The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1896-01-16
CRISP FORMS OF THOUGHT.
SOLOMON AND UPPER TWISTED
TO SUIT 4 MODERN TRADE.

,r.ha Masses. Even che Work of the
Missionaries Are Grist in the Mill-
The, Are poached Upon by Authors
and Ad.ertisers.
Who,.rr Solomon invented ali Ms prov
cribs or gathered them from many sources
with q nj >ruS- Of permanent W"f'h
than Mir. Topper exercised IN his later
compendium ! aud over will be an open
question. Soiomon's copyright ran out
long before Tupper's time. and both are
now poached upon with IMMUNITY ~ ali
classes. from authors 10 advertisers, But
taken by themselves. proverbs Well repay
careful study. Students OF ethno'oGy
ind in the proverbs IF the different races
the dearest proofs OF their real character
istics. for they are the s~hrewdest aud Yet
most intimate expressions Of their daily
life.
Judged b. the comparison Of these
homely sayings it will he found that all
nations are OF one kindred, possessing
common needs, comruOn aspirations, aud
seeking similar %relleis from toll and labor.
On the busiest shelves OF our libraries
may be found collections Of all the prov
cribs Of tAc different nations. quite n
large proportion Of the work having re
suited from the interest which missiun-
aries have taken in their earnest studies
of the uncivilized peoples whom they seek
TO instruct. That the shrewd savings OF
the Scotch or the bright hits of the Irish
should be carefully collected gives little
cause for surprise; but Il collection ~
Abyssinian proverbs. of those Of the
Tamil language. Of lcelandic lore, Of the
Sanscrit, South Sea Island, Chinese, ana
HottentOt Solomous does excite curiosity.
The missionaries have found it a pleasant
as well as a profitable task. II delyeo
deep into the idioms of the language, tells
with unerrlng accuracy tire mental ten
dency of the people, and by introducing
the foreigner into the inner thought OF
both home and trade shows him the real
life Of those who adopt them as every
day expressions.
1t is impossible TO read the e ll-collated
proverbs OF the Chinese without realizing
that a home life exists in that hoWery
kingdom which rivals that of many more
civilized countries. No Solomon, no de-
sceuduut of Abraham, could eclipse the
trade proverbs Of tine Chinese. They
touch IN trade with d ~keenness and thor
oughness which proves them to be mas
ters in that school. The baser life of the
80 JUS MI tEE VI Al4t AINAA
the independent spirit of the Briton, are
all crystallizci il their national proverbs.
In England and many other countries it
was formerly very usual for a tradesman
10 select some proverb as his motto, and
thus post his PRINCIPLES plainly over his
SHOP door. II remained. however, for an
American house to appropriate the pro
VERBS Of the world On maasp. and use them
for their own advancement. New Workers
who ride on the elevated roads, or people
who in less favored localities still jog
along in the slow street cars. are familiar
with the blue and white proverbs which
proclaim the merits of Sapolio to the
world. Every omnibus in London and al
most every tram car in England is SIM
ilarly adorned.
They made their first appearance on the
Broadway Olnnibuses, were gathered out
of over 1000 pages Of the worlds collie
tons. and twisted to suit the case. Many
of them are beyond easy recognition IN
their new dress. many are entirely crig-
incl, hut these are also printed between in
rerted commas, which lends a glamour of
antiquity 10 them. To-day we are told
that over 10000 of these blue cards are
displayed in public cOnycyances carrying
over 6,trO.00O passengers daily.
Condensed thought generally requires
padding to make it Ineligible to the
mass JiHt is nv htliLdCI VI tEc morse
must be di>tended with hay to make the
oats digest readily; but with proverbs it
is quite otherwise. Their popularity is
only reached because they have passed
muster as being clear 10 every mind. They
tell their story with n directness and
b%revity which p%leascs the public. ns the
dictionary did the old Scotch woman
THEY air brow stories" she said. "but
unco' short Turned to tell the practical
story of Sapolio. they often acquire new
interest. Who reads the advice. BE pa
tent and you will have patient children"
without an innate respect for the advice
which follows. not to fret over house
cleaning. but do it easily with Sapolio?
And who can repress a smile when the
Sapohonic artist pictures the patient
father and the impatient twins defying the
proverb? But the mother will be back