POPULAR SAYINGS
FROM
BY
QUEBEC:
DAWSON & COMPANY.
——
1877.
These «Popular Sayings» are the buds and blossoms of Spanish sentiment and poetry.
May these few flowers which in moments of pastime, we have culled from a very glowing clime, prove a worthy offering, and welcome as real exotics.
FIELDAT. AITIAICHE.
Quebec, Canada,
December, 1876.
Every popular saying is a chapter from the history of a heart.
A belle is generally the subject of two contrasting passions; the envy of women, the love of men. Envy says she is ugly, but love says she is an angel.
To mitigate sorrows, we doubtless need to sell remembrance to buy forgetfulness. Who would ever have thought the possession of a good memory would prove a misfortune?
Sympathy often enters by the eyes, lives in the heart, is fed by the ears, and is killed by ingratitude.
It is Cupid’s well known axiom that he who loves, keeps silence. And there is also a maxim that if we imagine we can love two at the same time, three are deceived.
«That which cannot be signed ought not to be written,» Ferrer de Couto has said, most pertinently.
Faithfulness is a rare coin. To convert it into serviceable currency you must exchange it. Plain truth is another coin, also very rare, and there are persons who have used it so little that they are totally ignorant of its great value.
Though the attributes of God are all equally adorable, we find His mercy far easier to submit to, than His justice.
One of the many sweet morals of Ossorio-Bernard is this: «Respect old people, for it is a dilemma of destiny, to die or to become aged.»
In all languages we learn, what experience has taught all people, that a dog that barks will not bite.
In running swiftly up a hill, a certain individual fell and broke his neck. His fate is a lesson. In following the promptings of ambition, too recklessly, we often lose all.
«Acta, non verba» would, if always remembered, do away with much useless talking.
They say that Love is an electric spark, also a magnetic influence. But no doubt it is like a current of air, which, if strong, blows out a small fire, and increases a large one.
The worst conflagration may, it is said, be extinguished by water. But many tears have failed to extinguish the fire which burns in some hearts.
The rope always breaks in the thinnest place.
Of the many who are indifferent to the presence of grandeur or pathos, some sleep, some laugh, and a few yawn candidly.
Behold the injustice of the world, because the great grand-father once killed a cat in his village, the family has ever since been called «Cat-killer!»
It is foolish to make a sensible person suffer for the folly of a fool.
A rule for happiness: never go to bed without feeling sure you have performed at least one act of kindness during the day.
The deafest man is he who does not wish to hear.
With good intentions you can seldom do much wrong.
Bad habits should be early forsaken, for custom becomes second nature.
The wheel of fortune is as steady in its revolutions as a mill-wheel, and although Cupid may smile at the top to-day, to-morrow, in spite of his wings, he may be crushed beneath it.
In the garden of the world the soul is like a flower, and the dew for this flower is hope. Hope, and your soul will always be kept fresh.
The garb should always be suitable to the office and rank of the wearer.
Some persons study the stars to learn their destiny, and a lover studies a woman’s eyes to know his.
I will read you your character, if you tell me what company you keep.
It is said to be a trait of woman, to slight those who adore her, and love those who do not care for her.
Distrust those who flame suddenly with enthusiasm. The hotter the frying-pan, the sooner melts the butter.
Work is something given directly from God, and it redeems the world.
Merit does much, but fortune often has a share in the bargain.
Much harm would arise if all the world believed in the Latin proverb; «Audaces fortuna juvat.»
There is no such thing as a modest highwayman; neither does any honest fellow like to make himself too visible.
Notable actions are like the shadows of the individuals who perform them; the greater they are, the further the shadow is cast.
«Do not strive to hide your poverty, nor that of your family. When once it is understood that you are not ashamed of it, no one will try to make you blush over it.» So Alonso Quijano, advised his servant.
A favor kindly granted, is doubled.
He, whom you have once humiliated, is not likely to forget it.
A gem thrown away may be recovered, but the time lost in searching for it, can never be.
There is no true love where there is no true esteem.
To doubt in silence, is better than to contradict too readily.
Spirit is always above matter, as ether always evaporates from a material surface.
To the good or the beautiful, its own value suffices.
Trust God alone, for he only is sure to be just.
The worst martyrdom is loving an incomprehensible woman.
If you promise a real benefit, let your actions quickly follow your words.
Calumny hurts three persons, him who utters it, him who hears it, and him of whom it is spoken, but the last, happily, not always, or not for a long time.
If any one does or says a thing which you condemn, show your disapproval at once, for it is better to turn pale once, than to blush twice. And if the offender is an intimate acquaintance, speak plainly, for between friends straight accounts are desirable.
Of all sins men commit, none is blacker than ingratitude.
In taking, there can be no mistake, therefore take a moral rap when necessary.
There are women more fortunate and less constant, than some of their admirers would like them to be.
Be cautious of so called friends. If all is happiness around you, you will have them by hundreds, but when fortune deserts you, they will make off with the roses, leaving you only the thorns.
An error penitently confessed can be easily forgiven.
Many offences are only blunders.
He who knows not how to make himself great, often tries to make himself feared.
The eyes and lips of a beloved woman, master the most independent man.
To fatalism an evil is always great, and its remedy is always concealed. The eyes of a fatalist are magnifying-glasses which increase the size of every object.
Jealousy is only suspicion. Beware how you mingle appearances and realities.
The heart incapable of gratitude is also incapable of loving.
In the headache of a lady, or the lameness of a dog, you must not always believe.
It is better to be a good but humble person, than a high born rascal.
To avoid being a drunkard, observe the effect of intemperance in others.
The church bells ringing from a lofty steeple, seem like the voice of God, sounding above the clamor of the world.
There is a saying: «A father be to the good, and a father-in-law to the impudent, the selfish and the cruel.» But this would not be our advice; ours is—pity, pity.
Do not let your mind wander in empty space.
Those who live fast will not live long.
In every house there should exist a book, wherein would be written: «In the business of others, never meddle.»
Life is not altogether bad, even the strongest glare of day, is toned down every twenty-four hours, by twilight.
There are three kinds of grief: one kind which can be forgotten in pleasure, another which can be banished before philosophy, and still another kind which nothing but death can assuage.
Judgment, which should rule in marriage as in all things, is often warped by broken affection.
It is but fitting that the son should be brought up to the calling of the father.
Always spread your sail in time to catch a favoring breeze.
You can keep anything but a woman against her will.
Often the happiness of a person depends upon his tongue.
All knowledge is profitable if we know how to use it well.
The list of heroes is long, but the list of unregistered martyrs is longer.
To inspire esteem and confidence, there is no surer way than to be nicely punctual in any promise.
One bird in the hand, is better than a hundred in the air.
Caress a cat and she will probably claw your face.
A confiding woman, when she loves a man, clings as closely to him as an ivy vine, and deserves as firm and trust worthy a support.
Your father was poor, but honest. Try to be richer than he, but be equally honest.
How cautious should be the man who is selecting a fellow traveller, who is to journey through life with him, and part from him only at the grave; and who is to share all the fatigues and pleasures of the voyage, as the wife does with the husband, and the husband does with the wife.
The goddess called Fortune is a whimsical queen, she is also blind, so that she neither sees what she does, knows whom she raises, nor whom she casts down.
The one who strikes first has generally a better chance to strike twice.
Ignorance if earnest will overcome errors.
Many a hope has to go to the winds to complain.
«Matrimony, especially amongst christians, is a noose, which,» said Quijote, «fastened about the neck runs the closer and fits the more uneasily, by our struggling to get loose.»
«Christian marriage is indeed a gordian knot, which none can untie, and being twisted with our thread of life, nothing but the scythe of death can cut it,» says Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
There are many who agree with the squire, that a fat trouble is better than a lean one.
Say no when necessary, and ay when pertinent. One word has no more letters in it than the other.
To suffer for the sake of peace the heavy chain of unlucky union, may be honorable, virtuous and grand; but is not always advisable.
A place is great—as for instance Madrid—when, since childhood, have prayed in its temples men like Lope de Vega, Calderon and Cervantes; when it has given to science many noble names, and to independence many brave martyrs.
Put a copper coin into vinegar and it will become oxidized; put the same coin into oil, and it will become clear and brilliant. How plain the moral of this is.
A good and pleasant consort is a treasure that we ought not to rid ourselves of for a caprice.
Two hearts can never be very far apart if they have once been really united by Love.
Do not try to put the point of a pin between a woman’s yea and nay, for they are often so close together.
One word is sufficient for a wise man.
There is nothing harder than to sing when in agony.
Honey is not for the mouth of an ass.
Sometimes he who sings once weeps ever after.
Weep with those who weep; smile with those who smile, and have a heart which echoes every joy and sorrow.
Where is the mortal, who after a sojourn of twenty-five years in this world, could say: «I saw nothing but pleasant visions»?
Believe only in large companies, when going to fight.
Certain hopes are like delusive dreams, like the electric flash which attends thunder and illuminates but an instant.
To be willing, is to be able.
Many a man who complains that he cannot keep his nose above water, would find it easier if he did not so often keep it above spirits.
Fortunate is the man who always finds at the right time, the cloth laid, and the bed made.
To have a good heart and to be unable to find another to appreciate it, is like having a ducat in a desert, where you can buy nothing with your gold.
He that gives a broken head should also give a plaster wherewith to mend it.
If we could know the secret history of heroism, deeds would become known which are now never dreamed of.
If we are to sing the beauty of the sky, of flowers, of love and of innocence, and of every thing grand and beautiful; let us go to our quiet chamber, or near a limpid stream, or where we will catch the pure spray of a magnificent waterfall.
An active and willing solicitor brings the doubtful suit to a happy issue.
The brain and heart of some are the archives in which all of your words, looks and movements are stored.
Be prompt rather to act than to complain.
When you give, give; do not lend.
It is easier to reduce the rash and fool hardy to true bravery, than to imbue the coward with that virtue.
Lovely women are like angels; when some men dream, it is always of angels.
Retreating is not running away, though running away is sometimes called retreating.
He who errs, and confesses his sin, is near reformation.
Time and disappointment are two loyal friends.
Cupid, some say, is not entirely blind, but very short-sighted, and, according to good Panza, looks through odd spectacles, which make copper look like gold, a cart like a coach, and a shrimp like a lobster.
Do not suffer yourself to be robbed of your treasure, and you will not have to curse the thief.
The laws, some one has said, are like cobwebs, they catch only the small flies.
It is easier for a prodigal to become liberal, than to become a miser.
Expedition and despatch anticipate the enemy, and victory becomes assured before the foe is prepared for defence.
The sweet singer, Anton, tells us that peace of mind is not as often found in the lordly mansion, as in the retired cottage.
It is better to overdo than underdo a thing.
Nothing, as Lafuente-Alcàntara says, is more interesting to the philosopher and moralist, than the lives, habits, passions and beliefs of what some call «the populace.»
Who can put a spoke into the wheel of fortune?
Women are in the main, an indispensable accident to men.
It is better for a man to do a rash act, than a cowardly one.
The Knight of La Mancha said: «It is a common adage, fair lady, that diligence is the mother of success.»
The highest poetical sentiments are found in the people, and in that part of the people who are called ignorant and uncultivated, who cannot express their thoughts with as much elegance as sincerity; the people, finally, who in Spain, as Trueba observes, describe the mother of Jesus as «the Mother of the Beautiful Love.»
Those persons who allow their tongues to run at random, are often more fools than knaves.
There cannot be smoke without fire.
The obstinate beggar will at last get a piece of bread.
There are misfortunes which have a commencement, but which will hardly have an end.
Most popular aphorisms or sayings, are a history of the people, condensed by their hearts.
The Spaniards always say: «A thing is never properly valued until it is lost forever.»
To acquire a good name is difficult, but it is still more difficult to retain. The young should acquire; the old should retain.
The sweetest music for a quiet conscience is the birds’ notes, tuned to the key of nature, by the hand of the great musician—God!
The pains of the mind often afflict the body, more than the pains of the body.
He, who has not sense enough to know he is a brute, will live and die an ass.
Success, either good or bad, has a terrible enemy—memory.
Strange things may fall out in the roasting of an egg.
Valor is a virtue, situated between the two extremes of cowardice and temerity.
Where is the mortal, who, in traversing the vale of life, has not found sharp thorns among the roses.
In the depth of the heart lie sorrows some of which are known to mortals, but many of which are only known to God.
Keep your holidays peacefully, and do not throw the rope after the bucket.
Of your charming eyes, no complaint is made. They would perhaps like to look at me, but you do not allow them.
There are some people who have done what they ought, but they owe to others what they have done.
Music is not always a sign of feasting and merriment.
To call a war sacred is to say that it is possible to love and hate at the same time; to beat and caress with rage and love simultaneously. All contrary arguments, no matter whence they come, are capricious. They are utopian sayings, more or less clever, but utopian still.
Sow gales, and storms will arise in your path.
Hell is believed to be crowded with the ungrateful.
Riches are of little avail in many of the misfortunes to which we are liable.