FOOTNOTES:

FOOTNOTES:[392]Il y a fagots et fagots.[393]Algo va de Pedro a Pedro.[394]Chi asino è, e cervo si crede, al salto del fosso se ne avvede.[395]Doctor Luthers Schuhe sind nicht allen Dorfpriestern gerecht.[396]De beste stuurlieden staan aan land.[397]Chi non ha moglie, hen la batte; chi non ha figliuoli, ben gli pasce.

[392]Il y a fagots et fagots.

[393]Algo va de Pedro a Pedro.

[394]Chi asino è, e cervo si crede, al salto del fosso se ne avvede.

[395]Doctor Luthers Schuhe sind nicht allen Dorfpriestern gerecht.

[396]De beste stuurlieden staan aan land.

[397]Chi non ha moglie, hen la batte; chi non ha figliuoli, ben gli pasce.

Charity begins at home.

This is literally true in the most exalted sense. The best of men are those

"Whose circling charities beginWith the few loved ones Heaven has placed them near,Nor cease till all mankind are in their sphere."

"Whose circling charities begin

With the few loved ones Heaven has placed them near,

Nor cease till all mankind are in their sphere."

It is only in irony, or by an odious abuse of its meaning, that the proverb is ever used as an apology for that sort of charity which not only begins at home, but ends there likewise. The egotist holds that "Self is the first object of charity" (Latin).[398]"Every one has his hands turned towards himself" (Polish).

The priest christens his own child first.Every man draws the water to his own mill.

The priest christens his own child first.

Every man draws the water to his own mill.

"Every cow licks her own calf." "Every old woman blows under her own kettle" (both Servian). "Every one rakes the embers to his own cake" (Arab).

Every one for himself, and God for us all.Let every tub stand on its own bottom.Let every sheep hang by its own shank.Let every herring hang by its own gills.Ilka man for his ain hand, as John Jelly fought.—Scotch.

Every one for himself, and God for us all.

Let every tub stand on its own bottom.

Let every sheep hang by its own shank.

Let every herring hang by its own gills.

Ilka man for his ain hand, as John Jelly fought.—Scotch.

James Kelly gives this explanation of the last proverb: "As two men were fighting, John Jelly, going by, made up fiercely to them. Each of them asked him which he was for: he answered for his own hand, and beat them both." Sir Walter Scott puts aside John Jelly's claims to the authorship of this saying, and assigns it to Harry Smith in the following passage of "The Fair Maid of Perth." After the fight between the clans at the North Inch, Black Douglas says to the smith,—

"'If thou wilt follow me, good fellow, I will change thy leathern apron for a knight's girdle, thy burgage tenement for an hundred-pound-land to maintain thy rank withal.'

"'I thank you humbly, my lord,' said the smith dejectedly, 'but I have shed blood enough already; and Heaven has punished me by foiling the only purpose for which I entered the contest.'

"'How, friend?' said Douglas. 'Didst thou not fight for the Clan Chattan, and have they not gained a glorious conquest?'

"'I fought for my own hand,' said the smith indifferently; and the expression is still proverbial in Scotland—meaning, 'I did such a thing for my own pleasure, not for your profit.'"

Let every man skin his own skunk.—American.

The skunk stinks ten thousand times worse than a polecat. "Let every one carry his own sack to the mill" (German).[399]"Let every fox take care of his own tail" (Italian).[400]

Self do, self have.

Analogous to this manly proverb, as it seems to me, is that Dutch one, "Self's the man."[401]which Dean Trench has stigmatised as merely selfish.

The tod [fox] ne'er sped better than when he went his ain errand.—Scotch.The miller ne'er got better moulter [toll] than he took wi' his ain hands.—Scotch.If you would have your business done, go; if not, send.If you would have a thing well done, do it yourself.Ilka man's man had a man, and that made the Treve fa'.—Scotch.

The tod [fox] ne'er sped better than when he went his ain errand.—Scotch.

The miller ne'er got better moulter [toll] than he took wi' his ain hands.—Scotch.

If you would have your business done, go; if not, send.

If you would have a thing well done, do it yourself.

Ilka man's man had a man, and that made the Treve fa'.—Scotch.

The Treve was a strong castle built by Black Douglas. The governor left the care of it to a deputy, and he to an under-deputy, through whose negligence the castle was taken and burned. "The master bids the man, and the man bids the cat, and the cat bids its tail" (Portuguese).[402]General Sir Charles Napier, speaking of what happened during his temporary absence from the government of Corfu, says, "How entirely all things depend on the mode of executing them, and how ridiculous mere theories are! Mysuccessor thought, as half the world always thinks, that a man in command has only to order, and obedience will follow. Hence they are baffled, not from want of talent, but from inactivity, vainly thinking that while they spare themselves every one under them will work like horses."

Trust not to another for what you can do yourself.

"Let him that has a mouth not say to another, Blow" (Spanish).[403]

The master's eye will do more work than both his hands.

"If you have money to throw away, set on workmen and don't stand by" (Italian);[404]for

When the cat's away the mice will play.The eye of the master fattens the steed.The master's eye puts mate on the horse's bones.—Ulster.

When the cat's away the mice will play.

The eye of the master fattens the steed.

The master's eye puts mate on the horse's bones.—Ulster.

"The answers of Perses and Libys are worth observing," says Aristotle. "The former being asked what was the best thing to make a horse fat, answered, 'The master's eye;' the other being asked what was the best manure, answered, 'The master's footsteps.'" The Spaniards have naturalised this last saying among them.[405]Aulus Gellius tells a story of a man who, being asked why he was so fat, and the horse he rode was so lean, replied, "Because I feed myself, and my servant feeds my horse."

He that owns the cow goes nearest her tail.—Scotch.Let him that owns the cow take her by the tail.

He that owns the cow goes nearest her tail.—Scotch.

Let him that owns the cow take her by the tail.

In some districts formerly the cattle used to suffer greatly from want of food in winter and the early months of spring, before the grass had begun to grow. Sometimes a cow would become so weak from inanition as to be unable to rise if she once lay down. In that case it was necessary to lift her up by means of ropes passed under her, and, above all, by pulling at her tail. This part of the job being the most important, was naturally undertaken by the owner of the animal.

A man is a lion in his own cause.No man cries stinking fish.

A man is a lion in his own cause.

No man cries stinking fish.

On the contrary, every man tries to set off his wares to the best advantage, to make the most of his own case, &c. "Every one says, 'I have right on my side'" (French).[406]Æsop's currier maintained that for fortifying a town there was "nothing like leather." "Every potter praises his pot, and all the more if it is cracked" (Spanish).[407]"'Tis a mad priest who blasphemes his relics" (Italian).[408]"Ask the host if he has good wine" (Italian).[409]One canny Scot compliments another with the remark,—

Ye'll no sell your hens on a rainy day;

for then the drenched feathers, sticking close to the skin, give the poor things a lean and miserable appearance.

It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest.He was scant o' news that tauld his feyther was hangit.—Scotch.They're scarce of news that speak ill of their mother.—Ulster.

It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest.

He was scant o' news that tauld his feyther was hangit.—Scotch.

They're scarce of news that speak ill of their mother.—Ulster.

Why wantonly proclaim one's own disgrace, or expose the faults or weaknesses of one's kindred or people? "If you have lost your nose put your hand before the place" (Italian).[410]Napoleon I. used to say, "People should wash their foul linen in private." It is a necessary process, but there is no need to obtrude it on public notice. English writers often quote this maxim of the great emperor, but always mistranslate it.Il faut laver son linge sale en familleis one of those idiomatic phrases which cannot be perfectly rendered in another tongue. Our version of it comes near to its meaning, which is quite lost in that which is commonly given, "People should wash their foul linen at home." The point of the proverb lies in the privacy it enjoins, and this might equally be secured whether the linen was washed at home or sent away to the laundress's.En familleandat homeare not mutually equivalent; the former means more than the latter. We may say of a man who entertains a large dinner party in his own house, that he dines at home, but not that he dinesen famille.

No one knows where the shoe pinches so well as he that wears it.I wot weel where my ain shoe binds me.—Scotch.

No one knows where the shoe pinches so well as he that wears it.

I wot weel where my ain shoe binds me.—Scotch.

Erskine used to say that when the hour came that all secrets should be revealed we should know the reason why—shoes are always too tight. The authorship of this proverb is commonly ascribed to Æmilius Paulus; but the story told by Plutarch leaves it doubtful whether Æmilius used a known illustration or invented one. The relations of his wife remonstrated with him on his determination to repudiate her, she being an honourable matron, against whom no fault could be alleged. Æmilius admitted the lady's worth; but, pointing to one of his shoes, he asked the remonstrants what they thought of it. They thought it a handsome, well-fitting shoe. "But none of you," he rejoined, "can tell where it pinches me."

The heart knoweth its own bitterness.—Solomon.

"To every one his own cross seems heaviest" (Italian);[411]but "The burden is light on the shoulders of another" (Russian); and "One does not feel three hundred blows on another's back" (Servian). "Another's care hangs by a hair" (Spanish).[412]"Another's woe is a dream" (French).[413]Rochefoucauld has had the credit of saying, "We all have fortitude enough to endure the woes of others;" but it is plain from thisand other examples that he was not the sole author of "Rochefoucauld's Maxims."

"The case is altered," quoth Plowden.

Edmund Plowden, an eminent lawyer in Queen Elizabeth's time, was asked by a neighbour what remedy there was in law against the owner of some hogs that had trespassed on the inquirer's ground. Plowden answered he might have very good remedy. "Marry, then," said the other, "the hogs are your own." "Nay, then, neighbour, the case is altered," quoth Plowden. Others, says Ray, with more probability make this the original of the proverb:—"Plowden being a Roman Catholic, some neighbours of his who bare him no good-will, intending to entrap him and bring him under the lash of the law, had taken care to dress up an altar in a certain place, and provided a layman in a priest's habit, who should say mass there at such a time. And, withal, notice thereof was given privately to Mr. Plowden, who thereupon went and was present at the mass. For this he was presently accused and indicted. He at first stands upon his defence, and would not acknowledge the thing. Witnesses are produced, and among the rest one who deposed that he himself performed the mass, and saw Mr. Plowden there. Saith Plowden to him, 'Art thou a priest, then?' The fellow replied, 'No.' 'Why, then, gentlemen,' quoth he, 'the case is altered: no priest, no mass,' which came to be a proverb, and continues stillin Shropshire with this addition—'The case is altered,' quoth Plowden: 'no priest, no mass.'"

That's Hackerton's cow.

This is a proverb of the Scotch, and they tell a story about it similar to the first of the two above related of Plowden. Hackerton was a lawyer, whose cow had gored a neighbour's ox. The man told him the reverse. "Why, then," said Hackerton, "your ox must go for my heifer—the law provides that." "No," said the man, "your cow killed my ox." "The case alters there," said Hackerton. Many a one exclaims in secret with the Spaniard, "Justice, but not brought home to myself!"[414]"Nobody likes that" (Italian).[415]

Close sits my shirt, but closer my skin.

That is, I love my friends well, but myself better; or, my body is dearer to me than my goods.

Near is my petticoat, but nearer is my smock.

Some friends are nearer to me than others. There are many proverbs in various languages similar to the last two in meaning and in form, but with different terms of comparison. They are all modelled upon the Latin adage, "The tunic is nearer than the frock."[416]

FOOTNOTES:[398]Prima sibi charitas.[399]Trage Jeder seinem Sack zur Mülle.[400]Ogni volpe habbia cura della sua coda.[401]Zelf is de Man.[402]Manda o amo ao moço, o moço ao gato, e o gato ao rabo.[403]Quien tiene boca no diga á otro, sopla.[404]Chi ha quattrini a buttar via, metti operaji, e non vi stia.[405]El pie del dueño estiercol para la heredad.[406]Chacun dit, "J'ai bon droit."[407]Cada ollero su olla alaba, y mas el que la tiene quebrada.[408]Matto è quel prete chi bestemma le sue reliquie.[409]Dimanda al hosto s'egli ha buon vino.[410]Se tu hai meno il naso, ponviti una mano.[411]Ad ognuno par più grave la croce sua.[412]Cuidado ageno de pelo cuelga.[413]Mal d'autrui n'est que songe.[414]Justicia, mas no por mi casa.[415]A nessuno piace la giustizia a casa sua.[416]Tunica pallio propior.

[398]Prima sibi charitas.

[399]Trage Jeder seinem Sack zur Mülle.

[400]Ogni volpe habbia cura della sua coda.

[401]Zelf is de Man.

[402]Manda o amo ao moço, o moço ao gato, e o gato ao rabo.

[403]Quien tiene boca no diga á otro, sopla.

[404]Chi ha quattrini a buttar via, metti operaji, e non vi stia.

[405]El pie del dueño estiercol para la heredad.

[406]Chacun dit, "J'ai bon droit."

[407]Cada ollero su olla alaba, y mas el que la tiene quebrada.

[408]Matto è quel prete chi bestemma le sue reliquie.

[409]Dimanda al hosto s'egli ha buon vino.

[410]Se tu hai meno il naso, ponviti una mano.

[411]Ad ognuno par più grave la croce sua.

[412]Cuidado ageno de pelo cuelga.

[413]Mal d'autrui n'est que songe.

[414]Justicia, mas no por mi casa.

[415]A nessuno piace la giustizia a casa sua.

[416]Tunica pallio propior.

Throw in a sprat to catch a salmon.To give an apple where there is an orchard.The hen's egg aft gaes to the ha'To bring the guse's egg awa'.—Scotch.

Throw in a sprat to catch a salmon.

To give an apple where there is an orchard.

The hen's egg aft gaes to the ha'

To bring the guse's egg awa'.—Scotch.

"He gives an egg to get a chicken" (Dutch).[417]"Giving is fishing" (Italian).[418]"To one who has a pie in the oven you may give a bit of your cake" (French).[419]

Have a horse of thine own, and thou may'st borrow another's.—Welsh.

"People don't give black-puddings to one who kills no pigs" (Spanish).[420]In Spain it is usual, when a pig is killed at home, to make black-puddings, and give some of them to one's neighbours. There is thrift in this; for black-puddings will not keep long in thatclimate, and each man generally makes more than enough for his own consumption. "People lend only to the rich" (French).[421]"People give to the rich, and take from the poor" (German).[422]"He that eats capon gets capon" (French).[423]

He that has a goose will get a goose.When the child is christened you may have godfathers enough.

He that has a goose will get a goose.

When the child is christened you may have godfathers enough.

Offers of service abound when a man no longer needs them. "When our daughter is married sons-in-law turn up" (Spanish).[424]

When I am dead make me caudle.When Tom's pitcher is broken I shall get the sherds.

When I am dead make me caudle.

When Tom's pitcher is broken I shall get the sherds.

Tom's generosity is like the charity of the Abbot of Bamba, who "Gives away for the good of his soul what he can't eat" (Spanish).[425]The dying bequest of another worthy of the same nation is proverbial. One of his cows had strayed away and been long missing. His last orders were, that if this cow were found it should be for his children; if otherwise, it should be for God. Hence the proverb, "Let that which is lost be for God."

They are free of fruit that want an orchard.They are aye gudewilly o' their horse that hae nane.—Scotch.

They are free of fruit that want an orchard.

They are aye gudewilly o' their horse that hae nane.—Scotch.

Their good-natured willingness to lend it is remarkable. "No one is so open-handed as he who has nothing to give" (French).[426]"He that cannot is always willing" (Italian).[427]

Hens are free o' horse corn.—Scotch.

People are apt to be very liberal of what does not belong to them. "Broad thongs are cut from other men's leather" (Latin).[428]"Of my gossip's loaf a large slice for my godson" (Spanish).[429]

Steal the goose, and give the giblets in alms.

"Steal the pig, and give away the pettitoes for God's sake" (Spanish).[430]

FOOTNOTES:[417]Hij geeft een ei, om een kucken te krijgen.[418]Donare si chiama pescare.[419]À celui qui a son pâté au four, on peut donner de son gateau.[420]A quien no mata puerco, no le dan morcilla.[421]On ne prête qu'aux riches.[422]Reichen giebt man, Armen nimmt man.[423]Qui chapon mange, chapon lui vient.[424]A hija casada salen nos yernos.[425]El abad de Bamba, lo que no puede comer, da lo por su alma.[426]Nul n'est si large que celui qui n'a rien à donner.[427]Chi non puole, sempre vuole.[428]Ex alieno tergore lata secantur lora.[429]Del pan de mi compadre buen zatico á mi ahijado.[430]Hurtar el puerco, y dar los pies por Dios.

[417]Hij geeft een ei, om een kucken te krijgen.

[418]Donare si chiama pescare.

[419]À celui qui a son pâté au four, on peut donner de son gateau.

[420]A quien no mata puerco, no le dan morcilla.

[421]On ne prête qu'aux riches.

[422]Reichen giebt man, Armen nimmt man.

[423]Qui chapon mange, chapon lui vient.

[424]A hija casada salen nos yernos.

[425]El abad de Bamba, lo que no puede comer, da lo por su alma.

[426]Nul n'est si large que celui qui n'a rien à donner.

[427]Chi non puole, sempre vuole.

[428]Ex alieno tergore lata secantur lora.

[429]Del pan de mi compadre buen zatico á mi ahijado.

[430]Hurtar el puerco, y dar los pies por Dios.

Save a thief from the gallows, and he will be the first to cut your throat.

The galley-slaves whom Don Quixote rescued repaid the favour by pelting him and his squire with stones, and stealing Sancho's ass. The French have two parallels for the English proverb. "Take a churl from the gibbet, and he will put you on it;"[431]and, "Unhang one that is hanged, and he will hang thee."[432]Observe the comprehensiveness of this second proposition: it seems to embody an old superstition not yet quite extinct, for it warns us against the danger of rescuinganyman from the rope, no matter how he may have come to have his neck in the noose. An incident curiously illustrative of this doctrine was thus narrated in a Belgian newspaper, theConstitutionnelof Mons, of July 4th, 1856:—

"The day before yesterday a man hanged himself at Wasmes. Another man chanced to come upon him before life was extinct, and cut him down in a state of insensibility. Presently up came some women, whoclamorously protested against the rashness, not of the would-be suicide, but of his rescuer, and assured the latter that his only chance of escaping the dangers to which his imprudent humanity exposed him was to hang the poor wretch up again. The man was so alarmed that he was actually proceeding to do as they advised him, when fortunately the burgomaster arrived just in time to prevent that act of barbarous stupidity."

This incident will at once remind the reader of the wreck scene inThe Pirate. Mordaunt Merton is hastening to save Cleveland, when Bryce Snailsfoot thus remonstrates with him:—"Are you mad? You that have lived sae lang in Zetland to risk the saving of a drowning man? Wot ye not, if you bring him to life again, he will be sure to do you some capital injury?"

Put a snake in your bosom, and when it is warm it will sting you.

"Bring up a raven, and it will peck out your eyes" (Spanish, German).[433]"Do good to a knave, and pray God he requite thee not" (Danish).[434]

I taught you to swim, and now you'd drown me.A's tint that's put into a riven dish.—Scotch.

I taught you to swim, and now you'd drown me.

A's tint that's put into a riven dish.—Scotch.

All is lost that is put into a broken dish, or that is bestowed upon a thankless person. The Arabs say,"Eat the present, and break the dish" (in which it was brought). The dish will otherwise remind you of the obligation.

Eaten bread is soon forgotten.

"A favour to come is better than a hundred received" (Italian).[435]Who was it that first defined gratitude as a lively sense of future favours? "When I confer a favour," said Louis XIV., "I make one ingrate and a hundred malcontents."

FOOTNOTES:[431]Ôtez un vilain du gibet, il vous y mettra.[432]Dépends le pendard, il te pendra.[433]Cria el cuervo, y sacarte ha los ojos. Erziehst du dir einen Raben, so wird er dir die Augen ausgraben.[434]Giör vel imod en Skalk, og bed til Gud han lönner dig ikke.[435]Val più un piacere da farsi, che cento di quelli fatti.

[431]Ôtez un vilain du gibet, il vous y mettra.

[432]Dépends le pendard, il te pendra.

[433]Cria el cuervo, y sacarte ha los ojos. Erziehst du dir einen Raben, so wird er dir die Augen ausgraben.

[434]Giör vel imod en Skalk, og bed til Gud han lönner dig ikke.

[435]Val più un piacere da farsi, che cento di quelli fatti.

Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

In Timbs's "Things not Generally Known" it is related that, "In the reign of James I., the Scotch adventurers who came over with that monarch were greatly annoyed by persons breaking the windows of their houses; and among the instigators was Buckingham, the court favourite, who lived in a large house in St. Martin's Fields, which, from the great number of windows, was termed the Glass House. Now, the Scotchmen, in retaliation, broke the windows of Buckingham's mansion. The courtier complained to the king, to whom the Scotchmen had previously applied, and the monarch replied to Buckingham, 'Those who live in glass houses, Steenie, should be careful how they throw stones.'Whence arose the common saying."

It did not arise thence, nor was King James its inventor. This is one of a thousand instances in which a story growing out of a proverb has been presented as that proverb's origin. "Let him that has glass tiles [panes] not throw stones at his neighbour's house" isa maxim common to the Spaniards[436]and Italians,[437]and older than the time of James I. The Italians say also, "Let him that has a glass skull not take to stone-throwing."[438]

The kiln calls the oven burnt house.The pot calls the kettle black bottom.

The kiln calls the oven burnt house.

The pot calls the kettle black bottom.

When negroes quarrel they always call each other "dam niggers." "The pan says to the pot, 'Keep off, or you'll smutch me'" (Italian).[439]"The shovel makes game of the poker" (French).[440]"Said the raven to the crow, 'Get out of that, blackamoor'" (Spanish).[441]"One ass nicknames another Longears" (German).[442]"Dirty-nosed folk always want to wipe other folks' noses" (French).[443]

"Crooked carlin!" quoth the cripple to his wife.—Scotch."God help the fool!" said the idiot.Who more ready to call her neighbour "scold" than the arrantest scold in the parish?

"Crooked carlin!" quoth the cripple to his wife.—Scotch.

"God help the fool!" said the idiot.

Who more ready to call her neighbour "scold" than the arrantest scold in the parish?

"A harlot repented for one night. 'Is there nopolice officer,' she exclaimed, 'to take up harlots?'" (Arab.)

Point not at others' spots with a foul finger.Physician, heal thyself.

Point not at others' spots with a foul finger.

Physician, heal thyself.

"Among wonderful things," say the Arabs of Egypt, "is a sore-eyed person who is an oculist."

FOOTNOTES:[436]El que tiene tejados de vidrio no tire piedras al de su vicino.[437]Chi ha tegoli di vetro non tiri sassi al vicino.[438]Chi ha testa di vetro non faccia a' sassi.[439]La padella dice al pajuolo, Fatti in la che tu mi tigni.[440]La pêle se moque du fourgon.[441]Dijó la corneja al cuervo, Quitate allá, negro.[442]Ein Esel schimpft den andern, Langohr.[443]Les morveux veulent toujours moucher les autres.

[436]El que tiene tejados de vidrio no tire piedras al de su vicino.

[437]Chi ha tegoli di vetro non tiri sassi al vicino.

[438]Chi ha testa di vetro non faccia a' sassi.

[439]La padella dice al pajuolo, Fatti in la che tu mi tigni.

[440]La pêle se moque du fourgon.

[441]Dijó la corneja al cuervo, Quitate allá, negro.

[442]Ein Esel schimpft den andern, Langohr.

[443]Les morveux veulent toujours moucher les autres.

Lifeless, faultless.It is a good horse that never stumbles.

Lifeless, faultless.

It is a good horse that never stumbles.

To which some add, "And a good wife that never grumbles." None are immaculate. "Are there not spots on the very sun?" (French.)[444]A member of the parliament of Toulouse, apologising to the king or his minister for the judicial murder of Calas perpetrated by that body, quoted the proverb, "Il n'y a si bon cheval qui ne bronche" ("It is a good horse," &c.). He was answered, "Passe pour un cheval, mais toute l'écurie!" ("A horse, granted; but the whole stable!")

He that shoots always right forfeits his arrow.—Welsh.

But in no instance was the forfeit ever exacted, for the best archer will sometimes miss the mark, just as "The best driver will sometimes upset" (French).[445]"A good fisherman may let an eel slip from him" (French);[446]and "A good swimmer is not safe from all chance of drowning" (French).[447]"The priest errs at the altar" (Italian).[448]

They ne'er beuk [baked] a gude cake but may bake an ill.—Scotch.He rode sicker [sure] that ne'er fell.—Scotch.It is a sound head that has not a soft piece in it.Every rose has its prickles.Every bean has its black.Every path has its puddle.There never was a good town but had a mire at one end of it.

They ne'er beuk [baked] a gude cake but may bake an ill.—Scotch.

He rode sicker [sure] that ne'er fell.—Scotch.

It is a sound head that has not a soft piece in it.

Every rose has its prickles.

Every bean has its black.

Every path has its puddle.

There never was a good town but had a mire at one end of it.

"He who wants a mule without fault may go afoot" (Spanish).[449]

A' things wytes [blames] that no weel fares.—Scotch.

When a man fails in what he undertakes he will be sure to lay the blame on anything or anybody rather than on himself. "He that does amiss never lacks excuses" (Italian).[450]"He is a bad shot who cannot find an excuse" (German).[451]"The archer that shoots ill has a lie ready" (Spanish).[452]That is rather a strong expression: the Italians, with a more refined appreciation of the eloquence displayed by missing marksmen, declare that "A fine shot never killed a bird."[453]

A bad workman always complains of his tools.A bad excuse is better than none.

A bad workman always complains of his tools.

A bad excuse is better than none.

This, of course, is ironical. The Italians hold that "Any excuse is good provided it avails" (Italian);[454]and, "Any excuse will serve when one has not a mind to do a thing."[455]We may easily guess what the Spaniards mean by "Friday pretexts for not fasting."[456]

"Who can help sickness?" quoth the drunken wife, when she lay in the gutter.Guilt is jealous.A guilty conscience needs no accuser.Touch a galled horse, and he'll wince.A galled horse will not endure the comb.

"Who can help sickness?" quoth the drunken wife, when she lay in the gutter.

Guilt is jealous.

A guilty conscience needs no accuser.

Touch a galled horse, and he'll wince.

A galled horse will not endure the comb.

"Let the galled jade wince, our withers are unwrung," cries Hamlet, mockingly, as he reads the effect of the play in the fratricide's countenance. "He that is in fault is [steeped] in suspicion" (Italian),[457]and his uneasy conscience betrays itself at every casual touch. He is like "One who has a straw tail," and "is always afraid of its catching fire" (Italian).[458]

He that has a muckle [big] nose thinks ilka ane is speaking o't.—Scotch.

"Hair is not to be mentioned in a bald man'shouse" (Livonian). "Never speak of a rope in the house of one who was hanged" (Italian);[459]or, as the Hebrew form of the precept runs, "He that hath had one of his family hanged may not say to his neighbour, 'Hang up this fish.'" Formerly the French used to say, "It is not right to speak of a ropein presenceof one who has been hanged;"[460]and they could say this without apparent absurdity, because it was customary to pardon a culprit if the rope broke after he had been tied up to the gallows, and therefore it was not an uncommon thing to meet with living men who had known what it was to dance upon nothing. The memory of this usage is preserved in a proverbial expression—"The hope of the man that is hanging, that the rope may break"[461]—to signify an exceedingly faint hope. But so much was this indulgence abused, that it was abolished by all the parliaments, that of Bordeaux setting the example in 1524 by an edict directing that the sentence should always be, "Hanged until death ensue."

If the cap fits you, wear it.

"Let him that feels itchy, scratch" (French).[462]"Let him wipe his nose that feels the need of it" (French).[463]

Nothing was ever ill said that was not ill taken.

"He who takes [offence] makes [the offence]" (Latin).[464]"What do you say 'Hem!' for when I pass?" cries an angry Briton to a Frenchman. "Monsieur Godden," replies the latter, "what for pass you when me say 'Hem?'"

Ye're busy to clear yourself when naebody files you.—Scotch.

That is, you defend yourself when nobody accuses you; and that looks very suspicious. "He that excuses himself accuses himself" (French).[465]

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