The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-07-26
FROI' RRS,
(Continued from Fourth page,l

N-N'fNAAI''~N '+ S''i T. Nhi LII L-dSts)
 enoed. They ought to be, for they rep resent all countries, people and lan- guages, and the character or nation cannot be more easily discerned than
 by study of its proverbs. Thus the cunning and selfishness of Italy can- not be shown to better advantage than
 by the proverb Eat the meat of the nut and give the shell to the Lord"
 The poetry of proverbs adds beauty and grace to what might otherwise be
 considered dry and uninteresting
 From the days of the early Greek and
 Roman bards down to the poets of our
 own time, proverbs have been in con
 stant use and this shows conclusively
 that true students of art and literature realize their importance. Longfellow, our own master of song, used many proverbs in his writings. A very pret-
 ty proverb which is poetical as well, is: Where the bee sucks honey the spider sucks poison" Another: "The morn
 ing hour has gold in its mouth-the
 evening hour has, at the best only sil-
 yer" Better diamond with a flaw
 than a pebble without one,' Is a very poetical proverb.
 The wit of proverbs Is subtle. some
 times scarcely discernible; but if we
 look closely enough we can almost al-
 ways find it, sharp and to the point, in
 nearly every proverb. A witty proverb
 often heard is: That which the fool
 does in the end, the wise man does at
 the beginning" What pity that some
 of the temporary owners of things we
 once cherished could not appreciate the
 following saying and give back our
 stolen goods: That which is another's
 always yearns for its Iord.' A maxim
 that we have all discovered to be very true one is: "A person who tries to serve two masters has to lie to one of them.''
 The wisdom of proverbs has four ished ever since the beginning of the sayings themselves. There are some
 proverbs, 1t is true, that are really not wise. They are rather more shallow and witty than wise; but to live and be-
 come everlasting, proverb must neces- sarily have wisdom. The proverbs of | Solomon are, without doubt, the wisest
 in the world They are the foundation on which our modern proverbs are
 built. A saying that ought to make an impression on the mind of every one is: "Of thine unspoken word thou art mas ter; thy spoken word Is master of thee" How much that means! How many evils might be avoided if everybody kept to the command of that saying. The wisdom and deep thought of pro- verbs is shown in this: "Slt in your | own place, and no man can make you rise" Patience is a virtue, and one | that few people possess; but those who l do have 1t are promised a reward, if
 this proverb Is true. "The world Is his
 who has patience"
 It is very interesting to study the pro-
 verbs of different nations, and one be- | comes, after short time, so accus- toned to the character of different | countries that one knows almost imme- | diately what nation a proverb comes I from. The independence of the United States the cunning of Italy, the poetry | Of spain, the goodnature of Germany and the purity of Greece; all these at tributes may be found In the proverbs of those different countries. One which is, I believe, credited to Italy, has become quite common: Draw the snake from its hole by another mans | hand" Poor Italy is usually given the credit of all the selfish proverbs, but It. | ally must be selfish country or people would not be so willing to believe It. | The character of some German who Is l of selfish nature is shown by the pro- | verb: "Self's the man" One can al most see the sturdy German arguing l with some one who has come to ask aid l for a friend. They stand talking on a street corner near a beer-garden, and at last, as his clinching argument, the l first German puts his hands in his pockets with lordly air and says, "Self's the man" Then he struts off to 1 the beer-garden and orders a glass of beer and some sausages, paying his money with satisfaction, because he be- | lieves that "Selfs the man.
 So many characteristics of country appear in proverbs that one might al- most write volume on them. How I much enjoyment We derive from pro- verbs; how we learn to reverence and | respect them, and with how much re- | gret it is that we leave so many good
 proverbs behind, and bid farewell to | their poetry, wit and wisdom.
 LUCY L. MERRILL.