcrb!i,. The japanese !nculcate tho samH truth
in tho sentence The one candle OF the poor Is
equa! TO ten thousand lamps Of The rich man The
| Injunction. Lend hoping for nothing again may
| reward" In the sermon the Mount It Is said.
III the igh, that II In thee be darkness. how great
| Is that darkness" So the japanese have 1t that
"If the mind Ia c,csr. even In a dark room there
WI! b. radiance II the thought L. dark At MONDAY
there will be demons or the blind leading the
blind. the Japanes. say that "All will fall into the
IRE ho!e" 4 lesson OF common NE IL embodied IN
the English phrase. Even the worm will turn.
| meaning tha; the most helpless creature Will In
extremity ngh, FOR its NE Shakespeare put the
though, more e.oquently in the verses:
i, coward. nxh, when they can rs further
| 50 doves do peck the falcons piercing a.0ns.
The japanese express the same idea In various
ways Sometimes they that II you give "A rat the
! chance he will rival the tiger. In extremity. they
add Tho bird Will peck the beast Will spring and
viii lie" That the man who is down has no
fear Of falling obvious To tho japanese es TO
/ other peoples They say that The mixed body has
| nothing 20 lose" or that those who are lying down
never ,all. that bcggars have no fear OF bank
ruptcy Yet they have other proverbs which HAS
trate the fact that the utmost misery has untried
depths. Thu&hey may express themselves almost
In the form OF parable concerning one who. With
on, shelter In tho world took refuge under tree
boughs. But the dew fell they add. by way 81
suggesting the moral. Even In the broad world"
runs another aphorlsm. the sparrow may be with
out lunch" We say that living dog Is better
| than a dead Hon. They make the same comparison
Hear both sides before Judging has close par
ailei In the popular lore Of the West The deep
rooted tree need not fear the wind" suggests Mrs.
| Thralcs couolet:
Tho tree Of deeoest root is found
Least willing still TO quit the ground
! The japanese are aware that the longest way
around Is often the shortest way home. for they
say ~ you want 10 hurry up. around" They
know how hard Il Is for truth to overtake error.
/ III hay 'v,ili
but good report viii not leave the gate" one may
wear out his welcome In Japan as in other coun-
tries and the people say that There Is no cor
dality for the too frequent visitor. That one can
rot touch pitch without being dehlcd. they express
| I'm the sentence: Approach too near to ink: you
Will be dyed with H." I'm Rome do Romans
do" has exact counterpart In their lore. so has
! the caution. Walls have ears TO which they add
that doors have eyes. The Greeks explained with
fable the penalty OF unthrift. Fable and moral
are told In n line by the Japanese when they say
that Summer insects are unacquainted with
snow" 4 wise Greek said: call no man happy
until he is deed" and the Japanese have 1t that
ones career l. not finished until the lid IL on ones
coffin. Among the maxims Of the Egyptian Ptah-
Hotcp. most antique OF authors. was this: "Dcspise
not thy neishbor. who Is az thou vast. hut
treat him thy equal Somewhat SIM
liar Is the japanese caution against arrogance:
What Is to-day your neighbours lot. tomorrow
may be your own" The Arabs illustrate the mis-
fortunes OF one who allows himself to be deprived
OF his rights by the example OF the man who was
crowded out OF his tent by his camel The japanese
have the same thought In the expression. "He who
has the shelter of your caves Will claim your dwell
Ing" A famous medical treatise OF the Middle
Ages Issued from the School OF Salerno. began
with the grim assurance that death Is incurabe.
The Japanese deemed the fact worthy Of their orc.
After death medicine" say they, and again:
There Is rescue from all but death" The vox
popu.i vox Del Of the West meets It's like In Japan
where 1.-The peoples mind Is said to be Heavens
mind" The spilled milk Of English and Amer-
can rustic phrase becomes spilled water In the
Japanese proverb. Poor Richard suggested modesty
by limiting that little boats should keep near the
shore The Japanese imply as much by remark
Ing: For a small vessel use small SAIL Hand
some IL that handsome does becomes with them
Good behavior obllterates ugliness" Correspond
ing TO the English saying that Beauty Is only skin
deep" they say Beauty is only one layer For
Enough is M good as n feast they offer the con-
trast TOO much Is as bad as not enough" Love
me little love me long" suggests the thought
which the japanese put In this form. After excess
sive loving Ia hatred a thousand-fod.' stranger
at hand they say. In better than relative afar on
They have epitomzed oil fish stories In the phrase.
1.-The Ash which escapes from the hook Is always
the largest" and have put in a nutshell whole
philosophy with the command. III there 10 anything
BILE to do, do IL Tomorrow.
Two examples In Mr. Ota Masnyoshrs collection
show that the Japanese sometimes make use OF the
triad Known TO the Hebrew wise man. and charac-
ter,stlc OF Welsh antiquity. There are three mis-
fortunes In Ilfe" Ia OF their sayings. "ln youth
TO lose father In middle age the death OF a wife;
In old age to have children" Less perfect In
, form IL the other specimen. But the thre. par
tcu,nrs are obvious In the comparison of the cloud
| that obscurcs the MOON and the wind that blghts
the opening flower. to misfortune. tia. darkcns and
| destroys the life Of The author has answered
the question which was put to him ao TO whether
or not the Japanese had any proverbs from . hint