LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, L ©fjap, ©rtpijrit$t lfo-_ Shelf. &4_(^0\ im- tJNITED STATES OF AMERICA. / Robert C.H/\lloc^ D.D. POPULAR PROVERBS FALSE AND TRUE. BY Rev. ROBERT C. HALLOCK, D.D., Minister of the First Presbyterian Church, Southampton, Long; Island. NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPANY, 38 WEST TWENTY-THIRD STREET. , Vv-\\\ . *4 4 If ^ Copyright, 1891, by Anson D. F. Randolph & Company. ^i POPULAR PROVERBS: FALSE AND TRUE. AMONG the strongest influences for good or for evil in a nation's life are popular proverbs. They come, backed by the authority of the multitudes ; and that which " everybody says " we instinctively accept as true. There is a natural tendency among all nations to make these compact and pithy say- ings, these " rugged maxims hewn from life," and then to accept and believe them unquestioningly. They are sup- posed to be compressed summaries of practical wisdom, pure condensations 3 Popular Proverbs. of life-experience. Hence the danger from false popular proverbs. Satan makes such, and sends them abroad in the world ; and few of his messengers are more effective than are those imps of falsehood and sin, which, " borrow- ing the livery of heaven to serve the devil in/' come around under the guise of " popular proverbs. " It becomes imperatively necessary, therefore, for him who is set as a watchman for souls, to expose these wolves in sheep's clothing. On the other hand, there are many popular proverbs which are full of truth and vigor, and which are worthy of our study. Formed from the wisdom of many by the wit of one, they are crystallizations of experience, terse expressions of the wisdom of the ancients. For instance : How much sad experience is compacted into the proverb, " Time flies ! " Or, how 4 -M Popular Rroverbs. quaintly the old saying that " A roll- ing stone gathers no moss " tells that the world has learned the folly of fickleness and change. So too, " The early bird gets the worm " teaches the lesson of long experience, that life's prizes are for the vigilant,, the active, the diligent, who are about their work r betimes. How laconic and incisive are such proverbs as " Beauty is but skin deep"; " Talk is cheap"; " Penny wise, pound foolish "; " Least said, soonest mended "; " Enough is as good as a feast"; " Waste, makes want"; " Brag is a brave dog." The Bible bids us prove all things: how shall we distinguish between the false and the true popular proverbs ? The Bible itself is the test. u To the law and to the testimony." " They say" must be judged by " Thus saith the Lord." 5 Popular Proverbs. I. Let us first examine several pop- ular proverbs which, though commonly accepted and quoted as true, are full of the poison of that wisdom which cometh not from above, but from below. I. u MONEY MAKES THE MARE GO." So the proverb runs, and so men be- lieve. But it is false. The motive power of the world, the power which moves and moulds it in the long run, is not money, but mind ; not cash, but character; not mammon, but man- hood. Thought rules the world. The true kings of the earth have not been the " money kings." The names of " earths chosen heroes " have not been inscribed upon the world's honor roll because of the dollars they ruled. And the great issues of history have not been financial issues ; but intellectual, 6 Popular Proverbs. or moral, or humanitarian, or religious. The vindication and enthronement of constitutional law, the advance of popular sovereignty, the growth of . liberty, the abolition of slavery, the uplifting of woman, education for the people, — these, and such as these, have been the true issues of history. The great crises in the history of nations have not been financial crises. The Revival of Learning, the Reformation, the English Revolution, the American Revolutionary War, the War of the Re- bellion, — vast crises of history, all of them, — were not money questions. Still less is this proverb true as re- gards the Church. Money is needed to carry on the work of the Church, but money is not the motive power. It is a lubricator which makes the wheels move more easily, but it does not and cannot furnish power for spir- 7 /S Popular Proverbs. itual work. Only God's Spirit can do that. So, too, the preacher, as any other man, must have money to live; but most certainly money is not the controlling motive of the ministry. "The love of Christ constraineth us." Money is a mighty force, but it is not the chief influence. It is neither the ruling nor the motive power, in either the world or the Church. With earn- estness we deny the truth of that be- littling proverb which affirms that " money makes the mare go ! " 2. " EVERY MAN HAS HIS PRICE." No ; God forbid ! This proverb is a satanic cynicism, and a satanic lie. " Every man has his price," sneers the world. " One man can be bought low. He will sell his vote, his manhood, his honor, for a dollar or two. Another man may hold himself much higher; Popular Proverbs. but bid high enough and you will get him! Every man has his price ! " The world is mistaken. Its proverb is false in fact, and vicious in influence. There are men — and, thank God, they are not few — who hold their honor and manhood and self-respect too high to be bought at any price. They are not for sale ! What price could have bought the martyrs, or the Apostle Paul, or George Washington, or Abra- ham Lincoln ? When a leading Amer- ican was approached by a secret emis- sary of George III., and large bait was offered him to throw his influence on the side of England, the patriot drew himself proudly up and said : " Go back to your master and tell him that I am not worth purchasing, but that such as I am, there is not money enough in all his royal coffers to buy me ! " And we dare to affirm, in the face of the 9 w~ Popular Proverbs, world's sneers, and in spite of the woe- fully frequent sales of manhood and honor, that there are many men who are above all price, and cannot be bought. The worst of the proverb is not so much its falseness, but its de- grading influence. Young men, hear- ing it continually, come to feel that the world expects them to sell them- selves ; that in fact it is the proper thing to do ; and that the only thing of importance is to get a high enough price. If " England expects every man to do his duty," then every man wili show himself a hero: but if England expects her soldiers to prove cowards she will find them such. Let the proverb, " Every man has his price," be universally accepted as true, and all too soon it will prove true. Denounce it, declare it to be a satanic lie, and it will prove to be false. 10 Popular Proverbs. 3. "LOOK OUT FOR NO. I." " Get all you can, and keep all you get," says the world. " Every man for himself, and the devil take the hind- most ! " But this wisdom is " earthly, sensual,devilish." Compare this motto, polluted with the curse of selfishness, with the sublime command of Christ, that we love our neighbors as our- selves, and His equally sublime decla- ration, that it is more blessed to give than to receive ! Woe to the man who takes as his life-motto : " Look out for No. 1." Many souls have been slain by that slow poison. 4. " SOW YOUR WILD OATS WHILE YOU ARE YOUNG." So Satan tells you, and the world pardons you for following the devilish advice ; but God warns you that what you sow you must reap, and that your 're 1 Popular Proverbs, youth has in it the making or marring of your whole future. He that sows the wind must reap the whirlwind ; he that sows to his flesh shall reap cor- ruption ; he that sows " wild oats " in the bright days of youth shall reap a woeful harvest in the days when the shadows lengthen, and the end draws nigh. This deadly proverb is one of " the snares of the devil/' and by it he has ensnared many strong men to death. 5. " IN ROME DO AS THE ROMANS DO." Why? If Rome reads silly and hurtful books, observes foolish and wicked customs, holds false and de- structive opinions, and degrades life to a farce, why must I do as the Romans do? Must I bow my mind to custom, and my conscience to the commands of society? If Providence has cast ^f Popular Proverbs. my lot in Rome, then Rome shall be my home ; but I need not be a slave to Rome ! Daniel dwelt in Babylon, but he purposed that he would not defile himself. It is possible to live in the world, and yet not be conformed to the world ; to be in the world, yet not of it. Think for yourself; stand by conscience and principle, even though it be in the face of all the world. " Count me o'er earth's chosen heroes : they were men that stood alone ! " Weak conformity to custom, sacrifice of independence and self-re- spect, and a debilitated conscience, are the result of the contemptible advice, " Whenin Rome, do as the Romans do." 6. " BAD COMPANY IS BETTER THAN NONE." No proverb is more common than this one : none falser or more destruc- 13 d£±± Popular Proverbs. tive. Company is desirable, but it is a thousand times better to walk alone than to go in bad company. The boy and young man want associates, and to find them " loaf" around the street corner or the saloon. The young woman says, " I don't want to be a wall-flower. All the other girls have company, and so must I. Perhaps this young man is not all that he ought to be, but bad company is better than none." No ! young man, young wom- an, a thousand times, No! " He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be de- stroyed." So says the Word of God, and so testifies the experience of the world. No company is better than bad company, for bad company is destruc- tive. Sit alone, and sooner or later good company will come ; keep bad company and you can keep none else. 14 -^1 Popular Proverbs. Walk alone for conscience sake, and angels will walk with you ; walk with sinners for the sake of company, and you shall share in their destruction. Satan made the proverb, " Bad com- pany is better than none." 7. "AS WELL HAVE THE GAME AS THE NAME." Of all the proverbs we have studied, this is the most utterly debasing. " As well have the game as the name ! " Is it true? Is character nothing, and the name all? Makes it no difference to have peace of conscience? Is it no matter what God thinks, no matter for the Judgment Day? Out upon a motto so base and so degrading ! Is it as well to be bad as to be thought bad ? Then the devil reigns, and purity, righteousness, conscience and God are empty names of mockery ! 15 w Popular Proverbs, II. In the second place, there are some popular proverbs which are false or true according as you interpret them. Take, as an illustration : I. " all's well that ends well." There is a sense in which that is true. What will it matter, when we have reached heaven, whether our earthly life is sad or joyous, bright or dark? What matters it to the success- ful climber who stands upon the moun- tain summit, that his upward path has lain through dark chasms, over jagged rocks, and in the midst of many ter- rors? In this sense the proverb is true and helpful. But if you interpret the proverb to mean that success justifies wrong means ; that if the politician wins the election you must ask no questions as to means used, but only congratulate 16 Popular Proverbs. the victor; or, if you interpret the proverb to mean that if you can at the last slip into heaven " by the skin of your teeth," and then chuckle to your- self, " All's well that ends well," — so interpreted, the proverb is as false as Satan ! 2. " FINE FEATHERS MAKE FINE BIRDS." Yes: if you speak it with sarcastic inflection. Very often most common- place birds make a brave show when dressed up in fine feathers ! But if you affirm the motto as a veritable truth, we brand it as a lie. Fine feath- ers do not make fine birds. If a wretched outcast lies drunk in a ditch, he is a miserable drunkard : if a wealthy, well-clad sport lies drunk at the club, he too is a miserable drunk- ard. The immoral roue who infests 17 Popular Proverbs, society with his loathsome presence is no whit a finer bird than is the wretch whose name adorns the registers of the police court. " A man's a man for a that "; and so is a beast. Fine feath- ers do not make fine birds. " Cursed be the social lies that warp us from the living truth ! " III. But many popular proverbs are wholly true, and they challenge our attention for their truth and their vigor. Let us examine a few of them somewhat more carefully than: we are wont. I. " BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER." How true. A man is known by the company he keeps. If his tastes are low, he will seek low company; if he seek low company it proves his tastes low, whatever his denial. Water Popular Proverbs. finds its level ; the principle of " natu- ral selection " brings people of the same type together. Saints seek the society of saints ; sinners that of sin- ners. Men go to hell only because they are fitted for hell ; no man can live in heaven who is not heavenly. Empty hell and heaven and leave their former inhabitants free to choose either place, and ultimately they would all be back in their old quarters ! Birds of a feather flock together because they belong together. " What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteous- ness? and what communion hath light with darkness? " 2. "YOU CAN'T HANDLE PITCH AND NOT BE BLACKED." Nothing truer. You can't read black books and not be blacked. You can't entertain vile and unlovely thoughts 19 !*-«* Popular Proverbs, and not be stained. You can't listen to " smutty'' stories and not be spot- ted by the smut. You can't come into contact with the world's foulness and escape defilement. A young man wants " to know the world," and says, " Oh, it will not hurt me to see something of life ! I don't want to be an ignorant ninny, I want to know what is in the world. I want to be posted." Ah, young man, " learn well to know how much need not be known, and what that knowledge which impairs the sense." If by knowing the world you mean becoming familiar with the in- iquity of the world, be assured that you can't touch pitch and not be blacked ! Don't dabble in the world's mud-puddles and cesspools: the knowl- edge so obtained is not worth the soil- ure. " Wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil," is Paul's Popular Proverbs. advice. Oh, that we could impress upon all, the solemn truth of this old proverb : " You can't touch pitch and not be blacked ! " 3. "FAINT HEART NEVER WON FAIR LADY." No doubt this proverb is true in its literal application. It is probable that any fair lady who is worth the winning would scorn to be won by a coward. But the proverb has a much wider ap- plication. It means that life's prizes are to be won by the brave, the per- severing, the courageous. This is true of worldly success. The coward and the craven are always distanced in the race of life. It is the man who is "diligent in his business " that shall " stand before kings ; he shall not stand before mean men." But the same prin- ciple holds true of religion. No man's 21 Popular Proverbs. life-boat ever drifted into heaven ! He who would be saved must " bend to the oar." We are warned to agonize to enter in at the strait gate. The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent taketh it by force. The Christian life is a race, a warfare, a struggle. The prize is great, fair, precious ; but it cannot be won by the drone and the idler. The rewards even of earth are granted to earnest workers only : shall the pearl of great price, shall heaven, be held on lower terms ? 4. " MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES. " Ah ! there is the ripe wisdom of life. " Make hay while the sun shines ": the night cometh in which no man can work. Life has its times of oppor- tunity; which may be used or abused * — then comes destiny ! First the day n Popular Proverbs, of grace : then the day of judgment. Youth is a time of sunshine, a time of opportunity. " Spread wide your skirts when the heavens rain gold." The golden opportunities of youth come not back again. To-day is a time of sunshine, of opportunity ; but it will soon be gone. "Be- wise to- day ; 'tis madness to defer." The pres- ent is ours, the present only. Work to- day. " Make hay while the sun shines." Life is a time of sunshine, of oppor- tunity. When death comes, then comes destiny! Do the work of life while life lasts ; the night cometh. "What- soever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wis- dom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Accept Christ now : to-day is the sun- shine of grace. At a later time He may say : " Too late— thou canst not 23 Af «- /s Popular Proverbs. enter now!" Grasp opportunity ere it changes into destiny. " Make hay while the sun shines ": this is the sum of life's wisdom. 5. " BETTER LATE THAN NEVER." Some of you have rejected Christ many long years : some have neglected known duties for many months. What then ? O, friends, 'tis better late than never ! Come to Christ now — to-day. Begin even now to do the long-neg- lected duties. Begin now to be a Christian ; begin now to serve the Sav- iour. You say you have delayed very long, that it is very late? Yes, 'tis true. Some of you have grown gray- haired in years of disobedience. It is very late. But I am commissioned in Christ's name to say to you, " It's better late than never, better late than 24 ±± I Popular Proverbs, never!" Come now, before it grows too late ! 6. " HE LAUGHS BEST WHO LAUGHS LAST." Yes: Dives may laugh in this world, but we will choose our lot with Laz- arus rather. The wicked may sneer at religion here, but who shall come out best in the end ? Things are of real value only as they shall be re- garded in the light of eternity. Do not make time your standard of meas- ure: "what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? " Heaven, not earth, is the test. He who wins God, wins glory, wins eternal life and bliss — whatever he may suffer in this world — is the blessed one. " He laughs best who laughs last." 25 \ •swr LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 027 249 968 8