Proverbs of the people : a cento of aphorisms reasonably rhymed

£
K
O

>H

K

K
OP

O
O

H

i — i

co

K
W

D

University of California • Berkeley

A CENTO OF
APHORKSMiS
REAiSONABLY
RHYMED- -

BY- - * •

LORENZO cSSOSSQ

DESlGKf BY HAH9HALL DOUGLAS.

• HPCCCCIV -

Copyright

A. M. ROBERTSON

San Francisco

1903

First edition, January, 1904
Second edition, October, 1904

57/4

TO MY MOTHER
A little offering for a great love.

PREFACE

Alas! for the fate of the social reformer,
Who finding things warm only makes things
warmer.

IT was from the mouth of the garrulous
Polonlus that Shakespeare let fall one of
those Inestimable pearls of wisdom where
with his genius was so lavishly endowed:
"Brevity is the soul of wit." O, brilliant
truth! And as condensation Is the highest
attainment In the art of literary expression,
whether rhythmical or rhetorical, so over the
portal leading to the temple of Fame are
carven in letters of gold the words MULTUM
IN PARVO.

Of late there has been a plethora of Pro
verbs. Some perverted from their proper
use; Some cynically (and scenically) present
ed, to be calendered for all time; some the
whimsies of a frivolous mind; some evisce
rated of all wit; others the evaporation of
wisdom condensed Into a drop of fancy,

The author of this little booklet has not
attempted to rival these later Solomons In
their loquacious utterances for the benefit of
both the elect and unlnstructed. Emerson has
stated that "Proverbs, like the sacred books

of each nation are the sanctuary of the In
tuitions." They are also an epigrammatic
epitome of the common sense of the people,
which neither the wit nor the Jester, the
satirist nor the sage, can entirely invalidate.

And there are no wiser commentaries to the
prosaic tomes of Time than those proverbs
which the peoples of all nations have orig
inated. Indeed, many a proverb would serve
as a fitting epitaph for mighty empires passed
away.

It would be futile, therefore, for the writer
of these pages to claim absolute originality
for his production. But by casting them
Into a rhythmical form, after usages of east
ern nations, It is hoped they may be easily
memorized, and serve the apter purpose of
quotation for the minister, the lecturer, the
author, the orator, the lawyer, the publican,
and all those wiser Philistines of our day
whose modicum of morality Is dispensed from
their philters of wit one drop at a time.

No other merit Is claimed,

And where no reward is expected, no rebuke

should attend,
"With which moral I drop my theorbo," and

come to an end.

Whenever you would give advice
Be not too liberal; keep a slice.

This is the law by which to live:
To give to get, to get to give.

No want of will will always be
No want of opportunity.

It will not help your feet to

mount
To look upon the steps and

count.

7Tis not the luster of the blade
Which makes the enemy afraid.

Politeness may not make a man;
Effrontery surely never can.

To change not always is to better;
To bend is not to break the fetter.

Too oft the hand which wears a glove
Knows neither charity nor love.

If all would practice what they preach
There would be no one left to teach.

For every grain of common sense
The heaps of folly are immense.

Silence hath many ways
For winning Wisdom's praise.

Quickly is love's duration reckoned,
With woman a minute, with man a
second.

How great their folly who suppose
The thorn adds richness to the rose.

It is through what they instigate
Some men succeed in being great.

If quality be nature's law,
Then Jacob still should
Esau.

'Tis those who trust their all to
Chance

Who think fate rules each cir
cumstance.

Lament the present, not the

past,
If few of Fortune's gifts thou

hast.

Even the greatest wisdom fails
When weighing love in even
scales.

Tis deeper wisdom to refrain
Than to presume to speak in
vain.

Make of Adversity a friend;
Much precious lore hath she to
lend.

Wisdom begat but children twain;
And one is Joy, and one is Pain.

Seek not all truth within a well,
The stars have also things to tell.

We always play the game to win,
We never think about the sin.

Folly sometimes an audience draws
Where Wisdom vainly pleads its cause

Who would succeed must never stack
Too many burdens on his back.

Better the envy of the witty
Than to be looked upon with pity.

A compromise, however bad,
Is better than a lawsuit had.

It often needs two swords to keep
Another in its sheath asleep.

We may die with thirst at the

brink of
The fountain we once scorned to

drink of.

Millions are spent for pride;

a pence
Suffices for benevolence.

O vain pursuit; to angle for a

fish
Which would not fill the poorest

beggar's dish.

The more 'tis rainbows that we

chase
The more we madden in the

race.

Think not all playthings are for

boys,
The oldest dotard hath his toys.

Who buys nor pays for what he

got

[May sell what he would rather
not.

The youth is apt to scorn at age,
[While folly envieth the sage.

Ever/ one at least a pair
Of fool's shoes must outwear.

Who goeth softly safely goes;
Wisdom walks on velvet toes.

Sympathy should outrun
The fleet steeds of the sun.

Vain is the toil of any man
Who endeth not what he began.

There are some fashions fools invent
Which wise men come to supplement.

Sessions presided o'er by hate
Never see cause to arbitrate.

A most precarious life he leads
Who judges others their misdeeds.

More covetous the wish
More grievous is the dish.

Strong are the legs which can sup
port
Prosperity of every sort.

Let not the wise spurn fools

in speech;
Whom better could their

wisdom teach?

A single penny fairly got

Is worth a thousand that are not.

If greatness were enough for one
The cow would soon the hare
outrun.

O strange that this should ever

be,
The bowl drowns more than

doth the sea!

In Life's great volume every

leaf
Reveals the water-mark of Grief.

Not even fate can claim control
Over man's fortitude of soul.

Disputing and borrowing
Cause bitter sorrowing.

When fools have come to blows
Only a fool will interpose.

A sordid thought
Is easily bought.

Love's greatest price
Is sacrifice.

According as you may contrast
The petty changes to the vast.

Tis wise to drop the jest
Then when it pleases best.

Second by second Time proceeds,
And yet he sows eternal deeds.

As it is meted thee so meter;
This were a law for Paul or Peter.

Do thou good deeds, and in the

doing
Remember they will bear renewing.

To-morrow's wealth can
not outweigh

The priceless value of To
day.

The opulence of a spendthrift
son

Is but the miser's greed out
done.

Folly still attends the birth
Of every mortal on the earth,

That wheel the fastest in its

spoke
Is very often the soonest broke.

Who would lick honey from a
thorn *

Will soon have cause enough to
mourn.

The singing birds among the

trees
Sing not the public ear to

please.

A thousand die of drinking first
Ere one will die of bitter thirst.

Only a fool will care to boast

Of where his shoe doth pinch the most.

These are the things which we can

trust,
Words of the wise and counsels of the

just.

Companionship in all distress
Makes tribulations seem the less.

Though hand and heart are of one body
both,

The hand to strike the heart is noth
ing loth.

A fool however young in years
Knows some things better than the
seers.

There is a law for each occasion;
Another law for its evasion.

Much must he deal in courtesies
Who every one alike would please.

A hundred years of slight
Make not one hour of Right.

In every joyful meeting *
Some heart may be with
sorrow beating.

However much a beggar choose
A fortune is not his to lose.

Two things that harmonize and

blend,
A sundial's shadow, a fickle

friend.

How foolish for the sheep to

bleat
When they the butcher go to

meet.

The earth no worse a water

keeps
Than that which in the shadow

sleeps.

Courageous hearts far less will

boast
Than those in want of courage

most.

Not always are they free from care
Who dance unto some joyful air.

Vain thought to make the wisest

laugh,
The cow thinks she was ne'er a calf.

A landmark good protection yields
Though placed between two brothers'
fields.

Think not by beating of a drum
That fame and wealth to thee will
come.

Pride never found a more sumptuous
niche

Than the heart of a beggar grown sud
denly rich.

What cause have wealthy men for

pride?
No shrouds bear wallets on the

side.

The coward still finds cause to fear
Though peril may be never near.

No wind is good of any sort
To him who steereth for no port.

The lightest burden on the back
Will seem in time a heavy sack.

Birds sometimes their

griefs assuage
By bruising wings against

their cage.

Who buys hath always eyes too

few;
Who sells, one eye for him will

do.

Who always speak do only sow;
Who listen reap what others
know.

This adage learn and treasure

long,
Challenge no fool to do thee

wrong.

Deeper the cut that's made by

pride
Than if a sword should pierce

the side.

Like glow-worms sparkling in a

pit,
Our spirits gleam awhile then

flit.

When care of time is set adrift

The moments then seem doubly swift.

Nought which the wise contemn is

worse
Than empty head with heavy purse.

However slow, however fast,
The river still keeps flowing past.

Make your expenditure to-day
Not what you would but what you
may.

"Work that is play, and play that is

work";
The wisdom of life is, neither to shirk.

353?

n

GENERAL LIBRARY - U.C. BERKELE

•