The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1906-06-13
Proverbs the World Over.

countries, but they are all very much
the same. Identical ideas arising in
\ dependently in widely separated ne
tions are not necessarily EXPRESSED in
intertranslatable forms. They usu-
ally derive, says the London Globe, q
cer,ain quaintness from the manners
and customs Of the people who use
them.
Thus, the old Greek proverb, "The
masters eye makes the horse fat"
has many different >renderings. Tho
Haytians express it with local color
| ing, 1.-THE garden far (from the mas.
ter's house,, tho gumbo spoils.''
| Agaiu, the familiar idea which we set
| forward in the following way, "Tou
can't get blood from stone or from
beet, or breeks from Highlander"
is rendered in the West Indies as
1.-THE pumpkin vine does net yield the
calabash." Even "a regard to the
matter of "going before the break"
the East Indian and the West Indian
have parallel expressions, for where
| the former says Of friend that he
| was ''pinohed," tho latter observes
that they "pressed his tail"
In order to establish the siaterhood
| Of proverbs it is only necessary to
take few touches Of nature which
make the whole world kin and regard
them from the various national as.
poets. The classical but homely
truth, "Drive out nature with a pitch
fork, and she will return" crops out
in many negro tribe in quaint forms,
such ae the following: "a man that
keeps the birds away keeps them
away" The idea conveyed by "He
needs must gcwhom the devil drives"
is universally recognized. Some tribes
put IL, "Tbs stomach has no eara,
Others. "z'he empty bag cannot stand
upright IS
! mne idsa We express in tho words,
"Only the wearer. knows where the
shoe pinches," is conveyed quite as
aptly by the Swahili in his proverb,
"Only tho dead man knows where the
grave is too narrow" Seafaring tribes
say he bottom of the ship knows
best how the sea presses. Our fa-
miliar sayings about running after
two hares'' and failing between two
stools" are again paralleled and cap.
| ped by the Zambesi proverb ''The
rider of two horses splits asunder.''
| This quaintness Of setting forth
often ''goes one better" on our home
| ly proverbs. Our saying "Don't dc
as I do, do as I tell you" is good;
but the Dutch "The monk breaches
| against thieves with the goose in his
larder," or the American ''When the
lawyer gets thefowl Btealer acquitted
he is paid in fowls," is better, bat The
| Spanish plrallel is quaintes. Of all
| t'The friar condemns the thief with the
pudding up his sleeve" Where VIC
say "If You want thing done do i,
| yourself the West Indian gets d
sheae ahead 4ee na With the eA=:es
"send dog, and the dog: will send
his tail" ... !, -. +. s. I; I. (.
! The same advice is given in still
better form BY the Armenian who OBJ
serves, IF You send q messenger on
an errand go with him." And the
astute unbelieving Ohinaman who,
like his proverbiai image maker, puts
no,faith either in the gods or the mes.
sengers of the. gods, '.for. he knows
what they are made off, sums up the
situation in q way that is perhaps as
correct as il is sweeping. ssIf you
want . thing done," he says, 'tge
yourself; If not, send."' !. !, EN- 81 !.
Il There is probably no better provert
in the English: language than ""st;ll
waters run: deep No. other nation
"goes one better" than this, though
many. come near it. The Turk ssya,
ssDistrust the water that doss not war.
I ble,and the bird that does mot ohirp.''''
1 lThis' lacks the element Of paradox
i which occnrs in our English render.
ling: The African parallel has more
Of s,sat element. beware Of the
silent man. it'runs; .'hs has brass
4 band in his mouth = S and d mora
southern tribe puts the idea equally
well in the shape Of .'Silenee hath 9
mighty noise. Z. .5 b; ..s, s
On the subject, / OF woman it eosa
without saying that all The nations oi
| the earth formed the same opinion Of
n the fair sex long, long ago, and up "a
Il tho present none Of them have seen
q any raasontto alter, that opinion, but
\ ahether lhe opinion ins uhich they; all
Il soncnr III b concealed 3or IA aaiyisafed fiu