Prev | Current Page 288 | Next

Clouston, William Alexander, 1843-1896

"Flowers from a Persian Garden and Other Papers"

"
First learn and then teach.
Teach thy tongue to say, "I do not know."
The birds of the air despise a miser.
If thy goods sell not in one city, take them to another.
Victuals prepared by many cooks will be neither cold nor hot.[100]
[100] Too many cooks spoil the broth.--_English Proverb_.
Two pieces of money in a large jar make more noise than a hundred.[101]
[101] Two farthings and a thimble
In a tailor's pocket make a jingle.--_English Saying_.
Into the well which supplies thee with water cast no stones.[102]
[102] "Don't speak ill of the bridge that bore you safe over
the stream" seems to be the European equivalent.
When love is intense, both find room enough upon one bench; afterwards,
they may find themselves cramped in a space of sixty cubits.[103]
[103] Python, of Byzantium, was a very corpulent man. He once
said to the citizens, in addressing them to make friends
after a political dispute: "Gentlemen, you see how stout
I am. Well, I have a wife at home who is still stouter.
Now, when we are good friends, we can sit together on a
very small couch; but when we quarrel, I do assure you,
the whole house cannot contain us."--_Athenaeus_, xii.
The place honours not the man; it is the man who gives honour to the
place.


Pages:
276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300