The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1904-06-01
USE OF THE PROVERB
COMMON TO ALL AGES AND NATIONS
FROM REmoTEsT TIMES.
The Way similar IDEAS Have Taken
Root In Different Lansuages-Prov-
cribs ON Luck Are Numerous and
Expressive In All Countries.

Many proverbs have come down 10
us from remote ages and are common
to all nations. 1t is said that king
of Samos worked bis slaves nearly TO
death in making a vineyard This pro-
voked one of them to prophecy that his
master would never drink OF the wine.
The king. being told of this, when the
first grapes We're produced took hand
ful and, pressing the juice into cup
In the presence Of the slave, derided
him as false prophet. MANY things
happen between the cup and the lip
the slave replied. Just then a shout
was raised that wild boar had bro
ken into the vineyard. The king. with
out tasting, set down the cup, ran to
meet It and was killed in the encoun-
ter
Henceforth the words of the slave
passed into a proverb. From this
Greek original came two French prov
cribs, Between the hand and the mouth
the soup is often split" and wine
poured out Is not swallowed" Neither
is SO near the original as our English,
There's many slip 'twixt cup and
lip"
1t is curious to trace how similar
ideas have taken root in different lam
guages and the various modes of illus
trating the same thought. To take. for
instance, one or two familiar proverbs
in our own language. We say, "a bird
In the hand is worth two in the bush. .,
The same idea is expressed by Italians
when they say, Better an egg today
than pullet tomorrow" and the
French proverb is still more signlfi-
cant, zone here-it-is is better than two
you-shall-have-its." Better a leyeret
In the kitchen than wild boar In the
forest" the Livonian saying, conveys
the same meaning.
A well known proverb is, "where
there's a will there's a way" which
signifies that IL man has but the
resolution he win make use of such
means as come to hand to attain his
object. The French counterpart Of this
says, He that has good bead does
not want for hats" .
The proverbs on luck are numerous
and expressive In all languages. In
English we say, at is better to be born
lucky than rich" The Arabs convey
the same idea in the apt proverb,
Throw him into the Nile and he will
come up with fish In his mouth"
while the Germans say, "If he flung
penny on the roof a dollar would
come back to him" A Spanish prov.
erb says, God send you luck, my son,
and little wit will serve you" There
is a Latin adage, Fortune favors
FOOLS" and it is TO this Tombstone al.
ludes In his reply to Jacques, Call me
not fool till heaven hath sent me for
tune" The Germans say, Jack gets
on by his stupidity" and Fortune and
women are fond of fools" There is
also Latin proverb which shows that
the converse of this holds good-"For-
tune makes fool of him whom she
too much favors."
There is no doubt that much of what
is called success in life depends upon
getting well into the groove" and
keeping there. Some unlucky English
man is responsible for the saying, "If
my father had made me halter, men
would have been born without heads.
but this eau scarcely be called original,
as an unfortunate Arab ages ago de-
clared. IF | were to trade In winding
sheets no one would die" II is to men
of this stamp the French apply the
proverb, Fails on his back and breaks
his nose;" the Italians, HE would
break his neck over straw"
"Misfortunes seldom come singly"
has many equivalents in all languages.
The Spaniards say. Welcome, .misfor-
tune, IL thou contest alone" and "whith.
er goest thou, misfortune-to where
there is moreT The Italians have nu-
merous proverbs In the same strain
''one Ill calls another" "a misfortune
and friar are seldom alone" The
same applies also to good fortune. at
never rains but 1t pours,r or, as the
Arabs say, '1f the wind blows, It en-
tiers at every crevice.' HE that is
down, down with him." has it's coun-
terpart in all countries. "He that falls
all the world runs OVER is the German
mode of saying it, and the Portuguese
proverb runs, "All bite the bitten dog"
while the French equivalent is. when
a dog is drowning. everybody brings
him drink"
But there is Spanish proverb we
shall do well so remember. They say
of tedious writer, HE leaves no ink
in his inkpot." 1t is impossible in an
article of this length to more than
touch the fringe of this wide subject
Referring as they do to almost every
range OF human concern and necessa-
rily associated with the literature of
every period, proverbs have helped to
preserve the memory of events and
IDEAS which otherwise would have been
forgotten. The student will find they
are abundantly capable Of yielding
most Interesting information.
| L0udan Iueideuf