The Idaho scimitar. [volume] (Boise, Idaho) 1907-1908, 1908-09-05
Women and Proverbs.

from the point Of view of man of the old school
man. that is who believes in the absolute IN
feriority of woman, and in the stern necessity OF
making her know and keep her place, says The
London Globe There is with quite Span
ish air of jealous goalershp, which says that
woman should come but thrice abroad-to be bap-
tied married. and buried Burton quotes it IN his
ANATOMY Of Melancholy" but is obliged to admit
that the philosopher who said it too strait
laced" "Strait- laced" is hardly the adjective that
the modern suffragist would Another of these
masterful, proprietary proverbs is the well known
spaniel wife and walnut tree
The more you beat EN-, the better they be.
Other sayings which reveal masculine contempt
for women are those old saws which reflect upon
the feminine tongue There is the old libel that
three women and one goose make market With
the omission of the goose the sanity George Her
bert gives this choice piece of wisdom in his col
lection of proverbal sayings. In Lancashire they
say, "A womans tongue wags like a lambs ta1r-a
smile which hardly needs comment. Other like ct
forts of proverbia wisdom are "a woman's tongue
is a clapper in the wind" and "a woman's tongue
is the last thing about her that dies" And here is
charming summing up of the whole matter in
rhyme:
Womens tongues, whene'er they talk
Title tattle! title tattle!
Like their pattens when they walk:
Pittle pattle pittle pattle!
The sentiment of this is as out of date
the once familiar patens.
One talking proverb of undoubted truth is that
which says: "a woman may knit knot with
rer tongue she cannot unite with all her teeth"
This was familiar more than three centuries ago,
and may still often be heard in the north espe-
cally in Scotland, with reference to an unwise
inadvisable marriage. 1t is also used quite rightly
of men in the same connection. With regard to
abuse in general of woman's tongue, it is quite
tain, and man may well freely admit charge
which hardly be denied that many of the lords
of creation arrant gosslps as any wearer OF
petticoats Matrimonial proverbs, as whole, bear
marks of masculine authorship, and press rather
hardly the weaker sex. Sayings in praise of
marriage and of the good wife comparatively
rare. However, cupid may be depended upon to
set the proverbs of ill-omen at defiance, as we'll
as the maxims of prudence and forethought that
freely quoted by those who have escaped the
little gods shafts for Love is as warm among
cottagers as courters" and, an Italian saying
has it. "Love can neither be bought sold; its
only price is love-"
Some few sayings treat woman, lovely
an" with absolute contempt From point of
view she is worth just nothing at all. ICONS, sir,
says some in Farquhars old play, Love and
Bottle" ''et her go, and fair radiance! Who
throws away testear and mistress, loses six
pence" and Swift the masterpiece of
proverbal contempt. Of the class, although
little respectful in phraseology, is the old
adage of woman, and therefore to be won"
Shakespeare aludes to this in "Ttus Andronicus,"
where Demetrius says:
She is a woman therefore may be wood;
She is a woman therefore may be won