FOOTNOTES:

FOOTNOTES:[523]In French, L'homme propose, Dieu dispose; in German, Man denkt's, Gott lenkt's. The Spanish form is a little different: Los dichos en nos, los hechos en Dios.[524]Roep geen haring eer hij in't net is.[525]Ante victoriam canere triumphum.[526]Vender l'uccello in sù la frasca.[527]Non vender la pelle dell' orso prima di pigliarlo.[528]Ungelegte Eier sind ungewisse Hünnlein.[529]Rufe nicht "Juch!" bis du über den Graben bist.[530]Respice finem.[531]No me digas oliva hasta que me veas cogida.[532]Faire des châteaux en Espagne.[533]Faire des chasteaulx en Albanie.[534]Di il fatto tuo, e lascia far al diavolo.[535]Por turbia que esté, no digas desta agua no bebere.[536]Non giova a dire per tal via non passerò, ni di tal acqua beverò.[537]De la main à la bouche se perd souvent la soupe.[538]Vin versé n'est pas avalé.[539]Moineau en main vaut mieux que grue qui vole.[540]E meglio aver oggi un uovo che domani una gallina.[541]Mieux vaut un tenez que deux vous l'aurez.[542]A chi è in tenuta, Dio gli aiuta.[543]Possession vaut titre.[544]A longue corde tire, qui d'autrui mort désire.[545]Qui escudella d'altri espera, freda la menja.[546]In Italian, Caval non morire, che erba da venire.[547]Dem Hungrigen ist "Harr" ein hart Wort.[548]Haabe og vente er Giekerente.[549]Bis dat, qui cito dat.[550]Pars est beneficii quod petitur si cito neges.—Publius Syrus.[551]De lomge vem agoa a o moinho.[552]Acqua lontana non spegne il fuoco vicino.[553]Meglio un prossimo vicino che un lontano cugino.[554]Τηλου ναιοντες φιλοι ουκ εισι φιλοι.

[523]In French, L'homme propose, Dieu dispose; in German, Man denkt's, Gott lenkt's. The Spanish form is a little different: Los dichos en nos, los hechos en Dios.

[524]Roep geen haring eer hij in't net is.

[525]Ante victoriam canere triumphum.

[526]Vender l'uccello in sù la frasca.

[527]Non vender la pelle dell' orso prima di pigliarlo.

[528]Ungelegte Eier sind ungewisse Hünnlein.

[529]Rufe nicht "Juch!" bis du über den Graben bist.

[530]Respice finem.

[531]No me digas oliva hasta que me veas cogida.

[532]Faire des châteaux en Espagne.

[533]Faire des chasteaulx en Albanie.

[534]Di il fatto tuo, e lascia far al diavolo.

[535]Por turbia que esté, no digas desta agua no bebere.

[536]Non giova a dire per tal via non passerò, ni di tal acqua beverò.

[537]De la main à la bouche se perd souvent la soupe.

[538]Vin versé n'est pas avalé.

[539]Moineau en main vaut mieux que grue qui vole.

[540]E meglio aver oggi un uovo che domani una gallina.

[541]Mieux vaut un tenez que deux vous l'aurez.

[542]A chi è in tenuta, Dio gli aiuta.

[543]Possession vaut titre.

[544]A longue corde tire, qui d'autrui mort désire.

[545]Qui escudella d'altri espera, freda la menja.

[546]In Italian, Caval non morire, che erba da venire.

[547]Dem Hungrigen ist "Harr" ein hart Wort.

[548]Haabe og vente er Giekerente.

[549]Bis dat, qui cito dat.

[550]Pars est beneficii quod petitur si cito neges.—Publius Syrus.

[551]De lomge vem agoa a o moinho.

[552]Acqua lontana non spegne il fuoco vicino.

[553]Meglio un prossimo vicino che un lontano cugino.

[554]Τηλου ναιοντες φιλοι ουκ εισι φιλοι.

Bought wit is best.Wit once bought is worth twice taught.Hang a dog on a crabtree, and he'll never love verjuice.A burnt child dreads the fire.

Bought wit is best.

Wit once bought is worth twice taught.

Hang a dog on a crabtree, and he'll never love verjuice.

A burnt child dreads the fire.

Fear is so imaginative that it starts even at the ghost of a remembered danger. "A scalded dog dreads cold water" (French, Italian, Spanish).[555]"A dog which has been beaten with a stick is afraid of its shadow" (Italian).[556]"Whom a serpent has bitten, a lizard alarms" (Italian).[557]"One who has been bitten by a serpent is afraid of a rope" (Hebrew). "The man who has been beaten with a firebrand runs away at the sight of a firefly" (Cingalese). "He that has been wrecked shudders even at still water" (Ovid).[558]

Experience is the mistress of fools.

She keeps a dear school, says Poor Richard; but fools will learn in no other, and scarce in that. "Anass does not stumble twice over the same stone" (French).[559]"Unfairly does he blame Neptune who suffers shipwreck a second time" (Publius Syrus).[560]

He that will not be ruled by the rudder must be ruled by the rock.—Cornish.Better learn frae your neebor's scathe than frae your ain.—Scotch.

He that will not be ruled by the rudder must be ruled by the rock.—Cornish.

Better learn frae your neebor's scathe than frae your ain.—Scotch.

Wise men learn by others' harms, fools by their own, like Epimetheus, the Greek personification of after-wit.[561]"Happy he who is made wary by others' perils" (Latin).[562]

Old birds are not to be caught with chaff.

"Old crows are hard to catch" (German).[563]"New nets don't catch old birds" (Italian).[564]

I'm ower auld a cat to draw a strae [straw] afore my nose.—Scotch.

That is, I am not to be gulled. A kitten will jump at a straw drawn before her, but a cat that knows the world is not to be fooled in that way.

Don't tell new lies to old rogues.He that cheats me ance, shame fa' him; if he cheats me twice, shame fa' me.—Scotch.It is a silly fish that is caught twice with the same bait.

Don't tell new lies to old rogues.

He that cheats me ance, shame fa' him; if he cheats me twice, shame fa' me.—Scotch.

It is a silly fish that is caught twice with the same bait.

The French have a humorous equivalent for thisproverb, growing out of the following story:—A young rustic told his priest at confession that he had broken down a neighbour's hedge to get at a blackbird's nest. The priest asked if he had taken away the young birds. "No," said he, "they were hardly grown enough. I will let them alone until Saturday evening." No more was said on the subject, but when Saturday evening came, the young fellow found the nest empty, and readily guessed who it was that had forestalled him. The next time he went to confession he had to tell something in which a young girl was partly concerned. "Oh!" said his ghostly father; "how old is she?" "Seventeen." "Good-looking?" "The prettiest girl in the village." "What is her name? Where does she live?" the confessor hastily inquired; and then he got for answer the phrase which has passed into a proverb, "À d'autres, dénicheur de merles!" which may be paraphrased, "Try that upon somebody else, Mr. filcher of blackbirds."

When an old dog barks look out.

"An old dog does not bark for nothing" (Italian).[565]"There is no hunting but with old hounds" (French).[566]

Live and learn.The langer we live the mair ferlies [wonders] we see.—Scotch.Adversity makes a man wise, not rich.

Live and learn.

The langer we live the mair ferlies [wonders] we see.—Scotch.

Adversity makes a man wise, not rich.

"Wind in the face makes a man wise" (French).[567]

A smooth sea never made a skilful mariner.It is hard to halt before a cripple.

A smooth sea never made a skilful mariner.

It is hard to halt before a cripple.

It is hard to counterfeit lameness successfully in presence of a real cripple. "He who is of the craft can discourse about it." (Italian).[568]"Don't talk Latin before clerks" (French),[569]or "Arabic in the Moor's house" (Spanish).[570]

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

"Do not judge of the ship while it is on the stocks" (Italian).[571]

War's sweet to them that never tried it.

FOOTNOTES:[555]Chat échaudé craint l'eau froide.[556]Il can battuto dal bastone, ha paura dell' ombra.[557]Chi dellaserpeè punto, ha paura della lucertola.[558]Tranquillas etiam naufragus horret aquas.[559]Un âne ne trébuche pas deux fois sur la même pierre.[560]Improbe Neptunum accusat qui iterum naufragium facit.[561]Ὁϛ ἐπεί κακὸν ἒχε νόησε.[562]Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum.[563]Alte Krähen sind schwer zu fangen.[564]Nuova rete non piglia uccello vecchio.[565]Cane vecchio non baia indarno.[566]Il n'est chasse que de vieux chiens.[567]Vent au visage rend un homme sage.[568]Chi è dell'arte, può ragionar della.[569]Il ne faut pas parler latin devant les clercs.[570]In casa del moro no hablar algarabia.[571]Non giudicar la nave stando in terra.

[555]Chat échaudé craint l'eau froide.

[556]Il can battuto dal bastone, ha paura dell' ombra.

[557]Chi dellaserpeè punto, ha paura della lucertola.

[558]Tranquillas etiam naufragus horret aquas.

[559]Un âne ne trébuche pas deux fois sur la même pierre.

[560]Improbe Neptunum accusat qui iterum naufragium facit.

[561]Ὁϛ ἐπεί κακὸν ἒχε νόησε.

[562]Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum.

[563]Alte Krähen sind schwer zu fangen.

[564]Nuova rete non piglia uccello vecchio.

[565]Cane vecchio non baia indarno.

[566]Il n'est chasse que de vieux chiens.

[567]Vent au visage rend un homme sage.

[568]Chi è dell'arte, può ragionar della.

[569]Il ne faut pas parler latin devant les clercs.

[570]In casa del moro no hablar algarabia.

[571]Non giudicar la nave stando in terra.

Pick and choose, and take the worst.The lass that has mony wooers aft wales [chooses] the warst.—Scotch.Refuse a wife with one fault, and take one with two.—Welsh.

Pick and choose, and take the worst.

The lass that has mony wooers aft wales [chooses] the warst.—Scotch.

Refuse a wife with one fault, and take one with two.—Welsh.

"He that has a choice has trouble" (Dutch).[572]"He that chooses takes the worst" (French).[573]

Of two evils choose the least.Where bad is the best, naught must be the choice.

Of two evils choose the least.

Where bad is the best, naught must be the choice.

A traveller in America, inquiring his way, was told there were two roads, one long, and the other short, and that it mattered not which he took. Surprised at such a direction, he asked, "Can there be a doubt about the choice between the long and the short?" and the answer was, "Why, no matter which of the two you take, you will not have gone far in it before you will wish from the bottom of your heart that you had taken t'other."

"There's ne'er a best among them," as the fellow said of the fox cubs.As good eat the devil as the broth he's boiled in.Out of the fryingpan into the fire.

"There's ne'er a best among them," as the fellow said of the fox cubs.

As good eat the devil as the broth he's boiled in.

Out of the fryingpan into the fire.

To escape from one evil and incur another as bad or worse is an idea expressed in many proverbial metaphors;e.g., "To come out of the rain under the spout" (German).[574]"Flying from the bull, I fell into the river" (Spanish).[575]"To break the constable's head and take refuge with the sheriff" (Spanish).[576]"To shun Charybdis and strike upon Scylla" is a well-known phrase, which almost everybody supposes to have been current among the ancients. It is not to be found, however, in any classical author, but appears for the first time in the Alexandriad of Philip Gaultier, a medieval Latin poet. In his fifth book he thus apostrophises Darius when flying from Alexander:—

"Nescis, heu! perdite, nescisQuem fugias: hostes incurris dum fugis hostem;Incidis in Scyllam cupiens vitare Charybdim."

"Nescis, heu! perdite, nescis

Quem fugias: hostes incurris dum fugis hostem;

Incidis in Scyllam cupiens vitare Charybdim."

Go forward, and fall; go backward, and mar all.

"A precipice ahead; wolves behind" (Latin).[577]"To be between the hammer and the anvil" (French).[578]

You may go farther and fare worse.To be between the devil and the deep sea.The one-eyed is a king in the land of the blind.

You may go farther and fare worse.

To be between the devil and the deep sea.

The one-eyed is a king in the land of the blind.

"A substitute shines brightly as a kingUntil a king be by."

"A substitute shines brightly as a king

Until a king be by."

"Where there are no dogs the fox is a king" (Italian).[579]

They that be in hell think there is no other heaven.It is good to have two strings to one's bow.It is good riding at two anchors.He is no fox that hath but one hole.The mouse that has but one hole is soon caught.(Latin)[580]Do not put all your eggs in one basket;

They that be in hell think there is no other heaven.

It is good to have two strings to one's bow.

It is good riding at two anchors.

He is no fox that hath but one hole.

The mouse that has but one hole is soon caught.(Latin)[580]

Do not put all your eggs in one basket;

nor "too many of them under one hen" (Dutch).[581]"Hang not all upon one nail" (German),[582]nor risk your whole fortune upon one venture.

Comparisons are odious.

FOOTNOTES:[572]Die keur heeft, heeft angst.[573]Qui choisit prend le pire.[574]Aus dem hegen unter die Traufe kommen.[575]Huyendo del tore, cayó en el arroyo.[576]Descalabrar el alguacil, y accogerse al corregidor.[577]A fronte præcipitium, a tergo lupi.[578]Être entre le marteau et l'enclume.[579]Dove non sono i cani, la volpe è re.[580]Mus uni non fidit antro.—Plautus.[581]Man moet niet te viel eijeren onder eene hen leggen.[582]Henke nicht alles auf einen Nagel.

[572]Die keur heeft, heeft angst.

[573]Qui choisit prend le pire.

[574]Aus dem hegen unter die Traufe kommen.

[575]Huyendo del tore, cayó en el arroyo.

[576]Descalabrar el alguacil, y accogerse al corregidor.

[577]A fronte præcipitium, a tergo lupi.

[578]Être entre le marteau et l'enclume.

[579]Dove non sono i cani, la volpe è re.

[580]Mus uni non fidit antro.—Plautus.

[581]Man moet niet te viel eijeren onder eene hen leggen.

[582]Henke nicht alles auf einen Nagel.

A bad shift is better than none.Better sup wi' a cutty nor want a spune.—Scotch.

A bad shift is better than none.

Better sup wi' a cutty nor want a spune.—Scotch.

A cutty is a spoon with a stumpy handle or none at all. It is not a very convenient implement, but it will serve at a pinch.

A bad bush is better than the open field.A wee bush is better nor nae bield.—Scotch.

A bad bush is better than the open field.

A wee bush is better nor nae bield.—Scotch.

Bield, shelter. A man's present occupation may not be lucrative, or his connections as serviceable as he could wish, but he should not therefore quit them until he has better.

Half a loaf is better than no bread.I will make a shaft or a bolt of it.

Half a loaf is better than no bread.

I will make a shaft or a bolt of it.

A shaft is an arrow for the longbow, a bolt is for the crossbow.

If I canna do it by might I'll do it by slight.—Scotch.

"It's best no to be rash," said Edie Ochiltree—

Sticking disna gang by strength, but by the guiding o' the gully.—Scotch.

A gully is a butcher's knife. There is a knack even in slaughtering a pig.

There goes reason to the roasting of eggs.Many ways to kill a dog besides hanging him.

There goes reason to the roasting of eggs.

Many ways to kill a dog besides hanging him.

A story told by the African traveller, Richardson, supplies an apt illustration of this proverb. An Arab woman preferred another man to her husband, and frankly confessed that her affections had strayed. Her lord, instead of flying into a passion and killing her on the spot, thought a moment, and said, "I will consent to divorce you if you will promise me one thing." "What is that?" the wife eagerly asked. "You mustloolooto me only on your wedding day." Thislooloois a peculiar cry with which it is customary for brides to salute any handsome passer-by. The woman gave the promise required, the divorce took place, and the marriage followed. On the day of the ceremony the ex-husband passed the camel on which the bride rode, and gave her the usual salute by discharging his firelock, in return for which she loolooed to him according to promise. The new bridegroom, enraged at this marked preference—for he noticed that she had not greeted any one else—and suspecting that he was duped, instantly fell upon the bride and slew her. He had no sooner done so than her brothers came up and shot him dead, so that the first husband found himself amply avenged without having endangeredhimself in the slightest degree. "Contrivance is better than force" (French).[583]Lysander of Sparta was reproached for relying too little on open valour in war, and too much on ruses not always worthy of a descendant of Hercules. He replied, in allusion to the skin of the Nemæan beast worn by his great ancestor, "Where the lion's skin comes short we must eke it out with the fox's."

It is easy to find a stick to beat a dog;or,It is easy to find a stone to throw at a dog.

It is easy to find a stick to beat a dog;or,

It is easy to find a stone to throw at a dog.

It is easy for the strong to find an excuse for maltreating the weak. "On a little pretext the wolf seizes the sheep" (French),[584]or the lamb, as the fable shows. "If you want to flog your dog say he ate the poker" (Spanish).[585]"If a man wants to thrash his wife, let him ask her for drink in the sunshine" (Spanish),[586]for then what can be easier for him than to pick a quarrel with her about the motes in the clearest water?

A handsaw is a good thing, but not to shave with.

Everything to its proper use. In Italy they say, "With the Gospel sometimes one becomes a heretic." Disraeli, and after him Dean Trench, have given to this proverb an erroneous interpretation, founded on a falsereading. Their version of it is "Coll' Evangelo si diventa heretico." Here there is no qualifying "sometimes;" the proposition is put absolutely, and the two English writers consider it to be a popular "confession that the maintenance of the Romish system and the study of Holy Scripture cannot go together." It would certainly be "not a little remarkable," if it were true, "that such a confession should have embodied itself in the popular utterances of the nation;" but the fact is that nothing more is meant by the proverb than what the Inquisition itself might sanction. It is only a pointed way of saying that anything, however good, is liable to be used mischievously.[587]

FOOTNOTES:[583]Mieux vaut engin que force.[584]À petite achoison le loup prend le mouton.[585]Para azotar el perro, que se come el hierro.[586]Quien quiere dar palos á su muger, pidele al sol á bever.[587]"Con l'Evangelo talvolta si diventa eretico" is the original, as given by Toriano in his folio collection of Italian proverbs, London, 1666. In Giusti's "Raccolta," &c., Firenza, 1853, we read, "Col Vangelo si può diventar eretici," to which the editor appends this gloss, "Ogni cosa può torcersi a male."

[583]Mieux vaut engin que force.

[584]À petite achoison le loup prend le mouton.

[585]Para azotar el perro, que se come el hierro.

[586]Quien quiere dar palos á su muger, pidele al sol á bever.

[587]"Con l'Evangelo talvolta si diventa eretico" is the original, as given by Toriano in his folio collection of Italian proverbs, London, 1666. In Giusti's "Raccolta," &c., Firenza, 1853, we read, "Col Vangelo si può diventar eretici," to which the editor appends this gloss, "Ogni cosa può torcersi a male."

He that will not be counselled cannot be helped.

"He who will not go to heaven needs no preaching" (German).[588]"He that will not hear must feel" (German).[589]

Two heads are better than one.

"Four eyes see more than two" (Spanish);[590]and "More know the pope and a peasant than the pope alone,"[591]as they say in Venice.

Come na to the council unca'd.—Scotch.

"Never give advice unasked" (German).[592]

Every one thinks himself able to advise another.

"Nothing is given so freely as advice" (French).[593]"Of judgment every one has a stock for sale" (Italian).[594]

He that kisseth his wife in the market-place shall have people enough to teach him.

"He who builds according to every man's advice will have a crooked house" (Danish).[595]

He that speers a' opinions comes ill speed.—Scotch.

"If you want to get into the bog ask five fools the way to the wood" (Livonian). "Take help of many, counsel of few" (Danish).[596]

A fool may put something in a wise man's head.

It was a saying of Cato the elder, that wise men learnt more by fools than fools by wise men.

FOOTNOTES:[588]Wer nicht in den Himmel will, braucht keine Predigt.[589]Wer nicht hören will, muss fühlen.[590]Mas veen quatro ojos que dos.[591]Sa più il papa e un contadino che il papa solo.[592]Rathe Niemand ungebeten.[593]Rien ne se donne aussi libéralement que les conseils.[594]Del judizio ognun ne vende.[595]Hvo som bygger efter hver Mands Raad, hans Huser kommer kroget at staae.[596]Tag Mange til Hielp og Faa til Rad.

[588]Wer nicht in den Himmel will, braucht keine Predigt.

[589]Wer nicht hören will, muss fühlen.

[590]Mas veen quatro ojos que dos.

[591]Sa più il papa e un contadino che il papa solo.

[592]Rathe Niemand ungebeten.

[593]Rien ne se donne aussi libéralement que les conseils.

[594]Del judizio ognun ne vende.

[595]Hvo som bygger efter hver Mands Raad, hans Huser kommer kroget at staae.

[596]Tag Mange til Hielp og Faa til Rad.

The smoke follows the fairest.

The original of this is in Aristophanes: it means that

"Envy doth merit like its shade pursue."

"The best bearing trees are the most beaten" (Italian).[597]"It is only at the tree laden with fruit that people throw stones" (French).[598]"Towers," say the Chinese, "are measured by their shadows, and great men by their calumniators." An old French proverb compares detraction to dogs that bark only at the full moon, and never heed her in the quarter. "If the fool has a hump," say the Livonians, "no one notices it; if the wise man has a pimple everybody talks about it."

Slander leaves a slur.

"A blow of a fryingpan smuts, if it does not hurt"(Spanish).[599]The Arabs say, "Take a bit of mud, dab it against the wall: if it does not stick it will leave its mark;" and we have a similar proverb derived from the Latin:[600]—

Throw much dirt, and some will stick.

Fortunately

When the dirt's dry it will rub out.Ill-will never spoke well.

When the dirt's dry it will rub out.

Ill-will never spoke well.

The evidence of a prejudiced witness is to be distrusted. "He that is an enemy to the bride does not speak well of the wedding" (Spanish);[601]and "A runaway monk never spoke in praise of his monastery" (Italian).[602]

Give a dog an ill name and hang him."I'll not beat thee, not abuse thee," said the Quaker to his dog; "but I'll give thee an ill name."—Irish.He that hath an ill name is half hanged.

Give a dog an ill name and hang him.

"I'll not beat thee, not abuse thee," said the Quaker to his dog; "but I'll give thee an ill name."—Irish.

He that hath an ill name is half hanged.

A French proverb declares, with a still bolder figure, that "Report hangs the man."[603]The Spaniards say, "Whoso wants to kill his dog has but to charge him with madness."[604]

All are not thieves that dogs bark at.

The innocent are sometimes cried down. "Anhonest man is not the worse because a dog barks at him" (Danish).[605]"What cares lofty Diana for the barking dog?" (Latin).[606]

Common fame is seldom to blame.What everybody says must be true.It never smokes but there's a fire.

Common fame is seldom to blame.

What everybody says must be true.

It never smokes but there's a fire.

"There's never a cry of 'Wolf!' but the wolf is in the district" (Italian).[607]"There's never much talk of a thing but there's some truth in it" (Italian).[608]This is the sense in which our droll English saying is applied:—

"There was a thing in it!" quoth the fellow when he drank the dishclout.

To accept the last half-dozen of proverbs too absolutely would often lead us to uncharitable conclusions; we must, therefore, temper our belief in these maxims by means of their opposites, such as this:—

Common fame is a common liar.

"Hearsay is half lies" (German, Italian).[609]"Hear the other side, and believe little" (Italian).[610]

A tale never loses in the telling.

Witness George Colman's story of the Three Black Crows.

The devil is not so black as he is painted.

Nor is the lion so fierce (Spanish).[611]"Report makes the wolf bigger than he is" (German).[612]

It is a sin to belie the devil.Give the devil his due.If one's name be up he may lie in bed.

It is a sin to belie the devil.

Give the devil his due.

If one's name be up he may lie in bed.

"Get a good name and go to sleep" (Spanish).[613]So do many. Hence it is often better to intrust the execution of a work to be done to an obscure man than to one whose reputation is established.

One man may better steal a horse than another look over the hedge.

"A good name covers theft" (Spanish).[614]"The honest man enjoys the theft" (Spanish).[615]

A gude name is sooner tint [lost] than won.—Scotch.

"Once in folks' mouths, hardly ever well out of them again" (German).[616]"Good repute is like the cypress: once cut, it never puts forth leaf again" (Italian).[617]

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