The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-04-03
JAPANESE PROVERBS.
Mikado's Subjects Are Philosophers
and Very Fond OF Argument.
ONew York Glob'

tNeW AOrk 6lODe-l
Ran yori stroke"
Those three words attach te some OF the
war dispatches. What do they signify2
Simply that the dispatch TO which they
are appended may be depended on veri-
riable Ran yori stroke means. literally,
Proof beyond dispute" II is a japanese
pToNerb. The japanese are a nation of
philosophers. and exceedingly fond OF ar
gument. This not infrequenty becomes
exceeding verbose. and IL becomes neces-
sary 20 subscribe this endorsement
Hence in sending a telegram the oper-
ator Is accustomed TO cite his acquaint-
ance with the fact OF the contents OF the
message by adding the three words
The japanese are "A proyerb loving. com
Inunistic people Their language delights
in multitude Of pthy and picturesque
expressions, and il is their great pleasure
20 exchange proverbial philosophy amonS
themselves In their conversation And
proverb. aptiy used. is held 70 carry en-
phasis and put an end To all that Is con-
trovcrsiak
some OF these proverbs are very orig
inal. Thus they speak Of a diliEent per-
son. and particularly dihgent soldier,
as zone who breaks ones bones.
vain person Is s'the creature with a high
nose" If a soldier has distinguished
himself by his bravery-and for that mat
ter il such acts have signalized the eN-
ertions Of anyOne-he is said to have "a
large spleen while one who is lacking
in courage is described as "a creature
with no stomach" After a battle the
question luppermOSt in the minds or all Is
How did the soldiers carry their stOna-
achs?' Ig one sets himself up as "A critic
and makes a specially OF finding fault
with others. he is said to be "one who is
looking for the holes" If one undertakes
TO relate "A war incidcnt-and Is slow and.
crippled of speech. he is said to be the
heavy mouther.' while, on the other
hand. " his auditors are obtuse and
tardy OF comprehension. they are said
TO possess Ear away ears.
Although colored by their Oriental i'm
agery, many Of their proverbs convey
much the same line of thought that is
NHanHs 10 Il
but the shell is greatly different We
say. for instance. Too many cooks spoil
the BROTH The japanese are nation
OF boatmen. and so they say. Too MANY
boatmen will run the boat on the NOM
tain. In Il country where irrigation is
a necessary part Of agriculture, He is
field" takes the place of our own familiar
He has an AK to grind or He feathers.
his own nest If we say Like pouring
water on "A ducks back the Japanese
transforms it into Like an east wind
blowing into the ear of horse, or
Like throwing water into the face OF a
frog. similar idea IS conveyed in the
proverb. Like splitting into the sky"
selves with repeating that Accidents Will
happen in the best regulated families
The Japanese is as philosophical and as
comforting when he says. Even mon
Key viii sometimes tumble from tree.
Somewhat akin to our rude Go the whole
hog or nothing is their saying. III you
eat poison Hex the platter
A narrow minded person is spoken of
as The creature who looks at the heav-
ems through tube" a miser is described
as The man who grasps millet with n
wet hand. The poor relation is
common visitor in the land of the rising
sun. and there Is. therefore a natural
origin for the DrOYerb. Like our visiting
friend. who sends us his plate the third
time. stealthily. There els an Unborn
disposition IN the mind of the japanese
TO poke fun at poor relations and coun-
try cousins: but at the same time no one
is quicker 10 recognize merit And 10
fnh i'm T. rod MA
antry to tie a proVerb. Thus, If YOU were
IN Toxic at this time and were discussing
some army or naval officer of distinction.
the height of praise that could be eX-
tended TO him would be in saying. He
is one who. IL YOU ask him for chisel.
VIII bring mallet also or His ham
mer always has handle TO it."
r.. Perhaps the person under discussion
may be young. In such case your Japan
csc friend viii dryly remark Even
demon is In his prime at IS Venture to
discuss tho Russian soldiers. or any other
persons TO whose welfare the islander is
indifferent; and he will say with his eX-
prcssive "Hat' Tia, that is like a fire
on the other side of the river" Repeat
to him some current St Petersburg or
Picking gossip. and n he does not put any
stock I'm IL and is skeptical he gives tone
To his idea of the weakness OF human.
nature by using this familiar Droverb:
, Tho decisions Of he'll are according to a
mans money. YOU know" 1t may be that
YOU are seeking Information and make
an apology for asking FOR il. The retOrt
- sharp reproof that one is slow to
forget. "Ha. is the reply. You know
TO ask question Is the shame OF a mo-
ment and not to ask is the shame of a
whole lifetime. The Jap enjoys answer
ing questions but ne has a habit an his
own Of remOdeling and tampering with
his reply, and then Of making it pro-
For instance, once asked n gentleman
II Philadelphia-made locomotive was
intended for a certain railroad. He an
swered by telling me that the engine was
made i'm Philadelphia; that il was brought
over on such and such steamer. that
It's gauge was so many inches. and that
the gauge of the road was the same.
Then he added: 1T will be like a cat
locked in a cellar. In fine. all this YER
b0sity signified the affirmative. Instead
OF saying eS,' the man delighted in the
AS they have modified Buddhism until
il stands as an ineXtricable muddle in
consequence Of repeated innovations. so
they enjoy making over the Bible and
its doctrines western political ideas
and their applications Ii is really be-
wtidertng as TO the number Of amend
mcnts that the native intellect suggested
20 us when We taught the Ten Com
mandments respecting idOlatry. profan-
tty. tFeft, homicide and fiual respect
Withaut question or bubble. But in
regard 90 the Sabbath they thought that
II bad ought 10 be "a jolly good holiday 80
and insisted that the structures on carnal
pleasures should be seased up to the cir
cumstanees.' In regard TO Speaking the
truth they were happy and free I'm rem
dering our proverb that Truth is "A
leWei uN \ IdlSenOO0 Is black mud ~
But after that they mOdestly intimated
that the capacity of taking in a man
denoted mental acumen Of high order.
rather than any evidence Of moral degen-
Grafton. And when il came TO the tenth
commandment all with one accord agreed
that IL must be considered as a moral
curiosity. theoretical iu the extreme. but
altogether too high flown for human ma
ture. Then, aptly, the listeners quoted
the text about "coveting earnestly the
best gifts" and naivelv remarked that
they did not care for the wife. servants
or cattle Of their neighbors but thought
that port privileges and concessions ON
the coast were of the character of "thc
best gifts"
Knew His Limit.