Proverb Lore Part 13

[153:A] "Many, when a thing was lent them, reckoned it to be found, and put them to trouble that helped them. Till he hath received he will kiss a man's hand; and for his neighbour's money he will speak submissively: but when he should repay he will prolong the time, and return words of grief, and complain of the time."--_Ecclesiasticus_, B.C. 200.

An old English proverb declares that "Lent seems short to him that borrows money to be paid at Easter."

[156:A] This thinness would appear to have been of bulk, not of quality.

"Some preferre Ches.h.i.+re Cheese, and others also commend the cheese of other countries; but Banbury Cheese shall goe for my money."--COGAN'S _Haven of Health_, 1612.

[157:A] "Few capons, save what have more fins than feathers, are bred in Yarmouth. But to countenance this expression, I understand that the Italian Friers, when disposed to eat flesh on Fridays, call a capon 'piscem e corte,' a fish of the coop."--_Fuller._

[157:B] A Doctor of Divinity, fearing, we may presume, that such high praise might turn a head here and there, improved the occasion for the benefit of these ladies--"I believe that the G.o.d of Nature, having given fair complection to the Women in this County, Art may spare her pains in endeavouring to better them. But let the Females of this County know that, though in the Old Testament express notice be taken of the beauty of many Women--Sarah, Rebekah, Rachael, Abigail, Thamar, Abis.h.a.g, Esther--yet in the New Testament no mention is made at all of the fairness of any Woman, not because they wanted, but because Grace is chief Gospel-beauty, and this is far better than skin-deep Fairness."

[158:A] A proverb of like import is this, "He talks in the bear-garden tongue."

CHAPTER VI

Proverbs suggested by Animals -- Animal Characteristics: Sagacity, Fidelity, Cunning, Greed, etc. -- The Horse -- The Dog -- The Cat: her Nine Lives; the Catspaw; falling on Feet; in Mittens -- The a.s.s -- Pearls before Swine -- A Pig in a Poke -- The Wrong Sow by the Ear -- The Sheep -- The Shorn Lamb -- The Bull -- The Goose -- The Hen -- Roasting Eggs -- The Bird and her Nest -- Birds of a Feather -- Catching with Chaff -- Roasted Larks -- The Fox -- The Wolf; in Sheep's Clothing -- The Bear -- The Mouse -- Belling the Cat -- Fish Proverbs -- The Laborious Ant -- The Worm that turns -- Similes: from the Animal Kingdom; from Household Surroundings; from various Callings; from divers Colours

The animal life around him has always been an object of interest to man.

Some creatures, like the horse, the dog, or the camel, he has trained to minister to his wants--for man is at his lowest level of sympathy and intelligence, the lowest type of savage, when we find him absolutely alone--while others, like the fox or the wolf, have necessarily become of concern to him in their power of molestation, disturbing his peace and thwarting his interests. In either case the very varying nature of the animals amidst which he dwelt has attracted his notice, since the fidelity of the dog, for example, the cunning of the fox, the sagacity of the elephant, could not fail to impress themselves upon his mind. Far away in the mist of a great antiquity the Old Testament has numerous allusions to the lessons that may be derived from the observation of animals, while aesop and many other writers have made the various creatures the subject of their writings and evolved lessons for the benefit of mankind from their varying dispositions. We are, therefore, entirely prepared to find that in proverb-lore also the animal kingdom has been largely drawn upon, and we propose to give some few examples of this.

We are told that "It is a good horse that never stumbles," a proverb that reminds us to make allowance for others and to take heed to ourselves. We are warned, too, that "Boisterous horse must have boisterous bridle," that those who incline to resist authority have no cause for complaint if the hand of authority press somewhat hardly upon them. A fairly a.n.a.logous adage is that "Mettle is dangerous in a blind horse." That "A horse is neither better nor worse for his trappings"

teaches us to look below the surface in forming our judgments, and then again there is the well-known and excellent warning that "One may take a horse to the water but you cannot make him drink," a hint that one cannot always have one's own way, and that the co-operation of the other party in the arrangement is an essential point. To "Get upon the high horse" is to take up a needlessly dignified position, and make oneself somewhat unpleasant in the process; while "Putting money on the wrong horse," a saw suggested by the race-course, implies that one has supported the wrong side and helped on, through folly or ignorance, a matter that we had much better have left alone.[162:A] The caution, "Do not lash a willing horse," is often necessary, and the hopelessness of "Flogging a dead horse," endeavouring to infuse life into a defunct cause, sometimes needs a reminder; while the "Working for a dead horse"

is almost as disheartening a process. The Spaniards in such a case say, "When the money is paid the arms are broken."

That "One must not look a gift-horse in the mouth" is a lesson in the proprieties of immense antiquity; we find it, for instance, in the writings of St Jerome in the fourth century. A mediaeval writer tells us that "A gyuen hors may not be loked in the tethe." Rabelais says it must not, and the author of "Hudibras" says it must not; in fact there is an abundance of testimony to this effect, extending over centuries. The Frenchman says, "a cheval donne il ne faut pas regarder aux dens"; the Portuguese says, "Cavallo dado nao se repara a idade"; and the Spaniard says, "Caval donate non guardar in bocca"; and all over the world we find this delicacy of feeling advocated. In the proverb, "He is a proud horse that will not carry his own provender," we have a good lesson quaintly put. In Puttenham's "Arte of Englishe Poesie," 1589, we are instructed that "When we misplace our wordes and set that before which should be behind, we call it in English proverbe, 'The cart before the horse.'" The unequal way in which Fortune appears to work is borne home to us in the strong, yet scarcely too strong, statement that "One man may steal a horse while another may not look over the gate"; or, as Lily, in his "Endimion," hath it, "For as some man may better steale a horse than another looke over a hedge." In the "Paradise of Daynty Devices," 1578, we find this couplet--

"To whom of old this proverbe well it serves, While gra.s.se doth growe the silly horse he sterves."

In the more modern guise this is "While the gra.s.s is growing the steed is starving." It may at first sight appear a little hard to brand the horse as silly, since he can in no way be held responsible for the backward condition of the meadow, but we must remind our readers that "silly" is one of the words that has greatly changed its significance--it originally meant harmless or innocent.

"Money," we are told, "will make the mare to go," and the finding of "a mare's nest" is a feat that is still now and then performed.

"Why doest thou laugh?

What mare's nest hast thou found?"

--BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER, _Bonduca_.

In France it is the rabbit's nest, "nid le lapin," that people sometimes discover.

It is a curious thing that the fidelity and affection of the dog get little or no recognition in proverb-lore. This may possibly arise from the fact that in the East, the original source of many of our proverbs, the dog is held in no esteem. He is an outcast, the scavenger of the streets. "Him that dieth in the city shall the dogs eat"; and "Is thy servant a dog that he should do this thing?" was the indignant outburst of Hazael. In cla.s.sic days it was said of a morose, ill-conditioned person, "A black dog has walked over him," and at the present day such a person is said to have "the black dog on his back." The dog of the fabulist that dropped the substance for the shadow was held up as a warning in his greed and folly, and "to dog" a person is not to lavish canine affection on them by any means; while a favourite piece of nursery teaching was, and perhaps still is, that "Dogs delight to bark and bite." "Every dog," we are told, "has his day," and "Love me, love my dog," has sometimes been made a stipulation. Latimer puts it more pleasantly, "Whosoever loveth me loveth my hound"--from his regard for me he will for my sake look kindly on what he knows to be dear to me.

To him who is hungry any food is welcome--"a la faim il n'y a point de mauvais pain," and therefore "Hungry dogs will eat dirty pudding." "Let sleeping dogs lie" is excellent counsel; the precept is not in the interest of the sleepers but of those injudicious enough to disturb their slumbers. "It is nought goode," writes Chaucer in his "Troylus and Cryseyde," "a sleping hound to wake," and again in the "Frankeleine's Tale," "Wyf, quod he, lat slepen that is stille"; while Shakespeare writes, in "Henry VIII.":--

"This butcher's cur is venom-mouth'd, and I Have not the power to muzzle him; therefore best Not wake him in his slumber."

In Italy and Germany we have the same proverb, but it becomes in France "N'as tu pas tort de reveiller le chat qui dort," a much less formidable proceeding; and in Spain we find the variant, "When sorrow is asleep do not awaken it." Another Spanish proverb, and one of excellent wisdom, is "Though your blood-hound be gentle do not bite him on the lip." It is, by the way, remarkable how gentle big dogs are, mastiffs, retrievers, Newfoundlands, and the like, while being mauled and hauled by small children. Little Bessie, aged five, might venture to any extent on her great companion's forbearance and magnanimity, while we, reader, must exercise much more discretion.

"Give a dog a bad name and then you may as well hang him"[165:A] is a true and very oft-quoted adage. One less well known is "He that would hang his dog gives out first that he is mad."[166:A] He who is about to do something dubious first bethinks himself of some plausible excuse that appears to justify his action, and when this is accepted he is free from all fear of interference. The Greeks say that "He who keeps another man's dog shall have nothing left but the line." If he endeavour to keep it dishonestly--in fact, to become a dog-stealer--he cannot complain if such care as he has bestowed comes to nought and nothing is left to him but the cord and the food-bill. One old commentator would tell us that the meaning is that "He who bestows a benefit upon an ungrateful person loses his cost." This is a common enough experience, but it scarcely appears to be a moral springing from this proverb. The dog, stolen, tied up, amongst strangers, has no particular reason to feel grateful! The following proverb, "Wash the dog and comb the dog, still the dog remains the dog," indicates that externals do not affect the real nature.

Other doggy sayings are: "Two dogs agree not well over one bone,"

"Brawling curs have torn ears," "A scalded dog dreads cold water." Those who, having a good staff of a.s.sistants, find that much of the burden and responsibility yet weighs on them, will appreciate the point of the adage, "What, keep a dog, and bark myself?" a proceeding that certainly seems unreasonable. The Turks have a happy proverb that "The dog barks, but the caravan pa.s.ses," its fussy interference being simply ignored.

The Spaniards declare, in like manner, that "More are threatened than are stabbed," while the Dutch with equal wisdom advise us that "No one dies of threats." The Danes very happily warn us against judging too hastily in the hint that "An honest man is none the worse because a dog barks at him."

The cat takes its place in our proverb-literature. The "Kilkenny cats"

that fought so desperately have often been quoted as a warning to warring factions, and tenacity of purpose gone mad and self-destructive.

The old belief that a cat has nine lives has also got embalmed in an adage, and the question will be recalled, in "Romeo and Juliet," "What wouldst thou have with me?" the reply being, "Good king of cats, nothing but one of your nine lives."[167:A] Yet "Care," we are told, "will kill a cat." While we may accept this saw on its moral side, and learn from it a lesson against despondency, its zoological side is open to grave question. A cat dying of anxiety may fairly be bracketted off with the broken-hearted oyster crossed in love. The "Grinning like a Ches.h.i.+re cat," in a continual state of mirthful good humour, suggests a quite opposite phrase of feline nature. To "let the cat out of the bag" is another old saying that will at once occur to the reader; a less known, but very good one, Scotch in its birth, is, "He that puts the cat in the pock kens best how to tak' her oot." Another good proverb of like nature is, "Who will carry the cat to the water?"--_i.e._ who will endeavour to carry the plan through, undeterred by the difficulty of its accomplishment? To be made "a catspaw of" is also a very expressive saying; it arose from the old fable of the monkey using the cat's paw instead of his own to rake out chestnuts from the glowing embers. To live "a cat-and-dog life" is to lead such an existence of strife and snarl as one ordinarily sees in the aversion felt by these two animals for each other. The old saw, "A cat may look at a king," has, too, ordinarily been used as an impertinence.[168:A] In France its equivalent is "Un chien regarde bien l'eveque."

"Where window is open cat maketh a fray, Yet wilde cat with two legs is worse, by my fay."[168:B]

The cat utilised as an excuse for other people's shortcomings has always been a favourite subject. Thus--"How can the cat help it if the maid be a fool?" On the other hand, the cat's larcenous propensities must be reckoned with, so we have the disheartening thought for the thrifty housekeeper, "What the good wife spares the cat eats," and "It's easy learning the cat the way to the churn." The Arabs say, "He trusted the keys of the pigeon-house to the cat," but on the other hand, "Honest is the cat when the meat is on the hook." Of him who declines to be turned aside by trifles, the Scottish proverb may be quoted, "He's ower auld a cat to draw a strae before." The man whose affairs, big and little, run smoothly, and whose ventures, however speculative they may be, are successful, may be said to be "Like a cat, he always falls on his feet."

This power of falling on her feet from any height is a most valuable gift for p.u.s.s.y, and saves her from many a mishap.

The cat has her enthusiastic admirers, but as a friend of man she is ordinarily held in no great esteem. "Make much of the cat, and she will fly in your face." She is too commonly treacherous, selfish, and unreliable. We have more than once seen, and our experience cannot be unique, a cat fondled and stroked and made much of, suddenly savagely bite or scratch the hand that has been caressing it.

p.u.s.s.y as a follower of the chase has suggested the proverb, "The cat that is always crying catches nothing," and the better known saw, "A cat in mittens catches no mice." "Fain would the cat fish eat, but she's loath her feet to wet"; and in Chaucer's "House of Fame" we find an interesting reference to this--

"Ye be like the slepie cat That would have fish; but wost thou what?

He will nothing weate his clawes."

The "slepie cat," dormant on the hearth-rug, is, of course, like its confreres of the jungle, a nocturnal animal, and in the hours of darkness often becomes a little more wakeful than is altogether appreciated. As a songster of the night, instead of receiving merely barren compliments on its performance, it often gets the much more tangible reward of a boot, lump of coal, cake of soap, or such-like little token of appreciation as the auditor may find most readily come to hand.

A very venerable proverb indeed tells us that "The a.s.s and his master do not always think alike." Phaedrus, living nearly nineteen hundred years ago, had a fable in his collection to ill.u.s.trate this. He pictures to us a man resting by the road-side, and his a.s.s grazing near him. The man, suddenly catching sight of an advancing enemy, says that they must at once decamp that they be not captured, whereupon the donkey asks, "Will they clap on me a double load?" and the man can only reply that he does not suppose that they will. "Then," said the donkey, "what matters it to me to whom I belong?"

"He that makes himself an a.s.s must not mind if men ride him," truly says the old English proverb, and another is like unto it, "When all men say you are an a.s.s it is time to bray." It is no less true that "If an a.s.s goes travelling he will not come back a horse." The locality changes, but under every sky the traveller remains much as he started. The ancient Romans declared that "One a.s.s rubs another," a lesson in mutual help. When a coward boasts what great things he will do, or a fool a.s.sumes the philosopher, "An a.s.s in a lion's skin" is suggested--from the fable that an a.s.s once decking himself in the skin of the lion, was so elated at the terror he created that he could not forbear braying his delight, a performance which entirely altered the whole complexion of things and the animal stood revealed, the mere a.s.s that he really was.[170:A] "The a.s.s is wagging his ears" is a hit at those who, understanding little or nothing of the matter in question, a.s.sume a grave demeanour and an att.i.tude of close attention. Two German proverbs may be quoted here, as they are both good: "The a.s.s dreams of thistles,"

and "One a.s.s nicknames another, Long-ears." The Spaniards have a very expressive adage, "The a.s.s knows well in whose face he brays," a warning against too great a familiarity with unsuitable companions, or we shall infallibly find ourselves exposed to great liberties and a free-and-easy "Hail fellow, well met" manner that give us cause for repentance.

The Arabs have a happy reflection on those who, when we are in an intricate business, raise additional difficulties instead of smoothing our path, "A narrow lane and the a.s.s kicking."

A lesson of contentment is found in this homely saw: "Better the head of an a.s.s than tail of a horse"--to be valued in a low position is far preferable to being the f.a.g-end of a higher. We once heard a man of some considerable influence in a country town declare that he was there a whale amongst the minnows, but that if he moved to the metropolis, as his family were desiring him to do, he should be but a minnow amongst the whales. Such a man would entirely appreciate this proverb. Another lesson of very similar import is seen in this: "Better an a.s.s that carries us than a horse that throws us." A very quaint and shrewd utterance is: "Now I have got a donkey, everyone says, Good morning, John." Things are looking up, and friends are beginning to come in.[171:A] Finally, the Spanish caution: "He who wants an animal without fault may go afoot," that particular kind not often coming into the market.

The Sermon on the Mount and other discourses of our Lord afford us numerous examples of the national Jewish proverbs.[171:B] "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," is one ill.u.s.tration of this kind of popular folk-lore, and "Cast not your pearls before swine," is another; and in the old Greek proverb, "A scorpion for a perch," we have practically, "If he asks a fish will he give him a serpent?"

The Spaniards say, "Echar magaritas a puercos," and this throwing of pearls before swine re-appears in English proverb-lore, and, indeed, much further afield.

To "buy a pig in a poke" is to make a purchase without knowing really what one is buying. The alliteration has, no doubt, given the saying an added popularity. In France it is, "acheter chat en poche," or "acheter le chat pour le lievre," a cat being palmed off as a hare on the incautious purchaser. We see now, too, how a determination to see for oneself would "let the cat out of the bag," and expose the trickery of the proceeding.

When a man has heedlessly made a bad bargain he is said, ironically, to have "brought his pigs to a pretty market"--the advantageous sale of his pig being a very important matter to the country cottager, meaning the payment of his rent, the clearing of the score at the village shop, and his general rehabilitation in the ranks of the solvent.[172:A] The generally unsympathetic and unsociable nature of the pig and his human counterparts is expressed in such sayings as: "Feed a pig and you will have a hog," and "What can you expect from a hog but a grunt?" while its "wallowing in the mire," and being well content to have it so,[172:B]

has also been utilised as a warning.

A bit of homely advice, quaintly put, is found in this--"Do not drive black hogs at night." "Much cry and no wool" is the result of shearing swine, a hopeless task. The adage is often met with. In Fortescue's treatise on "Absolute and Limited Monarchy," written over four hundred years ago, we find a reference to "the man that scheryd his hogge, moche crye and no wull." In a book published in 1597 it runs: "Of the shearing of hogges there is great crie for so little wolle," and we find the saying again in "Hudibras" and many other books, and in old plays.

In "Hudibras," too, may be found the equally familiar expression, "wrong sow by the ear," a proverb of great antiquity that occurs frequently in the old dramas. We are told by some etymologists that the sow in question is not porcine at all, but is a large tub with handles. Sowsed meat is meat that has been in pickle in one of these sows. To have got the wrong sow (by the ear or handle for facility of moving) is to have brought the wrong vessel. To confirm this view they quote the old Latin proverb, "Pro amphora urceolus"--instead of the great amphora you have brought me a small pitcher. Either reading will serve the turn, and is of like significance in application--the warning against getting hold of an entirely wrong idea and hammering away at it.

To "cast sheep's eyes" on one is to s.n.a.t.c.h a hasty glance, looking askance with sheep-like timidity on some fair object whose regard has not been won or as yet appealed to. The idea that "One black sheep infects the flock and poisons all the rest" has, we need scarcely say, no warrant in actual fact, though, morally, a black sheep is a dangerous addition to any flock, a something to be promptly eliminated from regiment, workshop, school, or whatever other body he may be infecting or exposing to risk of contagion. A much more attractive adage is the well-known declaration, "G.o.d tempers the wind to the shorn lamb." The French say, "a brebis tondue Dieu mesure le vent," and the English proverb, as we find Herbert using it in 1640, is a repet.i.tion of this--"To a close-shorn sheep G.o.d gives wind by measure." This shearing process suggested eighteen hundred years ago, or possibly long before this,[174:A] the proverb, "Boni pastoris est tondere pecus, non deglubere"--"It is the duty of a good shepherd to shear his sheep, not to skin them." This note of warning is repeated in the reminder that "The orange that is too hard squeezed yields a bitter juice," both proverbs teaching moderation.

It is a pleasant little saying that "He who has one sheep in the flock will like all the rest the better for it." In these happy islands the fear of the wolf has long been extinct, but in other lands the sheep and the wolf are often bracketted together in their proverbs; thus in France one is warned against a too self-effacing humility in this world in the words, "He that maketh himself a sheep shall be eaten of the wolf"; while another lesson of worldly prudence is taught in the Italian proverb, "It is a foolish sheep that makes the wolf his confessor." The Spaniard says, "Oveja que bala bocada pierde"--"The sheep loses a mouthful when it bleats," a proverb which seems to encourage mere greediness at the expense of social converse, but which we may take more favourably to imply that it is better to stick steadily to one's work than break off for useless interruptions and, possibly, querulous complaints.