Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1897-05-20
PROVERBS OF JERUSALEM.
Wise Sayings That Are Common Among
the People of That City.

the People Of That City.
No one knows better than the Bible stu
tents how valuable the proverbs, adages,
,ayings, ETC., of the Arabs are for the un-
ierstanding of the Semitic methods of ex-
pressing thought. In these sayings of the
Arabs there are often side lights on the
proverbial literature of the Bible. Prob
ably the most valuable new collection of
proverbs of this kind that has appeared
for years has been published in the Zeit-
schrift of the German Palestine society
volume 19). The author is Mrs. Lydia
Einsler, who all her life has lived in Je-
rusalem, and gives collection of 206 prov
erbs gathered in her intercourse with the
people of the sacred city and its environs
We quote number as samples:
"Is your friend made of honey, do not
lick him away entirely'-i. e., use a friend
when in need, but do not abuse him.
"a wise enemy is better than a crazy
friend''-i. e., q crazy friend will do you
more harm than wise enemy.
"He who sees his relatives forgets his
friends"-i. e., when in the circle of rela
tives friends are forgotten.
eff your neighbor casts hatred upon you,
change your door to another side of the
house'-i.e., avoid quarrels.
"a house without neighbor is worth q
thousand gold florins."
SEARCH your own house through seven
times before you charge your neighbor
with theft"
"a neighbor who is helpful is better
than brother who is not"
every cock crows loudest on his own
manure pile"
"He has no garments for his legs, but
yet he is decorated with flowers, used of
q vain man.
"Praise nobody unless you have first
tried him."
"The gossip of two people can destroy
two houses.''
| "Sit rather between two women who are
baking bread than between two who are
washing''-i. e., the first will give you
fresh bread, the latter will bespatter you
with water.
"By day she destroys her houses and at
night she burns her OIL" said Of an i'm
practicable woman.
"The thread of diligent woman is as
long as the arm; the thread of the lazy
woman is as long as the body'-i. e., q
diligent woman takes shorter threads In
order to be able to sew more quickly and
more firmly, while lazy woman takes
long threads toavoid the trouble of thread
ing the needle.
"She now has house and nail in tht
WALL" used of person of lower social or
der who has attained to higher, especial
ly of poor woman who has married {
wealthy husband "a nail in the WALL
is representative of hrmness and the pos
session of property. (Cf. Ezra ix, s; Isa
xxi, 23-25.)
"The family that has educated me ha
never deserted me nor withdrawn from
mel. G., nome is the best.
"Do good and you will reap good re
suits"
"Do good and cast it upon the ocean,
l. e., do good without any hope of reward
"After they have been bitten they tax
care of themselyes''-i. e., a burned chill,
fears the fire.
1--WE can get nothing without paymen
except blindness and Deafness"
"Rather spit ON the hand than kiss it,
i e., have self respect and work.
"Take caro- that you may not with you
tongue cut 7 your head"-i. G., that L.
inconsiderate words you may bring evi
, upon yourself.
"The offal of your farmhouse Is bette
than the wheat of strangers.
"Try to teach one advanced in year
: wisdom is just like whipping an asst
e., nothing is accomplished.
ga single borrowed seed can destroy
fjeld'-i. O.. a farmer who hecins to hnl