The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1897-05-29
CRISP FORMS OF HOUGHT.
AND TuPPER TWISTED
TO SUIT a MODERN TRADE.
rhe Wisdom of the sages and the Wit
OF the Masses, Even the Work of h
Missionaries, Are Grist in the Mill
They Are Poached Upon by Authors
and A~dyerfisers

of the Masses, even the Work of the
They Are Poached Upon by Authors
and Advertisers.
Whether Solomon invented all his PROV
cribs, or gathered them from many
sources with II nicer sense of permanent
worth than MIR. Topper exercised in his
later compendium, is and ever will be al
open question. Solomon's copyright ran
out long before Tupper's time. ana ooth
are now poached upon with IMMUNITY by
all classes. from authors to advertisers.
But. taken by themselves, proverbs well
repay careful study. Students of ethnol-
ogy find in the proverbs of the dlffefent
races the ~clearest proofs of their real chnr-
acteristics, for they are the shrewdest ana
yet most intimate expressions OF their
daily life.
Judged by tine comparison of these
homely sayings, it will be found that all
nations are of one kindred. possessing
common needs. common aspirations. anu
seeking similar reliefs from toll and Ia
Dor. On the dusticst shelves or our IL
braries may be found collections of all
the proverbs of the different nations,
quite a large proportion of the work hay
ing resulted from the interest which mis-
sionaries 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 col
lection of Abyss.nian proverbs. of those
of the Tamil language, of 1celandic lore,
of the Sanscrit, South Sea Islands, Cmn-
csc, and Hottentot Solomons does excite
curiosity. Thu missionaries have found
it a pleasant as well as n profitable task.
1t dclves deep into the idioms of the Ian
guage, tells with unerring accuracy the
mental tendency of the people, and by in
PRODUCING the foreigner into the inner
thought of both home and trade shows
him the real life of those who adopt them
as everyday expressions.
1t is impossible to read the well-col-
lated proverbs of the Chinese without
realizing that a home life exists in that
fowery kingdom which rivals that of
many more civilized countries. No Solo
mon, no descendant of Abraham, could
eclipse the trade proverbs of the Chinese.
They touch on trade with n keenness and
t~horoughness which proves them to be
masters in that school,. The baser life of
the H%ottentot, the loose morals of the fell
lab, the independent spirit of the Briton,
are all crystallized in their national prov
CRIBS.
In England and many other countries
it was formerly very usual for a trades
man to select some proyerh as his motto,
and thus post his principles plainly over
his shop door. 1t remained, however, for
an American house TO appropriate the
proverbs of the world en- masse and use
them for their own advancement. New
Workers who ride on the elevated roads,
or people who il Jess favored localities
still jog along in the slow street cars, are
familiar with the blue md white proverbs
which proclaim the merits of Sapolio to
the world. Every omnibus in london and
almost every tram car" in England is
similarly adorned.
They made their first appearance on the
Broadway o~mnibuses, were gathered out
of over 1000 pages of the worlds collec-
lions, and twisted to suit tae case. Many
are beyond easy recognition in their
new dress, many are entirely original, but
these are also printed between inverted
commas, which lend a glamour of anti
guilty to them. To-day we are told that
over 10000 of these blue cards are dis,
played in public c~onveyances carrying
over 100000 passengers daily.
Condensed thought generally requires
padding to make ii 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 ii
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 brev.
ity which plcases the public, as the die.
tionary did the old Scotch woman-'.They
air Draw Stories" she said, but unco'
short Turned 10 tell the practical story
of Sapolio, they often acquire new inter
est. Who reads the advice. "Ry patient
and you will have patient children" with.
out 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 Sapolionic
artist pictures the patient father and the