Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1896-01-15
CRISP FORMS OF THOUGHT.
SOLOMON AND UPPER TWISTED
TO SUIT A MODERN TRADE.

The Wisdom of the Sages and the Wit
of the Masses, Even the Work of the
Missionaries, Are Grist in the Mill
They Are Poached Upon by Authors
and Advertisers.
Whether Solomon invented all his prov
cribs or gathered them from many sources
with a nicer sense of permanent worth
than Mr. Upper exercised in his later
compendium is and ever will be an open
question. Solomon's copyright ran out
long before Tupper's time, and both are
now poached upon with impunity by all
classes, from authors to advertisers. But,
taken by themselves, proverbs we'll repay
careful study. Students of ethnology
find in the proverbs of the different races
the dearest proofs of their real character
istics, for they are the shrewdest and yet
most intimate expressions Of their daily
life.
Judged by the comparison of these
homely sayings it will be found that all
nations are of one kindred, possessing
common needs, common aspirations, and
seeking similar relIefs from toll and labor.
On the busiest shelves of our libraries
may be found collections of all the prov
cribs of the different nations, quite a
large proportion of the work having re-
suited from the interest which mission
aries have taken in their earnest studies
of the unciVilized peoples whom they seek
to instruct. That the shreWd sayings of
the Scotch or the bright hits of the Irish
should be carefully collected gives little
cause for surprise; but q collection of
Abysslnlan proverbs, of those of the
Tamil language, of Icelandic lore of the
Sanscrit, South Sea Island Chinese, and
HottentOt Solomons does excite curiosity.
The missionaries nave found it pleasant
as we'll as a profitable task 1t delyes
deep into the idioms of the language, tells
with unerrlng accuracy the 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 wel-collated
proverbs of the Chinese without realizing
that a home life exists in that fowery
kingdom which rivals that of many more
civilized countries. No Solomon, no de-
scendant of Abraham, could eclipse the
trade proverbs Of the Chinese They
touch on trade with keenness and thor
oughness which proves them to be mas
ters in that school. The baser life of the
Hottentot, the loose morals of the fellah,
the independent spirit of the Briton, are
all crystalliZed in their national proverbs.
In England and many other countries it
was formerly very usual for q tradeSman
to select some proverb as his motto, and
thus post his principles plainly over his
shop door. 1t remained. however, for an
American house to appropriate the pro-
verbs or the world en- masSe, 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 omnibuses, were gathered out
of over 1000 pages of the worlds collec
GonS, and twisted to suit the case Many
of them are beyond easy recognition in
their new dress, many are entirely orig
In9l, but these are also printed between IN
verted commas, which lends glamour of
antiquity to them. To-day we are told
that over 100000 of these blue cards are
displayed in public conveyances carrying
over 100000 passengers daily.
Condensed thought generally requires
padding to, make it Ineligible to the
masses, just as the stomach of the horse
must be distended 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 to every mind. They
tell their story with a directness and
brevity which pleases the public, as the
dictionary did the old Scotch woman
''They air Draw 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
tient 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 smile when the
Sapolonic artist pictures the patient
fatherand the impatient twins defying the
proverb? But the mother will be back
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