The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1899-03-12
POPULAR PROVERBS.
SOME THAT ARE FAIRLY 6RIMFUL OF
A5SuRDITY.

40 q AAASbdhOh nOlAOh 0UAOft0y
says writer in London Tit-Bits that
proverbs are epitomes of wisdom, the
concentrated experience of generations,
and that to quote one of them in dis
cussiOn Ia to advance an unanswerable
argument. And yet what is theSe to
recommend many of them beyond their
jingle? Take our familiar friend:
Early to Bed and Early to Rise. Makes
Man Healthy, Wealthy and Wise. -
Obviously, the main idea was to find a
word to orhyme with rise. and wise"
was the unfortunate word chosen. And
now, trustful little boys are persuaded
to go to bed at unreasonably early hours
in the hope of becoming a sort of San
dow -Rotnschild-S Solomon, though we
all know milkmen and market garden
ers who get up at ) a. n. and are nei
ther rich nor clever. and members of
parliament who go to bed late and are,
if not clever. at least not poor and in
firm. Since the invention of gas and
electric light this ridiculous old proverb
has outlived its original modicum of
truth, and proves we must not venerate
proverbs on account Cf their hoary an
tiquity
The Early Bird Catches the Worm. =
The mistake made here is that it assumes
we are all birds. But some of us are
worms If we were not. what would
become of the birds? And. therefore.
while the birds do well to 6e early, let
the worms be late-the later the better.
The Pitcher That Goes Oft to the Well
Is Broken at Last. - Note, it does not say
lis broken first but sis broken at
last. OF course. every pitcher, wheth-
er it goes to the well or stays on the
shelf. is broken at last. and the only re-
suit of this absurd proverb is to encour-
age lazy folk to do as little work as pos
sible and unnecessarily keep out of
harm $ way.
If You Want Thing Well Done. Do
1t Yourself. There's shocking bad adj
vice with which to start youth on
life's journey. If he wants button
we'll sewed on, he's to do it himself; if
he wants his hair well cut. he's to cut
it himself He must mend his own
chairs. shoe his own nag, darn his own
socks. In short, from buying horse to
blacking his boots, he must do it him
self Poor fellow,
A Contented Mind Is a Continual
Feast. J y one say what that
meansg Does 1 mean that the owner
continually feasts on his contented mind
or that the contented mind is contin-
ually feasting? Probably the latter, as
we sometimes hear that "a hungry
mans an angry man. and we all know
that a satisfied appetite is the source of
contentmeQt. Hence it is not the con-
| 81, ,n
the silly proverb implies, but the con-
tinual feast which produces the con
tented mind
There's No Rule Without an Excep-
tion.-This Is not only proverb; it Is
also rulc Bat obviously there is no
exception to this rule. because if there
were Il r,1le with an exception this
proberb would he untrue. But the PROV
erb IS Il rule which has no exception,
which, as Mr.. Euclid would say. is ab-
surd Which was to be shown.
Where Ignorance Is Bliss, 'Tis Folly
to 81 Wise For oracular stupidity
this provcrb may be classed with the
one about the pitcher. Granting it true,
the difficulty is t. know where igno-
rance is bliss and of course the prov
tiD gives ilO ai1>lSlt4liAt W IL II 10
most needed. Most people quote it as
''igEorIn"c IS bliss, % in their blissful
ignorance, but If a proverb gives rise
to error it is not only absurd it is also
dangerous. When people say
a Little Learning Is a Dangerous
Thing-They make that reason not
for learning more, but for learning less.
Love Me. Love My Dog.-If l go
accounting, and my ladylove bids me love
her scented, dyspeptic poodle, which is
not necessary to her health and comfort,
must | not much more love her glass
y eye and false teeth and hair. which are !!
Yet common sense revOlts at the notion,
and l therefore assume that proverb
which, logically treated, makes such
J unreasonable demands on my affections
is wrong and absurd.
Seeing Is Believing. How can any re-
) fiecting person repeat these words? For
very often we believe we see what real
ly we do not. If conjurer We're to take
this pr0yerb as his motto every one
would see its ahsurdity. y straight
stick half Submerged III water looks
crooked. Fortunate IL, another proverb
; say~, Trust not to appearances. And
: thiS bring as to the exquisite abSurdity
/ of popular proverbs which run in con-
Trajectory ..irs and support both sid
Of an @ryuu l- Ihls one pruverbsavs.
.'Lu0G baice r.u leap: uEatuer.
"N'Eo h Sometimes We
aa.r h.e '@ae.aj th11eht; an, hast;''
at o-2-r tiI-as tart d. 'g are ,a-l ser
pns. The desperate f...a relies on
r-ololLE venture. Il t.G.e t...ge- the