A collection of English proverbs digested into a convenient method for the speedy finding any one upon occasion : with short annotations : whereunto are added local proverbs with their explications, old proverbial rhythmes, less known or exotick proverbial sentences, and Scottish proverbs / by J. Ray, M.A. and Fellow of the Royal Society.

A collection of English proverbs digested into a convenient method for the speedy finding any one upon occasion : with short annotations : whereunto are added local proverbs with their explications, old proverbial rhythmes, less known or exotick proverbial sentences, and Scottish proverbs / by J. Ray, M.A. and Fellow of the Royal Society.

Table of contents

Title page

The PREFACE.

Sentences and Phraſes found in the former Collections of Proverbs, the moſt of them not now in common uſe for ſuch, ſo far as I know, but borrowed of other Language.

Proverbs and Proverbial obſervations belonging to Health, Diet and Phyſick.

Proverbs and Proverbial Obſervations concerning Husbandry, Weather and the ſeaſons of the year.

Proverbs and Proverbial obſervations referring to Love, Wedlock and Women.

AN ALPHABET Of Joculatory, Nugatory And Ruſtick Proverbs.

Miſcellany Proverbiall Sayings.

Proverbs that are entire Sentences.

Proverbial Phraſes and forms of Speech that are not Entire Sentences.

Proverbial Similies, in which the quality and ſubject begin with the ſame letter.

Proverbial Rhythmes and old ſaws.

Out of Doctour Fullers Worthies of England, ſuch as are not entred already in the Catalogues.

Proverbs communicated by Mr Andrew Paſchall of Chedſey in Somerſetſhire, which came not to hand till the copy of this ſecond Edition was delivered to the Bookſeller, and ſo could not be referred to their proper places.

Northern Proverbs communicated by Mr Fr. Brokesby of Rowley, in Yorkſhire.

SCOTTISH PROVERBS.

Proverbial ſpeeches of perſons given to ſuch vices or vertues as follows.

Adagia Hebraica.

Books ſold by W. Morden Bookſeller in Cambridge.

§

[Page] [Page]A COLLECTION OF Engliſh PROVERBS Digeſted into a convenient Method for the ſpeedy finding any one upon occaſion; WITH Short ANNOTATIONS.

Whereunto are added Local Proverbs with their Explications, Old Proverbial Rhythmes, Leſs known or Exotick Proverbial Sentences, and Scottiſh Proverbs.

The Second Edition Enlarged by the Addition of many hundred Engliſh, and an Appendix of Hebrew Proverbs, with Annotations and Parallels.

By J. Ray, M.A. and Fellow of the Royal Society.

CAMBRIDGE, Printed by John Hayes, Printer to the Univerſity, for W. Morden. 1678.

The PREFACE.

[Page]

[Page]

THe former Edition of this Collection of Engliſh Proverbs falling into the hands of divers ingenious perſons, my worthy friends, in ſeveral parts of this Kingdom, had (as I hoped it would) this good effect, to excite them, as well to examine their own memories and try what they could call to mind themſelves that were therein wanting, as alſo more carefully to heed what occurred in reading, or dropt from the mouths of others in diſcourſe. Whereupon having noted many ſuch, they were pleaſed for the perfecting of the work frankly to communicate them to me. All which, amounting to ſome hundreds, beſides not a few of my own obſervation, I preſent the Reader with in this ſecond Edition: I dare not yet pretend it to be a compleat and perfect Catalogue of all Engliſh Proverbs: but I think I may without arrogance affirm it to be more full and comprehenſive [Page] then any Collection hitherto publiſhed. And I believe that not very many of the Proverbs generally uſed all England over, or far diffuſed over any conſiderable part of it whether the Eaſt, Weſt, North or midland countreys, have eſcaped it; I having had communications from obſervant and inquiſitive perſons in all thoſe parts, viz. from Francis Jeſſop Eſq of Broom-hall in Sheffield pariſh Yorkſhire, Mr George Antrobus Maſter of the free School at Tamworth in Warwickſhire, Mr Walter Aſhmore of the ſame place. Michael Biddulph Gent. of Poleſworth in Warwickſhire, deceaſed; Mr Newton of Leiceſter, Mr Sherringham of Caius College in Cambridge; Sr Philip Skippon of Wrentham in Suffolk Knight, Mr Andrew Paſchall of Chedſey in Somerſetſhire, and Mr Francis Brokesby of Rowley in the Eaſt Riding of Yorkſhire. As for locall Proverbs of leſſer extent, proper to ſome Towns or Villages, as they are very numerous, ſo are they hard to be procured, and few of them, could they be had, very quaint or ſignificant.

If any one ſhall find fault, that I have inſerted many Engliſh Phraſes that are not properly Proverbs, though that word be taken in its greateſt latitude and according to my own definition of [Page] a Proverb, & object that I might as well have admitted all the idioms of the Engliſh tongue; I anſwer, that, to ſay the truth, I cannot warrant all thoſe Phraſes to be genuine Proverbs to which I have allowed room in this collection; for indeed I did not ſatisfie my ſelf in many: but becauſe they were ſent me for ſuch by learned and intelligent perſons, and who I ought to preſume underſtand the nature of a Proverb better then my ſelf, and becauſe I find the like in Collections of forreign Proverbs both French and Italian, I choſe rather to ſubmit them to the cenſure of the Reader, then my ſelf paſs ſentence of rejection on them.

As for the method I have uſed, in the Preface to the former Edition I have given my reaſons why I made choice of it, which to me doe ſtill appear to be ſufficient. The method of common places, if any man think it uſeful, may eaſily be ſupplied by an Index of Common places, wherein to each head the Proverbs appertaining or reducible ſhall be referred by the appoſition of the numeral characters of page and line.

Some Proverbs the Reader may poſſibly find repeated, but I dare ſay not many. I know this might have been avoided by running over the whole book, and ſearching for the Proverbs one [Page] by one in all the places where our method would admit them entry. But ſloth and impatience of ſo tedious a work enticed me rather to preſume upon memory; eſpecially conſidering it was not worth while to be very ſolicitous about a matter of ſo ſmall importance. In ſuch papers as I received after the Copy was out of my hands, when I was doubtful of any Proverb I choſe to let it ſtand, reſolving that it was better to repeat ſome then to omit any.

Now whereas I underſtand that ſome Proverbs admitted in the former Edition have given offence to ſober and pious perſons, as ſavouring too much of obſcenity, being apt to ſuggeſt impure fancies to corrupt minds, I have in this omitted all I could ſuſpect for ſuch ſave only one, for the letting of which ſtand I have given my reaſon in the Note upon it; and yet now upon better conſideration I could wiſh that it alſo were obliterated. For I would by no means be guilty of adminiſtring fewel to luſt, which I am ſenſible needs no incentives, burning too eagerly of it ſelf.

But though I doe condemn the mention of any thing obſcene, yet I cannot think all uſe of ſlovenly and dirty words to be ſuch a violation of modeſty, as to exact the diſcarding all Proverbs [Page] of which they are ingredients. The uſefull notions which many ill-worded Proverbs doe import, may I think compenſate for their homely terms; though I could wiſh the contrivers of them had put their ſence into more decent and cleanly language. For if we conſider what the reaſons are why the naming ſome excrements of the body or the egeſtion of them, or the parts employed therein is condemned, we ſhall find them to be, either 1. becauſe ſuch excrements being offenſive to our ſences, and uſually begetting a loathing in our ſtomachs, the words that ſignifie them are apt to doe ſo too; and for their relation to them, ſuch alſo as denote thoſe actions and parts of the body by which they are expelled, and therefore the mention of them is uncivil and contrary to good manners; or 2. becauſe ſuch excrements reflect ſome diſhonour upon our bodies, it being reputed diſgracefull to lie under a neceſſity of ſuch evacuations, and to have ſuch ſinks about us: and therefore modeſty requires that we decline the naming of them, left we ſeem to glory in our ſhame. Now theſe reaſons to me ſeem not ſo weighty and cogent as to neceſſitate the omiſſion of ſo many of the moſt witty and ſignificant of our Engliſh Proverbs: Yet further to avoid all occaſion of offence, I have by [Page] that uſual expedient of putting onely the initial letters for the uncleanly words ſo veiled them, that I hope they will not turn the ſtomach of the moſt nauſeous. For it is the naming ſuch things by their plain and proper appellatives that is odious and offenſive, when they come lapped up (as we ſay) in clean linnen, that is expreſſed in oblique, figurative or metaphorical terms, or onely intimated and pointed at, the moſt modeſt can brook them well enough. The Appendix of Hebrew Proverbs was collected and communicated by my worthy friend Mr Richard Kidder Rector of Rayn in Eſſex.

So I have diſpatcht what I thought needfull to premiſe either for my own excuſe or the Readers ſatisfaction, to whoſe favourable acceptance I recommend the work.

Sentences and Phraſes found in the former Collections of Proverbs, the moſt of them not now in common uſe for ſuch, ſo far as I know, but borrowed of other Language.

[Page]

A.

BEtter to go about then to fall into the ditch. Hiſpan.

The abſent Party is ſtill faulty.

In vain he craves advice that will not follow it.

When a thing is done advice comes too late.

Though old and wiſe yet ſtill adviſe.

It's an ill air where nothing is to be gain'd.

No Alchymy to ſaving.

Good Ale is meat, drink and cloth.

Anger dieth quickly with a good man.

He that is Angry is ſeldome at eaſe.

For that thou canſt do thy ſelf rely not on another.

The wholeſomeſt meat is at another mans coſt.

None knows the weight of anothers burden.

When you are an Anvil hold you ſtill;

When you are a hammer ſtrike your fill.

[Page] The Ape ſo long clippeth her young that at laſt ſhe killeth them.

An Ape is an Ape, a varlet's a varlet,

Though they be clad in ſilk or ſcarlet.

A broken Apothecary a new Doctour.

Apothecaries would not give pills in ſugar unleſs they were bitter.

Better ride on an Aſſe that carries me, then an Aſſe that throws me.

B

BE not a baker if your head be of butter. Hiſpan.

The ballance diſtinguiſhes not between gold and lead.

There's no great banquet but ſome fare ill.

One Barber ſhaves not ſo cloſe but another finds work.

On a good bargain think twice. Ital.

Barefooted men need not tread on thorns.

Baſhfulneſs is an enemy to poverty.

Better to be beaten then be in bad company.

Beauty is a bloſſom.

Beauty draws more then oxen.

Beauty is no inheritance.

The begger is never out of his way.

The begger may ſing before the thief. No more then the Engliſh of that old Latine verſe.

‘Cantabit vacuus coram latrone viator.’

Better to die a begger then live a begger.

[Page] Such a beginning ſuch an end.

He that makes his bed ill lies there.

If the bed could tell all it knows it would put many to the bluſh.

He who lies long in bed his eſtate feels it.

Who looks not before finds himſelf behind.

Bells call others to the Church, but enter not in themſelves.

Be not too haſty to outbid another.

Who hath bitter in his mouth ſpits not all ſweet.

The blind mans wife needs no painting. Hiſpan.

He is blind enough who ſees not through the holes of a ſieve. Hiſpan.

That which doth bloſſom in the Spring will bring forth fruit in the Autumn.

He that blowes in the duſt fills his eyes.

The body is the ſocket of the ſoul.

It's eaſie to bowl down hill.

Brabbling currs never want fore ears.

The brain that ſowes not corn plants thiſtles.

The Aſſe that brayes moſt ears leaſt.

Would you have better bread then is made of wheat? Ital.

Bread with eyes, and cheeſe without eyes. Hiſp. Ita.

To beg breeches of a bare ars't man.

As I brew ſo I muſt drink.

There is no deceit in a brimmer.

Building is a ſweet impoveriſhing. It is called the

Spaniſh plague: Therefore as Cato well ſaith, ‘Optimum eſt alienâ inſaniâ frui.’

Building and marrying of children are great waſters Gall.

[Page] The greateſt burdens are not the gainfulleſt.

To buy dear is not bounty.

Buy at a market, but ſell at home, Hiſpan.

C.

THere is no cake but there is the like of the ſame make.

In a calm ſea every man is a pilot.

A good candle-holder proves a good gameſter.

If thou haſt not a capon feed on an onyon Gall.

The Cat is hungry when a cruſt contents her.

The liquoriſh Cat gets many a rap.

It's a bad cauſe that none dare ſpeak in.

He that chaſtiſeth one amendeth many.

Though the Fox runs, the chicken hath wings.

The chicken is the Countreys, but the city eats it.

Wo to the houſe where there is no chiding.

The child ſaith nothing but what he heard at the fire.

To a child all weather is cold.

When children ſtand quiet they have done ſome harm.

What children hear at home doth ſoon fly abroad.

Children are poor mens riches, are certain cares, but uncertain comforts, when they are little make parents fools, when great, mad.

A light Chriſtmas a heavy ſheaf.

[Page] The cholerick drinks, the melancholick eats, the Flegmatick ſleeps.

Who never climb'd never fell.

After clouds comes clear weather.

Give a clown your finger and he will take your whole hand.

Coblers and tinkers are the beſt ale drinkers.

The Cock crowes, but the hen goes.

When you ride a young colt ſee your ſaddle be well girt.

The comforters head never akes. Ital.

He commands enough that obeys a wiſe man. Ital.

It's good to have company in trouble.

‘Solamen m [...]ſeris ſocios habuiſſe doloris.’

Keep good men company, and you ſhall be of the number.

Confeſſion of a fault makes half amends for it.

He that contemplates hath a day without a night.

He may well be contented who needs neither borrow nor flatter.

He that converſeth not with men knoweth nothing.

Corn in good years is hay, in ill years ſtraw is corn.

Corn is cleanſed with the wind, and the ſoul with chaſtning.

He covers me with his wings, and bites me with his bill.

A covetous man is like a dog in a wheel that roaſteth meat for others.

A dry cough is the trumpeter of death.

Keep counſel thy ſelf firſt.

Counſels in wine ſeldom proſper.

[Page] He that will not be counſell'd cannot be help't.

Courteſie on one ſide doth never laſt long.

Courts have no Almanacks.

Craft bringeth nothing home.

To a crazy ſhip all winds are contrary.

Credit loſt is like a Venice glaſs broke.

He that hath loſt his credit is dead to the world.

No man ever loſt his credit but he who had it not.

Crooked logs make ſtreight fires.

Croſſes are ladders that do lead to heaven.

Carrion crows bewail the dead ſheep, and then eat them. Ital.

Cruelty is a tyrant that's always attended with fear.

Who is a cuckold and conceals it carries coals in his boſom. Hiſp.

Let every cuckold wear his own horns.

In rain and Sunſhine cuckolds go to heaven.

A cut-purſe is a ſure trade, for he hath ready money when his work is done.

D.

YOu dance in a net, and think no body ſees you.

When all is gone and nothing left,

What avails the Dagger with the Dudgeon heft?

The danger paſt and God forgotten.

No day paſſeth without ſome grief.

It is never a bad day that hath a good night.

Deaf men go away with the injury.

It's a wicked thing to make a dearth on's garner.

Death keeps no Kalender.

[Page] Men fear death as children to go in the dark.

Better to go to bed ſupperleſs then to riſe in debt. Hiſpan.

Deeds are fruits, words are but leaves.

Deeds are males, and words are females.

‘I fatti ſono maſchi, le parole femine. Ital.’

Deſires are nouriſhed by delays.

He looſeth his thanks who promiſeth and delayeth.

‘Gratia ab officio, quod mora tardat, abeſt.’

A man may looſe his goods for want of demanding them.

‘Optima nomina non appellando fiunt mala.’

Firſt deſerve and then deſire.

Deſert and reward ſeldom keep company.

Diſcreet women have neither eyes nor ears.

‘La femme de bien n'a ny yeux ny oreilles. Gall.’

Sweet diſcourſe makes ſhort days and nights.

Diſeaſes are the intereſts of pleaſures.

All her diſhes are chafing diſhes.

The Devil is not always at one door.

It's an ill battel where the Devil carries the colours.

Diverſity of humours breedeth tumors.

A man may cauſe his own dog to bite him.

The Dog who hunts fouleſt hits at moſt faults.

When a Dog is drowning every one offers him water.

Dogs wag their tails not ſo much in love to you as to your bread. Hiſpan.

Dogs gnaw bones becauſe they cannot ſwallow them. Ital.

Do what thou oughteſt, and come what can. Gall.

[Page] A noble houſe-keeper needs no doors.

Do as the Frier ſaith, not as he doeth. Hiſpan.

A great dowry is a bed full of brabbles. Hiſpan.

Fine dreſſing is a foul houſe ſwept before the windows.

He was hang'd that left his drink behind.

Who loſeth his due getteth no thanks.

E

WIde ears and a ſhort tongue.

Think of eaſe, but work on.

That which is eaſily done is ſoon believed.

Who eats his dinner alone muſt ſaddle his horſe alone. Hiſpan.

You cannot hide an Eel in a ſack.

Good to begin well, better to end well.

In the end things will mend.

He that endureth is not overcome.

No man better knows what good is then he who hath endured evil.

Envy never enriched any man.

Of evil grain no good ſeed can come.

Bear with evil and expect good.

Evil gotten evil ſpent.

‘Malè parta malè dilabuntur.’

That which is evil is ſoon learn't.

Evil that cometh out of thy mouth flieth into thy boſom.

F.

WHo hath a fair wife needs more then two eyes.

Fair is not fair, but that which pleaſeth. This is an Italian Prov. Non è bello quel'ch' è bello ma è bello quel'che piace.

A fair woman and a ſlaſh't gown find alway ſome nail in the way.

One may ſooner fall then riſe.

Fall not out with a friend for a trifle.

It 's a poor family which hath neither a whore nor a thief in it.

A fat houſe-keeper makes lean executors.

Every one baſteth the fat hog, while the lean one burneth.

Teach your father to get children.

Such a father ſuch a ſon.

The faulty ſtands on his guard.

Every ones faults are not written in their foreheads.

Better paſs a danger once then be always in fear. It.

Reckon right and February hath thirty one days.

He that hath a fellow-ruler hath an over-ruler.

Fidlers fare, meat, drink and money.

Take heed you find not that you do not ſeek. Ital.

Well may he ſmell of fire whoſe gown burneth.

The firſt diſh pleaſeth all.

I'll not make fiſh of one, and fleſh of another.

The fiſh follow the bait.

In the deepeſt water is the beſt fiſhing.

[Page] He that is ſuffer'd to do more then is fitting will do more then is lawful.

No man can flay a ſtone.

One flower makes no garland.

None is a fool always, every one ſometimes.

A fool is fulſome.

A fool demands much, but he is a greater fool that gives it.

Fools tie knots and wiſe men looſe them.

If fools went not to market bad ware would not be ſold. Hiſpan.

One fool makes an hundred.

If you play with a fool at home he'll play with you in the market.

Better a bare foot then no foot at all.

Forgive any ſooner then thy ſelf. Gall. Ital.

The foremoſt dog catcheth the hare.

The perſwaſion of the fortunate ſwayes the doubtfull.

When Fortune ſmiles on thee take the advantage.

He who hath no ill fortune is cloy'd with good.

He that will deceive the Fox muſt riſe betimes.

Foxes when ſleeping have nothing fall into their mouths. This is a French Prov. A Regnard endormi rien ne cheut en la gueule.

Foxes when they cannot reach the grapes ſay they are not ripe.

The beſt mirrour is an old friend. Gall. Hiſpan.

Life without a friend is death with a witneſs.

Make not thy friend too cheap to thee, nor thy ſelf to thy friend.

[Page] When a friend asketh there is no tomorrow. Hiſp.

A true friend ſhould be like a privy, open in neceſſity.

A friend is not ſo ſoon gotten as loſt.

Have but few friends though much acquaintance.

In time of proſperity friends will be plenty.

In time of adverſity not one among twenty.

A tree is known by the fruit, and not by the leaves.

The further we go the further behind.

G.

WHo would be a Gentleman let him ſtorm a town.

It's not the gay coat makes the Gentleman.

He giveth twice that gives in a trice.

‘Qui cito dat bis dat.’

‘Dono molto aſpettato e venduto non donato. Ital.’

A Gift long waited for is ſold & not given.

Giving is dead now a days, and reſtoring very ſick.

Who gives thee a capon give him the leg and the wing. Hiſp.

To give and keep there is need of wit.

A man of gladneſs ſeldom falls into madneſs.

Who hath glaſs-windows of his own muſt take heed how he throws ſtones at his houſe.

What your glaſs tells you will not be told by counſel.

He that hath a body made of glaſs muſt not throw ſtones at another.

Do not ſay go but gaw, i. e. go thy ſelf along.

God deprives him of bread who likes not his drink.

God healeth, and the Phyſician hath the thanks.

[Page] Get thy ſpindle and thy diſtaff ready and God will ſend thee flax.

God cometh with leaden feet, but ſtriketh with iron hands.

God comes at laſt when we think he is furtheſt off. It.

God hath often a great ſhare in a little houſe. Gal.

God, our parents and our maſter can never be requited. Gall.

No lock will hold againſt the power of gold. Hiſp.

You may ſpeak with your gold and make other tongues dumb. Ital.

When we have gold we are in fear, when we have none we are in danger. Ital.

A good thing is ſoon ſnatch't up.

An handful of good life is better then a buſhel of learning. Mieux vaut un poigne de bonne vie que plein muy'de clergie. Gal.

One never looſeth by doing good turns.

Good and quickly ſeldom meet.

Goods are theirs who enjoy them. Ital.

Goſſips and frogs they drink and talk.

The greateſt ſtrokes make not the beſt muſick.

There could be no great ones if there were no little.

He that gropes in the dark finds that he would not.

Many things grow in the garden were never ſown there. Hiſpan.

The grounſel ſpeaks not ſave what it heard of the hinges.

H.

THe wiſe hand doth not all the fooliſh tongue ſpeaketh.

[Page] Happy is he who knows his follies in his youth.

The hard gives no more then he that hath nothing.

Things hardly attain'd are long retained.

He who would have a hare to breakfaſt muſt hunt over night.

Good harveſts make men prodigal, bad ones provident.

He that hath a good harveſt may be content with ſome thiſtles.

'Tis ſafe riding in a good haven.

The firſt point of hawking is hold faſt.

The gentle hawk mans her ſelf.

When the head aketh all the body is the worſe.

‘Dum caput infeſtat labor omnia membra moleſtat.’

One is not ſo ſoon healed as hurt.

What the heart thinketh the tongue ſpeaketh.

Who ſpits againſt heaven it falls in his face. Hiſpan.

Hell is full of good meanings and wiſhes.

The high-way is never about.

Look high and fall into a cowturd.

Every man is beſt known to himſelf.

Better my hog dirty home then no hog at all.

Dry bread at home is better then roaſtmeat abroad.

He is wiſe that is honeſt. Ital.

Of all crafts to be an honeſt man is the maſter-craft.

A man never ſurfets of too much honeſty.

Lick honey with your little finger.

He that likes honey from thorns pays too dear for it.

This is a French Proverb. ‘Trop achepte le miel qui ſur eſpines le leche.’

Honey is ſweet but the Bee ſtings.

Honour and eaſe are ſeldom bedfellows.

[Page] Who lives by hope dies breaking of wind backwards. Ital.

He that lives in hope danceth without a minſtrel. Hiſpan.

The horſe thinks one thing, and he that rides him another.

Lend thy horſe for a long journey, thou mayeſt have him return with his skin.

All things are ſoon prepar'd in a well-ordered houſe

The foot on the cradle and hand on the diſtaff is the ſign of a good houſewife. Hiſpan.

An humble-bee in a cowturd thinks himſelf a King.

It were more proper to ſay a Beetle in a cowturd.

An hungry man an angry man.

Huſbands are in heaven whoſe wives chide not.

I.

IDleneſs turns the edge of wit.

Idleneſs is the key of beggery.

Jeſt not with the eye nor with religion. Hiſpan.

The trueſt jeſts ſound worſt in guilty ears.

Better be ill ſpoken of by one before all, then by all before one.

An ill ſtake ſtandeth longeſt.

There were no ill language if it were not ill taken.

The beſt remedy againſt an ill man is much ground between both. Hiſpan.

Induſtry is fortunes right hand, and frugality her left.

He goes not out of his way that goes to a good Inn.

We muſt not look for a golden life in an iron age.

[Page] An itch is worſe then a ſmart.

Itch an eaſe can no man pleaſe.

K.

WHereſoever you ſee your kindred make much of your friends.

A knotty piece of timber muſt have ſmooth wedges.

Many do kiſs the hands they wiſh to ſee cut off Hiſ.

He that eats the Kings gooſe ſhall be choked with the feathers.

L.

HE that labours and thrives ſpins gold.

The lame goeth as far as the ſtaggerer.

The laſt ſuitour wins the maid.

In a thouſand pound of Law there's not an ounce of love.

The Law is not the ſame at morning and night.

The worſt of Law is that one ſuit breeds twenty. Hiſpan.

A ſuit of Law and an urinal bring a man to the hoſpital. Hiſpan.

A good Lawyer an evil neighbour.

He laughs ill that laughs himſelf to death.

Let your letter ſtay for the Poſt, not the Poſt for the letter. Ital.

A Bean in liberty is better then a comfit in priſon.

Every light is not the Sun.

Like Author like book.

Like to like, and Nan for Nicholas.

[Page] The Lions skin is never cheap.

A little body doth often harbour a great'ſoul.

The little cannot be great unleſs he devour many.

Little ſticks kindle the fire, but great ones put it out.

Little dogs ſtart the hare, but the great ones catch it.

That little which is good fils the trencher.

He liveth long that liveth well.

Life is half ſpent e're we know what it is.

He that liveth wickedly can hardly die honeſtly.

He that lives not well one year, ſorrows for it ſeven.

It's not how long but how well we live.

Who lives well ſees afar off. Hiſpan.

The life of man is a winters day and a winters way.

He looſeth nothing who keeps God for his friend.

He hath not loſt all who hath one throw to caſt. Gal.

London Bridge was made for wiſe men to paſs over, and for fools to paſs under.

Love lives in cottages as well as in Courts.

Love rules his kingdom without a ſword.

Love being jealous makes a good eye look aſquint.

Love asks faith, and faith asks firmneſs. Ital.

They love too much that die for love.

They who love moſt are leaſt ſet by.

Where love fails we eſpy all faults.

A low hedge is eaſily leapt over.

M.

A Maid that giveth yieldeth. Ital.

A maid that laughs is half taken.

[Page] A maid oft ſeen, a gown oft worn

Are diſeſteem'd and held in ſcorn.

Manners make often fortunes.

When many ſtrike on an anvil they muſt ſtrike by meaſure.

Many ventures make a full fraight.

Many without puniſhment, none without ſin.

Many ſpeak much that cannot ſpeak well.

The March Sun cauſeth duſt, and the wind blows it about.

When the mare hath a bald face, the filly will have a blaze.

The market is the beſt garden. At London they are wont to ſay; Cheapſide is the beſt garden:

The married man muſt turn his ſtaff into a ſtake.

Before thou marry, be ſure of a houſe wherein to tarry. Hiſpan. Ital.

Honeſt men marry ſoon, wiſe men not at all. Ital.

He who marrieth for wealth doth ſell his liberty.

Who marrieth for love without money hath good nights and ſorry days. Ital. Hiſpan.

One eye of the maſters ſees more then ten of the ſervants. Ital.

Though the maſtiffe be gentle, yet bite him not by the lip.

Uſe the means, and God will give the bleſſing.

Meaſure thrice what thou buyeſt, and cut it but once. Ital.

Meaſure is a merry mean.

He is not a merchant bare, that hath money, worth or ware.

[Page] Good to be merry at meat.

Metal is dangerous in a blind horſe.

Mills and wives are ever wanting.

The mill cannot grind with the water that is paſt.

The abundance of money ruines youth.

The skilfulleſt wanting money is ſcorn'd.

He that hath money in his purſe cannot want a head for his ſhoulders.

Ready money will away.

Money is that Art hath turn'd up trump.

Money is welcome though it come in a ſh—clout,

The morning Sun never laſts a day.

The good mother ſaith not, will you, but gives. Ital.

You muſt not let your mouſe-trap ſmell of cheeſe.

Muſick helps not the tooth-ach.

N.

ONe nail drives out another. Gall. Un clou pouſſe l'autre.

A good name keeps its luſtre in the dark.

He who but once a good name gets,

May piſs a bed and ſay he ſweats. Ital.

The evil wound is cured, but not the evil name.

Nature draws more then ten oxen.

Who periſheth in needleſs danger is the Devils martyr.

New meat begets a new appetite.

When thy neighbours houſe doth burn, be carefull of thine own.

‘Tuares agitur paries cùm proximus ardet.’

[Page] He that runs in the night ſtumbles.

The nightingale and the cuckow ſing both in one moneth.

The more noble, the more humble.

Cold weather and knaves come out of the North.

Nothing down, nothing up.

Nothing have, nothing crave.

By doing nothing we learn to do ill. ‘Nihil agendo malè agere diſcimus.’

It's more painful to do nothing then ſomething.

He that hath nothing is not contented.

The Nurſes tongue is priviledged to talk.

O.

THe offender never pardons. Ital.

The Off-ſpring of them that are very old or very young laſteth not.

It's ill healing an old ſore.

He wrongs not an old man, who ſteals his ſupper from him. Hiſpan.

If the old dog barkes, he gives counſel.

‘Can vecchio non baia ind arno. Ital.’

Old friends and old wine are beſt. Gall, and old gold.

Old men, when they ſcorn young, make much of death. Rather, as Mr. Howell hath it, When they ſport with young women.

When Bees are old they yield no honey.

The old mans ſtaff is the rapper at Deaths door. Hiſ.

[Page] An old knave is no babe.

Where old age is evil, youth can learn no good.

When an old man will not drink, go to ſee him in another world. Ital.

He who hath but one hog makes him fat, and he who hath but one ſon makes him a fool. Ital.

One ſhrewd turn asks another.

One ſlumberr invites another.

All feet tread not in one ſhoe.

If every one would mend one, all would be amended.

One and none is all one. Hiſpan.

There came nothing out of the ſack but what was in it.

It's a rank courteſie when a man is forc't to give thanks for his own.

The ſmoke of a mans own houſe is better then the fire of anothers. Hiſpan.

Where ſhall the Ox go but he muſt labour.

Take heed of an Ox before, an Aſſe behind, and a Monk on all ſides. Hiſpan.

P.

MAny can pack the cards that cannot play.

Let no womans painting breed thy ſtomachs fainting.

Painted pictures are dead ſpeakers.

On painting and fighting look aloof off.

He that will enter into Paradiſe muſt have a good key.

[Page] Say no ill of the year till it be paſt.

Every path hath a puddle.

Patch and long ſit, build and ſoon flit.

Patience is a flower grows not in every ones garden.

Herein is an alluſion to the name of a Plant ſo called, i. e. Rhabarbarum Monachorum.

He who hath much peaſe may put the more in the pot.

Let every pedler carry his own burden.

There's no companion like the penny. Hiſpan.

He that takes not up a pin ſleights his wife.

He that pitieth another remembreth himſelf. Hiſp.

Play, women and wine undo men laughing.

Noble plants ſuit not a ſtubborn ſoil.

Fly pleaſure and it will follow thee.

Never pleaſures without repentance.

The pleaſures of the mighty are the tears of the poor.

If your plow be jogging you may have meat for your horſes.

Poor men have no ſouls.

There are none p [...]or but ſuch as God hates

Poverty parteth friends [or fellowſhip.]

Poverty is the mother of health.

True praiſe takes root and ſpreads.

Neither praiſe nor diſpraiſe thy ſelf, thine actions ſerve the turn.

He that will not be ſaved needs no preacher.

Prettineſs dies quickly.

Who draws his ſword againſt his Prince, muſt throw away the ſcabbard.

[Page] It's an ill proceſſion where the Devil holds the candle.

Between promiſing and performing a man may marry his daughter. Gall.

He promiſeth like a merchant, and pays like a man of war.

To promiſe and give nothing is a comfort to a fool.

He is proper that hath proper conditions.

Providence is better then rent.

He hath leſt his purſe in his other hoſe.

A full purſe makes the mouth to ſpeak.

An empty purſe fills the face with wrinkles.

R.

IT's poſſible for a ram to kill a butcher.

The rath ſower ne're borrows o'th'late.

A man without reaſon is a beaſt in ſeaſon.

Take heed of enemies reconcil'd, and of meat twice boil'd. Hiſpan.

A good Recorder ſets all in order.

Remove an old tree, and it will wither to death.

When all is conſum'd, Repentance comes too late.

He may freely receive courteſies that knows how to requite them.

God help the rich, the poor can beg.

Riches are but the baggage of Fortune.

When riches increaſe the body decreaſeth. For moſt men grow old before they grow rich.

Riches are like muck which ſtink in a heap, but ſpread abroad, make the earth fruitful.

[Page] It's eaſie to rob an Orchard, when none keeps it.

A rugged ſtone grows ſmooth from hand to hand.

Better to rule then be ruled by the rout.

The ruſty ſword and empty purſe plead performance of covenants.

S.

IT's a bad ſack will abide no clouting.

When it pleaſeth not God, the Saint can do little. Hiſp. Ital.

Salmon and Sermon have their ſeaſon in Lent. Gall.

A Scepter is one thing, a ladle another. Alia res ſceptrum, alia plectrum.

You pay more for your ſchooling, then your learning is worth.

Who robs a Scholar robs twenty men. For commonly he borrows a cloak of one, a ſword of another, a pair of boots of a third, a hat of a fourth, &c.

Who hath a ſcold hath ſorrow to his ſops.

Being on the Sea ſail, being on the land ſettle.

They complain wrongfully on the Sea, who twice ſuffer ſhipwrack.

Every thing is good in its ſeaſon.

Would you know ſecrets, look them in grief or pleaſure.

He who ſeeketh trouble never miſſeth it.

A man muſt ſell his ware after the rates of the market.

He who ſerves well, needs not be afraid to ask his wages.

The groat is ill ſaved that ſhames the maſter.

It's a fooliſh ſheep that makes the wolf his confeſſor Ital.

[Page] Ships fear fire more then water.

A great ſhip doth ask deep waters.

The chamber of ſickneſs is the chappel of devotion.

Silence doth ſeldom harm.

Silence is the beſt ornament of a woman.

Silks and Sattins put out the fire in the kitchin.

He that ſings on I ryday ſhall weep on Sunday.

The ſinging-man keeps his ſhop in his throat. Hiſp.

Sit in your place and none can make you riſe.

Slander leaves a ſcore behind it. Calumniare fortiter aliquid adhaerebit.

Sloth turneth the edge of wit.

Better the laſt ſmile then the firſt laughter.

A ſmiling boy ſeldom proves a good ſervant.

The Smith and his penny are both black.

Whether you do boil ſnow or pound it, you can have but water of it.

Sorrow is good for nothing but ſin.

When ſorrow is a ſleep wake it not.

Souldiers in peace are like chimneys in ſummer.

Who ſows his corn in the field truſts in God.

He that ſpeaks me fair and loves me not, I'll ſpeak him fair and truſt him not.

He that ſpeaks doth ſow, he that holds his peace doth reap. Ital.

Speech is the picture of the mind.

Spend and be free, but make no waſte.

To a good Spender God is the treaſurer.

The Jews ſpend at Eaſter, the Moors at marriages, and the Chriſtians in ſuits of Law. Ital.

Who more then he is worth doth ſpend, he makes a rope his life to end.

[Page] Who ſpends more then he ſhould, ſhall not have to ſpend when he would.

Who hath ſpice enough may ſeaſon his meat as he pleaſeth.

It's a poor ſport that is not worth the candle.

The beſt of the ſport is to do the deed & ſay nothing

That which will not be ſpun, let it not come between the ſpindle and the diſtaff.

They ſteal the hog and give away the feet in alms. Hiſpan.

Steal the gooſe and give the giblets in alms.

Step after ſtep the ladder is aſcended.

Who hath none to ſtill him, may weep out his eyes.

The ſtilleſt humours are always the worſt.

Who remove ſtones, bruiſe their fingers.

Who hath skirts of ſtraw, needs fear the fire. Hiſp.

Stretch your legs according to your coverlet.

It's better to be ſtung by a nettle, then prick't by a roſe.

I ſuck't not this out of my fingers ends.

Though the Sun ſhines, leave not your cloak at home. Hiſpan.

In every Countrey the Sun riſeth in the morning.

He deſerves not the ſweet that will not taſte of the ſowre.

T.

THe table robs more then the thief.

Talk much and erre much (ſaith the Spaniard)

[Page] Talking pays no toll.

They talk of Chriſtmas ſo long, that it comes.

The taſt of the kitchin is better then the ſmell.

To him that hath loſt his taſt, ſweet is ſowre.

Who hath aking teeth hath ill tenants.

Tell a tale to a mare, and ſhe'll let a fart. Gall. Aſino fabulam.

A thin meadow is ſoon mow'd.

The thorn comes forth with his point forwards.

The thought hath good legs, and the quill a good tongue. Ital.

A thouſand pounds and a bottle of hay, is all one thing at Dooms day.

There are more threatned then ſtruck.

He who dies of threats, muſt be rung to Church by farts.

He that is thrown would ever wreſtle.

When it thunders, the thief becomes honeſt.

The tide will fetch away what the ebb brings.

Time is the rider that breaks youth.

Every one puts his fault on the times.

Soon todd ſoon with God. A northern Proverb, when a child hath teeth too ſoon.

A long tongue is a ſign of a ſhort hand.

Better that the feet ſlip then the tongue.

He that ſtrikes with his tongue, muſt ward with his head.

The tongue's not ſteel, yet it cuts.

The tongue breaketh bone, though it ſelf have none. Gall.

The tongue talks at the heads coſt.

Too much breaks the bag. Hiſp.

[Page] Too much ſcratching pains, too much talking plagues

Trade is the mother of money.

When the tree is faln, every man goeth to it with Gall. his hatchet. Gall.

Truth and oyl are ever above. Hiſpan.

Truth hath a good face, but bad clothes.

U.

NO cut to unkindneſs.

Unknown unkiſt.

Unminded unmon'd.

Under water, famine; under ſnow, bread. Ital.

Valour that parlies, is near yielding.

Valour can do little without diſcretion.

Vis conſilii expers mole ruit ſua. Et parvi ſunt foris arma niſi ſit conſilium domi.

That's not good language that all underſtand not.

Where men are well uſed, they'll frequent there.

W.

HE that waits on another mans trencher, makes many a late dinner.

For want of a nail the ſhoe is loſt, for want of a ſhoe the horſe is loſt, for want of a horſe the rider is loſt.

War is deaths feaſt.

Who preacheth war is the Devils chaplain.

War makes thieves, and peace hangs them. Gall. It.

[Page] War, hunting and Law, are as full of trouble as pleaſure.

He that makes a good war, makes a good peace.

He is wiſe enough that can keep himſelf warm.

Good watch prevents misfortune.

He that hath a head of wax, muſt not walk in the Sun.

Where it is weakeſt there the thread breaketh.

Wealth's like rheum, it falls on the weakeſt parts.

The greateſt wealth, is contentment with a little.

The gown's hers that wears it, and the world's his who enjoys it.

Change of weather is the diſcourſe of fools. Hiſp.

Expect not fair weather in winter on one nights ice.

He that goeth out with often loſs.

At laſt comes home by weeping croſs.

Weight and meaſure take away ſtrife.

He that doth well wearieth not himſelf.

Well to work and make a fire,

It doth care and skill require.

Such a welcome ſuch a farewel.

Welcome death, quoth the Rat, when the trap fell down.

As welcome as flowers in May.

I wept when I was born, and every day ſhews why.

Whores affect not you but your money.

Whoring and bawdery do often end in beggery.

A mans beſt fortune or his worſt is a wife.

He that lets his wife go to every feaſt, and his horſe drink at every water, ſhall neither have good wife nor good horſe. Ital. Or thus,

[Page] He that lets his horſe drink at every lake,

And his wife go to every wake,

Shall never be without a whore and a jade.

Wife and children are bills of charges,

The cunning wife makes her husband her apron. Hiſpan.

The wife is the key of the houſe.

He that hath wife and children wants not buſineſs.

Where the will is ready, the feet are light.

To him that wills, ways are not wanting.

With as good a will as ever I came from ſchool.

He that doth what he will, oft doth not what he ought.

Will will have wilt, though will woe win.

Nothing is impoſſible to a willing mind.

Willows are weak, yet they bind other wood. Ital.

Pull down your hat on the wind ſide.

A good Winter brings a good Summer.

Wine is the maſters, but the goodneſs is the drawers.

Wine in the bottle doth not quench the thirſt. Ital.

Wine is a turn-coat, firſt a friend, then an enemy.

Wine that coſts nothing is digeſted e're it be drunk.

You cannot know wine by the barrel.

Wine wears no breeches. Gall. i. e. Shews what a man is.

You can't drive a windmill with a pair of bellows.

You may be a wiſe man though you can't make a watch.

Wiſe men care not for what they cannot have.

[Page] None is ſo wiſe but the fool overtakes him.

Better to have then wiſh.

Better it be done then wiſh it had been done.

It's wit to pick a lock and ſteal a horſe, but wiſdom to let them alone.

You have a little wit and it doth you good ſometimes.

He hath enough to keep the wolf from the door. That is, to ſatisfie his hunger, latrantem ſtomachum.

Wolves loſe their teeth, but not their memory.

Who hath a wolf for his mate, needs a dog for his man. Ital.

Who keeps company with the wolf, will learn to howl. Chi prattica con lupi impara à hurlar. Ita.

Women, prieſts and poultry have never enough. Donne, preti & polli non ſon mai ſatolli.

To wo is a pleaſure in a young man, a fault in an old.

Green wood makes a hot fire.

Wood half burnt is eaſily kindled.

You were better give the wool then the ſheep. Meglio è dar la lana che lapecora. Ital.

Many words will not fill a buſhel.

Words and feathers are toſt by the wind. Hiſp.

Good words without deeds are ruſhes and reeds.

One ill word asketh another.

They muſt hunger in froſt, that will not work in heat.

What is a workman without his tools.

There needs a long time to know the worlds pulſe.

[Page] This world is nothing except it tend to another.

A green wound is ſoon healed.

Wranglers never want words.

Y.

THe more thy years, the nearer thy grave.

Youth and white paper take any impreſſion.

Proverbs and Proverbial obſervations belonging to Health, Diet and Phyſick.

[Page]

AN Ague in the Spring is Phyſick for a King.

That is if it comes off well. For an Ague is nothing elſe but a ſtrong fermentation of the bloud; Now as in the fermentation of other liquors there is for the moſt part a ſeparation made of that which is heterogeneous and unſociable, whereby the liquor becomes more pure and defaecare, ſo is it alſo with the bloud, which by fermentation (eaſily excited at this time by the return of the Sun) doth purge it ſelf, and caſt off thoſe impure heterogeneous particles which it had contracted in the winter time. And that theſe may be carried away, after every particular fermentation or paroxyſm, and not again taken up by the bloud, it is neceſſary or at leaſt very uſeful, to ſweat in bed after every fit. And an Ague-fit is not thought to go off kindly, unleſs it ends in a ſweat. Moreover at the end of the diſeaſe it is convenient to purge the body, to carry away thoſe more groſs and ſeculent parts which have been ſeparated by the ſeveral fermentations, and could not ſo eaſily be avoided by ſweat, or that ſtill remain in the bloud though not ſufficient to cauſe a paroxyſm. And that all perſons eſpecially thoſe of years may be leſſoned that they neglect not to purge their bodies after the getting rid of agues, I ſhall add a very material and uſeful obſervation of Doctor Sidenham's, ‘Sublato morbe (ſaith he, ſpeaking of Autumnal feavers) aeger ſedulò purgandus eſt; incredibile enim dictu quanta morborum vis expurgationis defectu poſt febres Autumnales ſubnaſcatur. Miror [Page] tutem hoc à medicis minùs caveri, minùs etiam admoneri Quandocunque enim morborum alterutrum (Febrem t [...]rtianam aut quartanam) paulò provectioris aetatis hominibus accidiſſe vidi, atque purgationem etiam omiſſam; certò praedicere potui periculoſum aliquem morbum eoſdem poſtea adoriturum, de quo tamen illi nondum ſòmniaverant, quaſi perfectè jam ſanati.’

Agues come on horſeback, but go away on foot.

A bit in the morning is better then nothing all day.

Or, then a thump on the back with a ſtone.

You eat and eat, but you do not drink to fill you.

That much drinking takes off the edge of the Appetite to meat, we ſee by experience in great drinkers, who for the moſt part do (as we ſay) but pingle at their meat and eat little. Hippocrates obſerved of old, that [...] A good hearty draught takes away hunger after long faſting ſooner by far then eating would do. The reaſon whereof I conceive is, becauſe that acid humour which by vellicating the membranes of the ſtomack cauſes a ſence of hunger, is by copious ingeſtion of drink very much diluted, and its acidity ſoon taken off.

An apple, an egg and a nut, you may eat after a Slut.

Pomae, ova atque nuces, ſi det tibi ſordida, guſtes.

Children an chicken muſt be always picking.

That is, they muſt eat often, but little at a time. Often, becauſe the body growing requires much addition of food; little at a time, for fear of oppreſſing and extinguiſhing the natural heat. A little oyl nouriſhes the flame, but a great deal poured on at once may drown and quench it. A man may carry that by little and little, which if laid on his back at once he would ſink under. Hence old men, [Page] who in this reſpect alſo, I mean by reaſon of the decay of their ſpirits and natural heat, do again become children, are adviſed by Phyſicians to eat often, but little at once.

Old young and old long.

‘Divieni toſto vechio ſe vuoi vivere lungamente vecchio. Ital.’ ‘Maturè ſias ſenex ſi diu ſenex eſſe velis.’ This is alledged as a Proverb by Cicero in his book de ſenectute. For as the body is preſerved in health by moderate labour or exerciſe, ſo by violent and immoderate it is impaired and worn out. And as a great exceſs of any quality or external violence doth ſuddenly deſtroy the body, ſo a leſſer exceſs doth weaken and partially deſtroy it, by rendring it leſs laſting.

They who would be young when they are old muſt be old when they are young.

When the Fern is as high as a ſpoon

You may ſleep an hour at noon.

The cuſtom of ſleeping after dinner in the ſummer time is now grown general in Italy and other hot Countreys, ſo that from one to three or four of the Clock in the afternoon you ſhall ſcarce ſee any one ſtirring about the ſtreets of their cities. Schola Salernitana condemns this practiſe, ‘Sit brevis aut nullus tibi ſomnus meridianus: Febris, pigrities, capitis dolor atque Catarrhus. Haec tibi proveniunt ex ſomno meridiano.’ But it may be this advice was intended for us Engliſh (to whoſe King this book was dedicated) rather then the Italians or other inhabitants of hot Countreys, who in the Summer would have enough to do to keep themſelves waking after dinner. The beſt way at leaſt for us in colder climats is altogether to abſtain from ſleep; but if we muſt needs ſleep, (as the Italian Phyſicians adviſe) either to take a nod ſitting in a chair, or if we lie down ſtrip off our clothes as at night, and go into bed, as the preſent Duke of Tuſcany himſelf practiſes and adviſes his ſubjects to do, but by no means lie down upon a bed in our clothes.

[Page]

When the Fern is as high as a ladle,

You may ſleep as long as you are able.

When Fern begins to look red

Then milk is good with brown bread.

It is obſerved by good houſewives, that milk is thicker in the Autumn then in the Summer, notwithſtanding the graſs muſt needs be more hearty, the juice of it being better concocted by the heat of the Sun in Summer time. I conceive the reaſon to be becauſe the cattel drink water abundantly by reaſon of their heat in Summer, which doth much dilute their milk.

Every man is either a fool or a Phyſician after thirty years of age.

After dinner ſit a while, after ſupper walk a mile.

‘Poſt epulas ſtabis vel paſſus mille meabis.’ I know no reaſon for the difference, unleſs one eats a greater dinner then ſupper. For when the ſtomach is full it is not good to exerciſe immediately, but to ſit ſtill awhile; though I do not allow the reaſon uſually given viz. becauſe exerciſe draws the heat outward to the exteriour parts, and ſo leaving the ſtomach and bowels cold, hinders concoction: for I believe that as well the ſtomach as the exteriour parts are hotteſt after exerciſe: And that thoſe who exerciſe moſt, concoct moſt and require moſt meat. So that exerciſe immediately after meat is hurtful rather upon account of precipitating concoction, or turning the meat out of the ſtomach too foon. As for the reaſon they give for ſtanding or walking after meales, viz. becauſe the meat by that means is depreſſed to the bottom of the ſtomach; where the natural heat is moſt vigorous, it is very frivolous, both becauſe the ſtomach is a wide veſſel, & ſo the bottom of it cannot be empty, but what falls into it muſt needs fall down to the bottom: And becauſe moſt certainly the ſtomach concocts worſt when it is in a pendulous poſture, as it is while we are ſtanding Hence, as the [Page] Lord Verulam truly obſerves, Gally ſlaves and ſuch as exerciſe ſitting, though they fare meanly and work hard yet are commonly fat and fleſhy. Whereupon alſo he commends thoſe works or exerciſes which a man may perform ſitting, as ſawing with a hand-ſaw and the like. Some turn this ſaying into a droll thus.

After dinner ſleep a while, after ſupper go to bed.

An old Phyſician, a young Lawyer.

An old Phyſician becauſe of his experience; a young Lawyer, becauſe he having but little practiſe will have leiſure enough to attend your buſineſs, and deſiring thereby to recommend himſelf and get more, will be very diligent in it. The Italians ſay, ‘An old Phyſician, a young Barber.’

A good Chirurgion muſt have an Eagles eye, a Lions heart, and a Ladies hand.

Good keal is half a meal.

Keal, i. e. Pottage of any kind, though properly Keal be pottage made of Colewort, which the Scots call Keal, and of which uſually they make their broth.

If you would live ever, you muſt waſh milk from your liver.

‘Vin ſur laict c' eſt ſouhait, Laict ſur vin c' eſt venin. Gall.’ This is an idle old ſaw, for which I can ſee no reaſon but rather for the contrary.

Butter is gold in the morning, ſilver at noon, lead at night.

He that would live for ay muſt eat Sage in May.

[Page]

That Sage was by our anceſtours eſteemed a very wholeſome herb, and much conducing to longevity appears by that verſe in Schola Salernitana,

Cur moriatur homo cui Salvia creſcit in horto?

After cheeſe comes nothing.

An egg and to bed.

You muſt drink as much after an egg as after an Ox.

This is a fond and ungrounded old ſaying.

Light ſuppers make clean ſheets.

He that goes to bed thirſty riſes healthy. Gall.

He that goes to bed thirſty, &c. I look upon this as a very good obſervation and ſhould adviſe all perſons not to go to bed with their ſtomachs full of wine, beer or any other liquour. For (as the ingenious Doctor Lower obſerves) nothing can be more injurious to the brain: of which he gives a moſt rational and true account, which take in his own words. ‘Cùm enim propter proclivem corpor is ſitum urina à renibus ſecreta non ità facilè & promptè uti cùm erecti ſumus in veſicam per uretcres delabatur. Cúmque veſicae cervix ex proclivi ſitu urinae pondere non aded gravetur; atque ſpiritibus per ſomnum in cerebrum aggregatis & quieſcentibus, veſica oneris ejus ſenſum non ità percipiat, ſed officii quaſi oblita ed copid urinae aliquando diſtenditur, ut majori recipiendae ſpatium vix detur; inde fit ut propter impeditum per renes & ureteres urinae decurſum, in totum corpus regurgitet, & niſi diarrhoea proximo mans ſuccedat, aut nocturno ſudore evacuetur in cerebrum depon [...] debet. Tract. de Corde. cap. 2. pag. 141.’

Qui couche avec la ſoif ſe leve avec la ſanté.

[Page] One hours ſleep before midnight's worth two hours after.

For the Sun being the life of this Sublunary world, whoſe heat cauſes and continues the motion of all terreſtrial animals, when he is furtheſt off, that is about midnight, the ſpirits of themſelves are apteſt to reſt and compoſe, ſo that the middle of the night muſt needs be the moſt proper time to ſleep in, eſpecially if we conſider the great expence of ſpirits in the day time, partly by the heat of the afternoon, and partly by labour and the conſtant exerciſe of all the ſences; Wherefore then to wake is to put the ſpirits in motion, when there are feweſt of them, and they naturally moſt ſluggiſh and unfit for it.

Who goes to bed ſupperleſs, all night tumbles and toſſes.

This is an Italian Proverb.

Chi va à letto ſenza cena Tutta notte ſi dimena.

That is, if a man goes to bed hungry, otherwiſe, He that eats a plentifull dinner may well afford to go to bed ſupperleſs, unleſs he hath uſed ſome ſtrong bodily labour or exerciſe. Certainly it is not good to go to ones reſt till the ſtomach be well emptied, that is if we eat ſuppers, till two hours at leaſt after ſupper. For (as the old Phyſicians tell us) though the ſecond and third concoctions be beſt performed in ſleep; yet the firſt is rather diſturbed and perverted. If it be objected, that labouring people do not obſerve ſuch rule, but do both go to bed preſently after ſupper, and to work after dinner, yet who more healthful then they; I anſwer that the caſe is different, for though by ſuch practiſe they do turn their meat out of their ſtomachs before full and perfect concoction, and ſo multiply crude humours, yet they work and ſweat them out again, which ſtudents and ſedentary perſons [Page] do not. Indeed ſome men who have a ſpeedy concoction and hot brains muſt to procure ſleep eat ſomething at night which may ſend up gentle vapours into the head, and compoſe the ſpirits. ‘Chi ben cena ben dorme. Ital.’

Often and little eating makes a man fat.

Fiſh muſt ſwim thrice.

Once in the water, a ſecond time in the ſawce, and a third time in wine in the ſtomach. ‘Poiſſon, gorret & cochin vie en l'eau, & morten vin. Gall.’ Fiſh and young ſwine live in water and die in wine.

Drink wine and have the gout, and drink no wine and have the gout too.

With this ſaying, intemperate perſons that have or fear the gout, encourage themſelves to proceed in drinking wine notwithſtanding.

Young mens knocks old men feel.

Quae peccamus Juvenes ea luimus ſenes.

Go to bed with the lamb, and riſe with the lark.

Early to go to bed and early to riſe, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wiſe.

Waſh your hands often, your feet ſeldom; and your head never.

Eat at pleaſure, drink by meaſure.

This is a French Proverb, ‘Pain tant qu'il dure, vin à meſure,’ and they themſelves obſerve it. For no people eat more bread, nor indeed have better to eat: And for [Page] wine the moſt of them drink it well diluted, and never to any exceſs that I could obſerve. The Italians have this ſaying likewiſe, ‘Pan mentre dura ma vin à miſura.’

Cheeſe it is a peeviſh elſe,

It digeſts all things but it ſelf.

This is a tranſlation of that old rhythming Latin verſe.

Caſeus eſt nequàm, quia digerit omnia ſe quàm.

The beſt Phyſicians are Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet and Dr. Merryman.

This is nothing but that Diſtich of Schola Salernitana Engliſhed.

Si tibi deficiant medici, medici tibi fiant.

Haec tria mens laeta, requies, moderata diaeta.

Drink in the morning ſtaring,

Then all the day be ſparing.

Eat a bit before you drink.

Feed ſparingly and defie the Phyſician.

Better be meales many then one too merry.

You ſhould never touch your eye but with your elbow.

‘Non patitur ludum fama, fides, oculus.’

To theſe I ſhall add a few French and Italian Proverbs.

TEnez chaud le pied & la teſte, Au demeurant viyez en beſte.

Which Mr. Cotgrave [Page] engliſhes thus,

The head and feet kept warm, The reſt will take no harm.

‘Jeun chair & vieil poiſſon.’ i. e. Young fleſh and old fiſh are beſt.

Qui vin ne boit apres ſalade, eſt en danger eſtre malade. i. e. He that drinks not wine after ſalade, is in danger to be ſick.

‘Di giorni quanto voi, di notte quanto poi.’ i. e. Cover your head by day as much as you will, by night as much as you can.

‘Il peſſe guaſta l'acqua, la carne la concia.’ i. e. Fiſh ſpoils water, but fleſh mends it.

‘Pome, pere & noce Guaſtano la voce.’ Apples, peares & nuts ſpoil the voice.

‘Febre quartana Ammazza i vecchii, & i giovani riſana.’

‘A Quartan Ague kills old men & heales young.’

‘Peſce, oglio & amico vecchio.’ Old fiſh, old oil and an old friend are the beſt.

‘Vitello, pullaſtro & peſce crudo ingraſſano i cimiterii.’ i. e. Raw pulleyn, veal and fiſh make the churchyards fat.

‘Vino di mezo, oglio di ſopra & miele di ſotto.’

Of wine the middle, of oil the top, and of honey the bottom is beſt. ‘Macrob Saturn. lib. 7. c. 12. Quaro igitur, Cur oleum quod in ſummo eſt, vinum quod in medio, mel quod in fundo optimum eſſe credantur. Nec cunctatus Diſarius ait, Mel quod optimum eſt reliquo ponderoſius eſt. In vaſe igitur mellis pars quae in imo eſt reliquis praeſtat pondere, & idco ſupernante [Page] pretiofior eſt. Contra in vaſe vini pars inferior admixtione faecis non modo turbulenta, ſed & ſapore deterior eſt, pars verò ſumma aeris vicinid corrumpitur, &c.’

‘Aria di fineſtra colpo di baleſtra.’ i. e. The air of a window is as the ſtroke of a croſsbow.

‘Aſciuto il piede calda la teſta, e dal reſto vive da beſtia,’ i. e. Keep your feet dry and your head hot, and for the reſt live like a beaſt.

‘Piſcia chiaro & incaca al medico.’ i. e. Piſſe clear and defie the phyſician.

Proverbs and Proverbial Obſervations concerning Husbandry, Weather and the ſeaſons of the year.

[Page]

JAniveer freez the pot by the fire.

If the graſs grow in Janiveer, It grows the worſe for't all the year.

There's no general rule without ſome exception: for in the year 1667 the winter was ſo mild, that the paſtures were very green in January, yet was there ſcarce ever known a plentifuller crop of hay then the ſummer following.

When Candlemas day is come and gone

The ſnow lies on a hot ſtone.

February fill dike, Be it black or be it white;

But if it be white, It's the better to like.

‘Pluye de Feburier vaut es gaux de fumier. Gall.’ Snow brings a double advantage: It not only preſerves the corn from the bitterneſs of the froſt and cold, but enriches the ground by reaſon of the nitrous ſalt which it is ſuppoſed to contain. I have obſerved the Alps and other high mountains covered all the winter with ſnow, ſoon after it is melted to become like a garden, ſo full of luxuriant plants and variety of flowers. It is worth the noting, that mountainous plants are for the moſt part larger then thoſe of the ſame genus which grow in lower grounds; and that theſe ſnowy mountains afford greater variety of ſpecies then plain countreys.

[Page]Februeer doth cut and ſhear.

All the moneths in the year curſe a fair Februeer. or thus,

The Welchman had rather ſee his dam on the beer,

Then ſo ſee a fair Februeer.

March in Janiveer, Janiveer in March I fear.

March hack ham, comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb.

A buſhel of March duſt is worth a Kings ranſome.

March graſs never did good.

March wind and May Sun, make clothes white and maids dun.

March many weathers.

April ſhowers bring forth May flowers.

When April blows his horn, It's good both for hay and corn.

That is, when it thunders in April: for thunder is uſually accompanied with rain.

April borrows three days of March and they are ill.

An April floud carries away the frog and her brood.

A cold May and a windy, makes a full barn and a findy.

The merry moneth of May.

May come ſhe early or come ſhe late ſhe'll make the cow to quake.

[Page]May ſeldom paſſes without a brunt of cold weather. Some will have it thus, She'll bring the Cow. quake. i. e. Gramen tremulum, which is true, but I ſuppoſe not the intent of the Proverb.

A May flood never did good.

Look at your corn in May, and you'll come weeping away: Look at the ſame in June, and you'll come home in another tune.

Shear your ſheep in May, And ſhear them all away.

A ſwarm of Bees in May, is worth a load of hay: But a ſwarm in July, is not worth a fly.

When the wind's in the Eaſt, It's neither good for man nor beaſt.

The Eaſt-wind with us is commonly very ſharp, becauſe it comes off the Continent. Midland Countreys of the ſame latitude are generally colder then maritime, and Continents then Iſlands: and it is obſerved in England that near the ſea-ſide, as in the County of Cornwall, &c. the ſnow ſeldom lies three days.

When the wind's in the South, It's in the rains mouth.

This is an obſervation that holds true all over Europe; and I believe in a great part of Aſia too. For Italy and Greece the ancient Latine and Greek Poets witneſs: as Ovid. ‘Madidis notus evolat alis.’ and ſpeaking of the South, Metamorph. 1. he ſaith, ‘Contraria tellus nubibus aſſiduis pluviò (que) madeſcit ab Auſtro.’ Homer calles the North wind ‘ [...].’ Pliny ſaith, ‘In totum venti omnes à Septentrione ficclores quàm à meridie. lib. 2. cap. 47.’ For [Page] Judas in Aſia the Scripture gives teſtimony; ‘Prov. 25. 23. The North-wind drives away rain.’ Wherefore by the rule of contraries, the South-wind muſt bring it. The reaſon of this with the ingenious Philoſopher Des Cartes I conceive to be, becauſe thoſe countreys which lie under and near to the courſe of the Sun, being ſufficiently heated by his almoſt perpendicular beams, ſend up a multitude of vapours into the air, which being kept in conſtant agitation by the ſame heat that raiſed them require a great ſpace to perform their motions in, and new ſtill aſcending they muſt needs be caſt off part to the South and part to the North of the Suns courſe; So that were there no winds the parts of the earth towards the North and South poles would be moſt full of clouds and vapours. Now the North-wind blowing, keeps back thoſe vapours, and cauſes clear weather in theſe Northern parts: but the South wind brings ſtore of them along with it, which by the cold of the air are here condenſed into clouds, and fall down in rain. Which accompt is confirmed by what Pliny reports of Africa, ‘loc. cit. Permutant & duo naturam cum ſitu: Auſter Africae ſcrenus, Aquilo nubilus.’ The reaſon is, becauſe Africa being under or near the courſe of the Sun, The South-wind carries away the vapours there aſcending: but the North-wind detains them, and ſo partly by compreſſing, partly by cooling them cauſes them to condenſe and deſcend in ſhowers.

When the wind's in the South,

It blowes the bait into the fiſhes mouth.

No weather is ill, If the wind be ſtill.

A hot May makes a fat Church-yard.

A green winter makes a fat Church-yard.

This Proverb was ſufficiently confuted Anno 1667, in which the winter was very mild; and yet no mortality or Epidemical diſeaſe enſued the Summer or Autumn following. [Page] We have entertained an opinion, that froſty weather is the moſt healthful, and the hardeſt winters the beſt. But I can ſee no reaſon for it, for in the hotteſt countreys of the world, as Brazil, &c. Men are longeſt lived where they know hot what froſt or ſnow means, the ordinary age of man being an hundred and ten years: and here in England we found by experience, that the laſt great plague ſucceeded one of the ſharpeſt froſty winters that hath lately happened.

Winter never rots in the sky.

Ne caldo, ne gelo reſta mai in cielo.

Ital.

Neither heat nor cold abides always in the sky.

It's pity fair weather ſhould do any harm.

Hail brings froſt i'th'tail.

A ſnow year, a rich year. ‘Anno di neve anno di bene. Ital.’

A winters thunder's a ſummers wonder. ‘Quand il tonne en Mars on peut dire helas. Gall.’

Drought never bred dearth in England.

Whoſo hath but a mouth, ſhall ne're in England ſuffer drought. v. in Sentent.

When the ſand doth feed the clay, (which is in a wet ſummer) England wo and well-a-day:

But when the clay doth feed the ſand, (which is in a dry ſummer) Then it is well with England.

Becauſe there is more clay then ſandy ground in England.

The worſe for the rider, the better for the bider.

‘Bon pais mauvais chemin. Gall.’ Rich land, bad way.

[Page] When the Cuckow comes to the bare thorn,

Sell your cow and buy you corn:

But when ſhe comes to the full bit,

Sell your corn and buy you ſheep.

If the cock moult before the hen,

We ſhall have weather thick and thin:

But if the hen moult before the cock,

We ſhall have weather hard as a block.

Theſe prognoſticks of weather and future plenty, &c. I look upon as altogether uncertain; and were they narrowly obſerved would I believe, as often miſs as hit.

I'th' old o'th' moon A cloudy morning bodes a fair afternoon.

As the days lengthen, ſo the cold ſtrengthens.

‘Creſce di creſce'l freddo dice il peſcador. Ital.’

The reaſon is, for that the earth having been well heated by the Sun's long lying upon it in Summer time is not ſuddainly cooled again by the receſs of the Sun, but retains part of its warmth till after the Winter Solſtice: which warmth, notwithſtanding the return and acceſſe of the Sun, muſt needs ſtill languiſh and decay, and ſo notwithſtanding the lengthening of the days the weather grows colder, till the externall heat cauſed by the Sun is greater then the remaining internall heat of the earth for as long as the externall is leſſer then the internall (that is, ſo long as the Sun hath not force enough to produce as great a heat in the earth as was remaining from the laſt Summer) ſo long the internall muſt needs decreaſe. The like reaſon there is why the hotteſt time of the day is not juſt at noon, but about two of the clock in the afternoon and the hoteſt time of the year not juſt at the Summer Solſtice, but about a moneth after, becauſe till then the externall heat of the Sun is [Page] greater then the heat produced in the earth. So if you put a plece of iron into a very hot fire it will not ſuddenly be heat ſo hot as the fire can make it, and though you abate your fire, before it be througly heated, yet will it grow hotter and hotter, till it comes to that degree of heat which the fire it is in can give it.

If there be a rainbow in the eve, it will rain and leave: But if there be a rainbow in the morrow, It will neither lend nor borrow.

An evening red and a morning gray, Is a ſign of a fair day.

Le rouge ſoir & blanc matin Font rejouir le pelerin.

Gall.

Sera roſſa & negro matino Allegra il pelegrino.

Ital.

A red evening and a white morning rejoyce the pilgrim.

When the clouds are upon the hills they'll come down by the mills.

David and Chad ſow peaſe good or bad.

That is about the beginning of March.

This rule in gardening never forget,

To ſow dry, and to ſet wet.

When the ſloe-tree's as white as a ſheet,

Sow your barley whether it be dry or wet.

Sow beans i'th' mud, and they'll grow like wood.

Till St James his day be come and gone,

You may have hops or you may have none.

The pigeon never knoweth wo,

But when ſhe doth a benting go.

If the Partridge had the wood cocks thigh,

T'would be the beſt bird that ever did fly.

[Page] Yule is good on yule even.

That is, as I underſtand it, every thing in his ſeaſon, Yule is Chriſtmas.

Tripe's good meat if it be well wip't.

A Michaelmaſs rot comes n'ere i'th' pot.

A nagg with a weamb and a mare with nean. i. e. none.

Behind before, before behind, a horſe is in danger to be prick't.

You muſt look for graſs on the top of the oak tree.

Becauſe the graſs ſeldom ſprings well before the oak begins to put forth, as might have been obſerved the laſt year.

St. Matthie ſends ſap into the tree.

A famine in England begins at the horſemanger.

In oppoſition to the rack: for in dry years when hay is dear, commonly corn is cheap: but when oats (or indeed any one grain) is dear, the reſt are ſeldom cheap.

Winters thunder and Summers flood,

Never boded Engliſhman good.

Butter's once a year in the cows horn.

They mean when the cow gives no milk. And butter is ſaid to be mad twice a year; once in Summer time in very hot weather, when it is too thin and fluid; and once in winter in very cold weather, when it is too hard and difficult to ſpread.

[Page]Barly-ſtraw's good fodder when the cow gives water.

On Valentines day will a good gooſe lay.

If ſhee be a good gooſe her dame well to pay, She will lay two eggs before Valentines day.

Before S. Chad every gooſe layes both good and Bad.

It rains by planets.

This the Countrey people uſe when it rains in one place and not in another: meaning that the ſhowres are governed by the Planets, which being erratick in their own motions, cauſe ſuch uncertain wandring of clouds and falls of rain. Or it rains by Planets, that is, the falls of ſhowers are as uncertain as the motions of the Planets are imagined to be.

If Candlemas day be fair and bright

Winter will have another flight:

If on Candlemas day it be ſhowre and rain,

Winter is gone and will not come again.

This is a tranſlation or metraphraſe of that old La-Latin Diſtich;

Si Sol ſplendeſcat Maria purificante,

Major erit glacies poſt feſtum quam fuit ante.

Now though I think all obſervations about particular days ſuperſtitious and frivolous, yet becauſe probably if the weather be fair for ſome days about this time of the year, it may betoken froſt, I have put this down as it was delivered me.

Barnaby bright, the longeſt day and the ſhorteſt night.

[Page] Lucy light, the ſhorteſt day and the longeſt night.

S. Bartholomew brings the cold dew.

S. Matthie all the year goes by.

Becauſe in Leap-year the ſupernumerary day is then intercalated.

S. Matthee ſhut up the Bee.

S. Valentine ſet thy hopper by mine.

S. Mattho, take thy hopper and ſow.

S. Benedick ſow thy peaſe or keep them in thy rick.

Red herring ne're ſpake word but een,

Broyl my back, but not my weamb.

Said the Chevin to the Trout,

My head's worth all thy bouk.

Meddlers are never good till they be rotten.

On Candlemas day you muſt have half your ſtraw and half your hay.

At twelf-day the days are lengthened a Cockſtride. The Italians ſay at Chriſtmas.

A cherry year a merry year:

A plum year a dumb year.

This is a puerile and ſenceleſs rythme without reaſon, as far as I can ſee.

Set trees at Allhallontide and command them to proſper: Set them after Candlemas and entreat them to grow.

[Page] This Dr. J. Beal alledgeth as an old Engliſh and Welch Proverb, concerning Apple and Pear-trees, Oak and Hawthorn quicks; though he is of Mr. Reed's opinion, that it's beſt to remove fruit-trees in the ſpring, rather then the Winter. Philoſoph. Tranſact. N. 71.

If you would fruit have,

You muſt bring the leaf to the grave.

That is you muſt tranſplant your trees juſt about the fall of the leaf, neither ſooner nor much later: not ſooner, becauſe of the motion of the ſap; not later, that they may have time to take root before the deep froſts.

To theſe I ſhall adjoin a few Italian.

PRimo porco, ultimo cane. i. e. The firſt pig, but the laſt whelp of the litter is the beſt.

Cavallo & cavalla cavalcalo in ſu la ſpalla,

Aſino & mulo cavalcalo in ſu'l culo. i. e.

Ride a horſe and mare on the ſhoulders, an

Aſſe and mule on the buttocks.

A buon'hora in peſcaria & tardi in beccaria.

Go early to the fiſh-market, & late to the butchery.

Al amico cura li il fico, Al inimico il Perſico.

Pill a fig for your friend, and a peach for your enemy.

Proverbs and Proverbial obſervations referring to Love, Wedlock and Women.

[Page]

LOve me little and love me long.

Hot love is ſoon cold.

Love of lads and fire of chats is ſoon in and ſoon out. Darbiſh.

Chats, i. e. chips.

Lads love's a busk of broom, Hot awhile and ſoon done.

Cheſh.

Love will creep where it cannot go.

‘Chi ha amor nel petto ha le ſprone ne i fianchi. Italian.’

He that hath love in his breaſt hath ſpurs in his ſides.

Love and Lordſhip like no fellowſhip.

‘Amor & ſeignoria non yogliono compagnia, Ital.’ ‘Amour & feigneutie ne ſe tindrent jamais compagnie. Gall.’ The meaning of our Engliſh Proverb is, Lovers and Princes cannot endure rivals or partners. ‘Omniſque poteſtas Impaticus conſortis erit.’ The Italian and French, though the ſame in words, have I think a different ſenſe, viz. ‘Non bene conveniunt nec in una ſede morantur Majeſtas & amor.’

[Page]Love is blind.

Lovers live by love, as Larks by leeks.

This is I conceive in deriſion of ſuch expreſſions as living by love. Larks and leeks beginning with the ſame letter helped it up to be a Proverb.

Follow love and it will flee,

Flee love and it will follow thee.

This was wont to be ſaid of glory, ‘Sequentem fugit, fugientem ſequitur.’ Juſt like a ſhadow.

Love and peaſe-pottage will make their way.

Becauſe one breaks the belly, the other the heart.

The love of a woman and a bottle of wine,

Are ſweet for a ſeaſon, but laſt for a time.

Love comes in at the windows, and goes out at the doors.

Love and a cough cannot be hid.

‘Amor tuſsiſque non celatur.’ The French and Italians add to theſe two the itch. ‘L'amour, la touſſe & la galle ne ſe peuvent celer. Gall.’ ‘Amor la rogna & la touſſe non ſi ponno naſcondere. Ital.’ Others add ſtink.

Ay be as merry as be can,

For love ne're delights in a ſorrowfull man.

Fair chieve all where love trucks.

Whom we love beſt, to them we can ſay leaſt.

He that loves glaſſe without G.

Take away L, and that is he.

[Page] Old pottage is ſooner heated, then new made.

Old lovers fallen out are ſooner reconciled then new loves begun. Nay the Comedian ſaith, ‘Amantium irae amoris redintegratio eſt.’

Wedlock is a padlock.

Age and wedlock bring a man to his nightcap.

Wedding an ill wintering, tame both man and beaſt.

Marriages are made in heaven. ‘Nozze & magistrato dal cielo e deſtinato. Ital.’

Marry in haſte and repent at leiſure.

It's good to marry late or never.

Marry your Sons when you will, your Daughters when you can.

Marry your Daughters betimes, leſt they marry themſelves.

I've cur'd her from laying i'th'hedge, quoth the good man when he had wed his daughter.

Motions are not marriages.

More longs to marriage, then four bare legs in a bed.

Like blood, like good, and like age, make the happieſt marriage.

‘Aequalem uxorem quaere.’ ‘ [...].’ Unequal marriages ſeldom prove happy. ‘Si qua voles aptè nubere, nube pari. Ovid.’ ‘Intolerabilius nibil eſt quam famina dives. Juvenal.’

Many an one for land takes a fool by the hand. i. e. marries her or him.

[Page] He that's needy when he is married, ſhall be rich when he is buried.

Who weds e're he be wiſe, ſhall die e're he thrive.

It's hard to wive and thrive both in a year.

Better behalf hang'd then ill wed.

He that would an old wife wed, Muſt eat an apple before he goes to bed,

Which by reaſon of its flatulency is apt to excite luſt.

Sweet heart and Honey-bird keeps no houſe.

Marriage is honourable, but houſe-keeping's a ſhrew.

We batchelours grin, but you married men laugh till your hearts ake.

Marriage and hanging go by deſtiny.

It's time to yoke when the cart comes to the caples, i. e. horſes. Cheſh.

That is, It's time to marry when the woman woes the man.

Courting and woing brings dallying and doing.

Happy is the woing, that is not long in doing.

Widows are always rich.

He that woes a maid muſt come ſeldom in her ſight.

But he that woes a widow muſt woe her day and night.

He that woes a maid muſt fain, lie and flatter:

But he that woes a widow, muſt down with his breeches and at her.

This Proverb being ſomewhat immodeſt, I ſhould not have inſerted, but that I met with it in a little book, [Page] entitled The Quakers ſpiritual Court proclaimed, written by Nathanael Smith, Student in Phyſick: Wherein the Author mentions it as Counſell given him by one Hilkiah Bedford, an eminent Quaker in London, who would have had him to have married a rich widow, in whoſe houſe in caſe he could get her, this Nathanael Smith had promiſed Hilkiah a chamber gratis. The whole narrative is very well worth the reading.

It's dangerous marrying a widow becauſe ſhe hath caſt her rider.

He that would the daughter win,

Muſt with the mother firſt begin.

A man muſt ask his wife leave to thrive.

He that looſeth his wife and ſixpence, hath loſt a teſter.

‘Che perde moglie & un quatrino, ha gran perdita del quatrino.’ Ital.

He that loſes his wife and a farthing hath a great loſs of his farthing.

There is one good wife in the Countrey, and every man thinks he hath her.

Wives muſt be had, be they good or bad.

He that tells his wife news, is but newly married.

A nice wife and a back door, do often make a rich man poor.

Saith Solomon the wiſe,

A good wife's a goodly prize.

A dead wife's the beſt goods in a mans houſe.

Long-tongued wives go long with bairn.

A man of ſtraw, is worth a woman of gold.

[Page] This is a French Proverb. ‘Un homme de paille vaut une femme d'or.’

One tongue is enough for a woman.

This reaſon they give that would not have women learn languages.

A womans tongue wags like a lambs tail.

Three women and a gooſe make a market.

This is an Italian one, ‘Tre donne & un occa fan un mercato.’

A ſhip and a woman are ever repairing.

A ſpaniel, a woman and a walnut tree,

The more they're beaten the better ſtill they be.

Nux, aſinus, mulier ſimili ſunt l [...]ge ligata.

Haec tria nil rectè faci [...]nt ſi verbera ceſſant.

Adducitur à Cognato, eſt tamen novum.

All women are good, viz, either good for ſomething or good for nothing.

Women laugh when they can, and weep when they will.

‘Femme rit quand elle peut & pleure quand elle veut.’ Gall.

Women think Place a ſweet fiſh.

A woman conceals what ſhe knows not.

Women and dogs ſet men together by the ears.

As great pity to ſee a woman weep, as a gooſe go barefoot.

[Page] Winter-weather and womens thoughts change oft.

A womans mind and winter-wind change oft.

There's no miſchief in the world done,

But a woman is always one.

A wicked woman and an evil, Is three half pence worſe then the Devil.

The more women look in their glaſſes, the leſs they look to their houſes.

A womans work is never at an end. Some adde,
And waſhing of diſhes.

Change of women makes bald knaves.

Every man can tame a ſhrew, but he that hath her.

Better be a ſhrew then a ſheep.

For commonly ſhrews are good houſewives.

Better one houſe fill'd then two ſpill'd.

This we uſe when we hear of a bad Jack who hath married as bad a Jyll. For as it is ſaid of Bonum, quò communius cò melius; So by the rule of contraries, What is ill, the further it ſpreads the worſe. And as in a city it is better there ſhould be one Lazaretto and that filled with the inſected, then make every houſe in a town a Peſthouſe, they dwelling diſperſedly or ſingly: So is it in a neighbourhood, &c.

Old maids lead apes in hell.

Batchelours wives and maids children are always well taught.

Chi non ha moglie ben la veſte.

Chi non ha figlivoli ben li paſce.

Maidens muſt be ſeen and not heard.

[Page] A dogs noſe and a maids knees are always cold.

Young wenches make old wrenches.

As the goodman ſaith, ſo ſay we,

But as the good woman ſaith, ſo it muſt be.

Better be an old mans darling, then a young mans warling.

A grunting horſe and a groaning wife ſeldom fail their maſter.

In time comes ſhe whom Gods ſends.

He that marries a widow and three children, marries four thieves.

Two daughters and a back door are three errant thieves.

A black man's a jewel in a fair womans eye.

Fair and ſluttiſh, (or fooliſh) black and proud,

Long and lazy, little and loud.

‘Beautè & folie vont ſouvent de compagnie.’ Gall. Beauty and folly do often go hand in hand, are often match't together.

Put another mans child in your boſom, and he'll creep out at your elbow. Cheſh.

That is, cheriſh or love him, he'll never be naturally affected toward you.

When the good man's from home the good wives table is ſoon ſpread.

The good man's the laſt knows what's amiſs at home.

‘Dedecus ille domûs ſciet ultimus.’

[Page] 'Tis ſafe taking a ſhive of a cut loaf.

Wine and wenches empty mens purſes.

Who drives an Aſſe and leads a whore,

Hath pain and ſorrow evermore.

The Italians add, ‘& corre in arena.’

The French ſay, ‘Qui femme croit & aſne meine, ſon corps ne ſera ja ſans peine.’ i. e. He that truſts a woman and leads an aſſe, &c.

I'll tent thee, quoth Wood, If I can't rule my daughter, I'll rule my good. Cheſh.

Oſſing comes to boſſing. Cheſh.

Oſſing, i. e. offering or aiming to do. The meaning is the ſame, with Courting and woing brings dallying and doing.

Free of her lips free of her hips.

A rouk-town's ſeldom a good houſe-wife at home.

This is a Yorkſhire Proverb. A Rouk-town is a goſſipping houſe-wife, who loves to go from houſe to houſe.

Quickly too'd, [i. e. toothed] and quickly go,

Quickly will thy mother have moe. Yorkſh.

Some have it quickly to'd, quickly with God, as if early breeding of teeth, were a ſign of a ſhort life, whereas we read of ſome born with teeth in their heads, who yet have lived long enough to become famous men, as in the Roman Hiſtory; M. Curius Dentatus, & Cn. Papyrius Carbo mentioned by Pliny, lib. 7. c. 16. and among our Engliſh Kings, Rich. 3.

[Page] It's a ſad burden to carry a dead mans child.

A little houſe well fill'd, a little land well till'd, and a little wife well will'd.

One year of joy, another of comfort and all the reſt of content. A marriage wiſh.

My ſon's my ſon, till he hath got him a wife,

But my daughter's my daughter all dayes of her life.

The lone ſheep's in danger of the wolf.

A light heel'd mother, makes a heavy heel'd daughter.

Becauſe ſhe doth all her work her ſelf, and her daughter the mean time ſitting idle, contracts a habit of ſloth. ‘Mere pitieuſe fait ſa fille rogneuſe, Gall.’ A tender mother breeds a ſcabby daughter.

When the husband drinks to the wife, all would be well: When the wife drinks to the husband, all is well.

When a couple are newly married, the firſt moneth is honey-moon or ſmick ſmack: the ſecond is, hither an thither: the third is, thwick thwack: the fourth, the Devil take them that brought thee and I together.

Women muſt have their wills while they live, be-becauſe they make none when they die.

England is the Paradiſe of women.

And well it may be called ſo, as might eaſily be demonſtrated in many particulars, were not all the world already therein ſatisfied. Hence it hath been ſaid, that if a bridge were made over the narrow ſeas, all the women in Europe [Page] would come over hither. Yet is it worth the noting, that though in no Countrey of the world, the men are ſo fond of, ſo much governed by, ſo wedded to their wives, yet hath no Language, ſo many Proverbial invectives againſt women.

All meat's to be eaten, all maids to be wed.

It's a ſad houſe where the hen crows lowder then the cock.

Triſta è quella caſa dove le galline cantano e'l gallo tace. Ital.

If a woman were as little as ſhee is good,

A peas-cod would make her a gown & a hood.

‘Se la donna foſſe piccola come e buona, laminima foglia la farebbe una veſte & una corona. Ital.’

Many women many words, many geeſe many t....

‘Dove ſonod nne & ocche non vi ſono parole poche.’ Ital.

Where there are women and geeſe there wants no noiſe.

Not what is ſhe, but what hath ſhe.

Protinus ad cenſum de moribus ultima fiet

Quaeſtio &c. Juven.

To theſe I ſhall add one French Proverb.

‘Maiſon faicte & femme à faire.’ A houſe ready made but a wife to make, i. e. One that is a virgin & young. ‘Ne femina ne tela à lume de candela. Ital.’ Neither women nor linnen by candle-light.

AN ALPHABET Of Joculatory, Nugatory And Ruſtick Proverbs.

[Page]

A.

YOu ſee what we muſt all come to if we live.

If thou be hungry, I am angry, let us go fight.

Lay on more wood, Aſhes give money.

Six Awls make a ſhoemaker.

All aſiden as hogs fighten.

B.

BAck with that leg.

Of all and of all commend me to Ball, for by licking the diſhes he ſaved me much labour.

[Page] Like a Barbers chair, fit for every buttock.

A Bargain is a bargain.

His Baſhfull mind hinders his good intent.

The ſon of a Batchelour. i. e. a baſtard.

Then the town-bull is a Batchelour. i. e. as ſoon as ſuch an one.

He ſpeaks Bear-garden.

That is, ſuch rude and uncivil, or ſordid and dirty language, as the Rabble that frequent thoſe ſports, are wont to uſe.

He that hath eaten a Bear-pye will always ſmell of the garden.

Your Belly chimes, it's time to go to dinner.

You ſhall have as much favour at Billings-gate for a box on the ear.

A Black ſhoe makes a merry heart.

He's in his better Blew clothes.

He thinks himſelf wondrous fine.

Have among you blind harpers.

Good blood makes bad puddings without groats or ſuet.

‘ [...]’, Nobility is nothing but ancient riches: and money is the idol the world adores.

A Blot in his Eſcucheon.

To be bout, i. e. without, as Barrow was. Cheſh.

To leave Boyes-play, and go to blow-point.

[Page] You'll not believe a man is dead till you ſee his brains out.

Well rhythm'd Tutour, Brains and ſtairs.

Now uſed in deriſion of ſuch as make paltry ridiculous rhythmes.

A brinded pig will make a good brawn to breed on.

A red-headed man will make a good ſtallion.

This buying of bread undoes us.

If I were to faſt for my life I would eat a good breakfaſt in the morning.

She brides it. She bridles up the head, or acts the bride.

As broad as long. i. e. Take it which way you will, there's no difference, it is all one.

To burſt at the broad ſide.

Like an old womans breech, at no certainty.

He's like a buck of the firſt-head.

Brisk, pert, forward, Some apply it to upſtart Gentlemen.

The ſpirit of building is come upon him.

He wears the Bulls feather.

This is a French proverb, for a cuckold.

It melts like butter in a Sows tail: or, works like ſope &c.

I have a bone in mine arm.

This is a pretended excuſe, whereby people abuſe young children when they are importunate to have them do ſomething, or reach ſomething for them, that they are unwilling to do, or that is not good for them.

[Page] Burroughs end of ſheep, ſome one.

C.

EVery cake hath its make, but a ſcrape-cake hath two.

Every wench hath her ſweet-heart, and the dirtieſt commonly the moſt: make, i. e. match, fellow.

He Capers like a fly in a tarbox.

He's in good carding.

I would cheat mine own father at cards.

When you have counted your cards you'll find you have gained but little.

Catch that catch may.

The cat hath eaten her count.

It is ſpoken of women with child, that go beyond their reckoning.

He lives under the ſign of the eats foot.

He is hen-peckt, his wife ſcratches him.

Whores and thieves go by the clock.

Quoth the young Cock, I'll neither meddle nor make.

When he ſaw the old cocks neck wrung off, for taking part with the maſter, and the old hens, for taking part with the dame.

To order without a Conſtable.

He's no Conjurer.

Marry come up my dirty Couſin.

[Page] Spoken by way of taunt, to thoſe who boaſt themſelves of their birth, parentage, or the like.

Couſin germans quite removed.

He's fallen into a Cowturd.

He looks like a Cowt—ſtuck with Primroſes.

To a Cows thumb.

Crack me that nut, quoth Bumſted.

To rock the Cradle in ones ſpectacles.

Cream-pot love.

Such as young fellows pretend tō dairy-maids, to get cream and other good things of them.

Cuckolds are chriſtians.

The ſtory is well known of the old woman, who hearing a young fellow call his dog cuckold, ſaies to him, Are you not aſhamed to call a dog by a Chriſtians name.

He has deſerved a Cuſhion.

That is, he hath gotten a boy.

To kill a man with a cuſhion.

A Curtain-lecture.

Such an one as a wife reads her husband when ſhe chides him in bed.

If a Cuckold come he'll take away the meat. viz.

If there be no ſalt on the table.

It's better to be a-cold then a Cuckold.

For want of company wellcome trumpery.

That's the cream of the jeſt.

[Page] It's but a copy of his countenance.

His Cow hath calved, or ſow pig'd.

He hath got what he ſought for, or expected.

With Coſt one may make pottage of a ſtool-foot.

D.

THe Daſnel dawcock ſits among the Doctours.

‘Corchorus inter olera.’ Corchorus is a ſmall herb of little account: Some take it to be the Male Pimpernel: beſide which there is another herb ſo called, which reſembles Mallowes, and is much eaten by the Egyptians.

When the Devil is blind.

Heigh ho, the Devil is dead.

Strike Dawkin, the Devil is i'th' hemp.

The Devil is good to ſome.

It's good ſometimes to hold a candle to the Devil.

Holding a candle to the devil is aſſiſting in a bad cauſe, an evil matter.

The Devil is i'th' dice.

When the Devil is a hog you ſhall eat bacon.

To give one the Dog to hold. i. e. To ſerve one a dog-trick.

It's a good Dog can catch any thing.

He looks like a Dog under a door.

Make a-do and have a-do.

I know what I do when I drink.

Drink off your drink, and ſteal no lambs.

[Page] Drift is as bad as unthrift.

He was hang'd that left his drink behind him.

Good fellows have a ſtory of a certain malefactour, who came to be ſuſpected upon leaving his drink behind him in an Alehouſe, at the News of an Hue and cry.

A good day will not mend him, nor a bad day impair him.

I'll make him dance without a pipe.

i. e. I'll do him an injury, and he ſhall not know how.

E.

I'll warrant you for an Egg at Eaſter.

F.

YOu two are finger and thumb.

My wife cryes five loaves a penny, i. e. She is in travel.

It's good fiſh if it were but caught.

It's ſpoken of any conſiderable good that one hath not, but talks much of, ſues for, or endeavours after. A future good, which is to be catched, if a man can, is but little worth.

To morrow morning I found an horſe-ſhoe.

The Fox was ſick, and he knew not where:

He clap't his hand on his tail, and ſwore it was there.

That which one moſt forehets, ſooneſt comes to paſs.

[Page] ‘Quod quiſ (que) vitet nunquam, homini ſatis cautum eſt in horas.’ Horat.

Look to him Jaylour, there's a frog i'th' ſtocks.

G.

THe way to be gone is not to ſtay here.

Good gooſe do not bite.

It's a ſorry gooſe will not baſte her ſelf.

I care no more for it then a gooſe-t.... for the Thames.

Let him ſet up ſhop on Goodwins ſands.

This is a piece of Countrey wit; there being an aequivo (que) in the word Good-win, which is a ſurname, and alſo ſignifies gaining wealth.

He would live in a gravel-pit.

Spoken of a wary ſparing, niggardly perſon.

This grow'd by night.

Spoken of a crooked ſtick or tree, it could not ſee to grow.

Great doings at Gregories, heat the oven twice for a cuſtard.

He hath ſwallowed a Gudgeon.

He hath ſwore deſperately, viz. to that which there is a great preſumption is falſe: Swallowed a falſe oath.

The Devils guts. i. e. The ſurveyours chain.

A good fellow lights his candle at both ends.

God help the fool, quoth Pedly.

[Page] This Pedley was a naturall fool himſelf, and yet had uſually this expreſſion in his mouth. Indeed none are more ready to pity the folly of others, then thoſe who have but a ſmall meaſure of wit themſelves.

H.

HIs hair growes through his hood.

He is very poor, his hood is full of holes.

You have a handſome head of hair, pray give me a teſter.

When Spendthrifts come to borrow money they commonly uſher in their errand with ſome frivolous diſcourſe in commendation of the perſon they would borrow of, or ſome of his parts or qualities: The ſame be ſaid of beggers.

A handſome bodied man i'th' face.

Hang your ſelf for a paſtime.

If I be hang'd, I'll chuſe my gallowes.

A King Harry's face.

Better have it then hear of it.

To take heart of grace.

To be hide-bound.

This was a Hill in King Harry's dayes.

To be looſei'th' Hilts.

Hit or miſſe for a cow-heel.

A hober de hoy, half a man and half a boy.

Hold or cut Codpiece point.

Hold him to't buckle and thong.

She's an holy-day dame.

You'll make honey of a dogſt...

[Page] That horſe is troubled with corns. i. e. foundred.

He hath eaten a horſe, and the tail hangs out at his mouth.

He had better put his horns in his pocket, then wind them.

There's but an hour in a day between a good houſewife and a bad.

With a little more pains, ſhe that ſlatters might do things neatly.

He came in hos'd and ſhod.

He was born to a good eſtate. He came into the world as a Bee into the hive: or into an houſe, or into a trade, or employment.

I.

I Am not the firſt, and ſhall not be the laſt.

To be Jack in an office.

An inch an hour, a foot a day.

A basket Juſtice; a Jyll Juſtice; a good forenoon Juſtice.

He'll do Iuſtice right or wrong.

K.

THere I caught a Knave in a purſe net.

Knock under the board. He muſt do ſo that will not drink his cup.

As good a knave I know, as a knave I know not.

An horſe-kiſs. A rude kiſs, able to beat ones teeth out.

L.

HIs houſe ſtands on my Ladyes ground.

A long lane and a fair wind, and always thy heels here away.

Laſſes are lads leavings. Cheſh.

In the Eaſt part of England, where they uſe the word Mothther for a girl, they have a fond old ſaw of this nature, viz. Wenches are tinkers bitches, girles are pedlers trulls, and modhdhers are honeſt mens daughters.

He'll laugh at the wagging of a ſtraw.

Neither lead nor drive. An unto ward, unmanageable perſon.

To play leaſt in ſight.

To go as if dead lice dropt out of him.

He is ſo poor and lean and weak, that he cannot maintain his lice.

Thou'lt lie all manner of colours but blew, and that is gone to the litting. i. e. dying.

Tell a lie and find the troth.

Liſtners ne'er hear good of themſelves.

To lye in bed and forecaſt.

Sick o'th' Lombard feaver, or of the idles.

She hath been at London to call a ſtrea a ſtraw, and a waw a wall. Cheſh.

This the common people uſe in ſcorn of thoſe who having been at London are aſhamed to ſpeak their-own Countrey dialect.

She lives by love and lumps in corners.

[Page] Every one that can lick a diſh: as much to ſay, as every one ſimpliciter, tag rag and bobtail.

It's a lightning before death.

This is generally obſerved of ſick perſons, that a little before they dye their pains leave them, and their underſtanding and memory return to them; as a candle juſt before it goes out gives a great blaze.

The beſt dog leap the ſtile firſt. i. e. Let the worthieſt perſon take place.

M.

Maxfield meaſure heap and thrutch. i. e. thruſt. Cheſh.

To find a mares neſt.

He's a man every inch of him.

A match, quoth Hatch, when he got his wife by the breech.

A match, quoth Iack, when he kiſt his dame.

All the matter's not in my Lord Judges hand.

Let him mend his manners, 't will be his own another day.

He's metal to the back. A metaphor taken from knives and ſwords.

'Tis Midſummer moon with you. i. e. You are mad.

To handle without mittins.

He was born in a mill. i. e. He 's deaf.

Samſon was a ſtrong man, yet could he not pay money before he had it.

Thou ſhalt have moon-ſhine i'th' muſtard-pot for it. i. e. nothing.

[Page] Sick o'th' mulligrubs with eating chop't hay.

You make a muck-hill on my trencher, quoth the Bride.

You carve me a great heap. I ſuppoſe ſome bride at firſt, thinking to ſpeak elegantly and finely might uſe that expreſſion; and ſo it was taken up in drollery; or elſe it's onely a droll, made to abuſe countrey brides, affecting fine language.

This maid was born odd.

Spoken of a maid who lives to be old, and cannot get a husband.

N.

NIpence nopence, half a groat lacking two pence.

Would No I thank you had never been made.

His noſe will abide no jeſts.

Doth your noſe ſwell [or eek, i. e. itch] at that?

I had rather it wrung you by the noſe then me by the belly. i. e. a fart.

It's the nature o' th' beaſt.

O.

A Small Officer.

Once out and always out.

Old enough to lye without doors.

Old muckhills will bloome.

Old man when thou dieſt give me thy doublet.

An old woman in a wooden ruffe. i. e. in an antique dreſſe.

[Page] It will do with an onyon.

To look like an owl in an Ivy-buſh.

To walk by owl-light.

He has a good eſtate, but that the right owner keeps it from him.

How do you after your oyſters?

All one but their meat goes two wayes.

P.

THere's a pad i'th'ſtraw.

As it pleaſes the painter.

Mock no panyer-men, your father was a fiſher.

Every peaſe hath its veaze, and a bean fifteen.

A veaze veſcia in Italian is crepitus ventris. So it ſignifies Peaſe are flatulent, but Beans ten times more.

You may know by a penny how a ſhilling ſpends.

Peter of wood, church and mills are all his. Cheſh.

Go pipe at Padley, there's a peſcod feaſt.

Some have it, ‘Go pipe at Colſton, &c.’ It is ſpoken in deriſion to people that buſie themſelves about matters of no concernment.

He piſſes backwards, i. e. does the other thing.

He has piſt his tallow.

This is ſpoken of bucks who grow lean after rutting time, and may be applied to men.

Such a reaſon piſt my gooſe.

[Page] He playes you as fair as if he pick't your pocket.

If you be not pleaſed put your hand in your pocket and pleaſe your ſelf.

A jeering expreſſion to ſuch as will not be pleaſed with the reaſonable offers of others.

As Plum as a jugglem ear. i. e. a quagmire. Devonſh.

To pocket up an injury.

i. e. To paſs it by without revenge, or taking notice.

The difference between the poor-man and the rich is, that the poor walketh to get meat for his ſtomach, the rich a ſtomach for his meat.

Prate is prate, but it's the duck layes the eggs.

She is at her laſt prayers.

Proo naunt your mare puts. i. e. puſhes.

It would vex a dog to ſee a pudding creep.

He was chriſtned with pump-water.

It is ſpoken of one that hath a red face.

Pye-lid makes people wiſe.

Becauſe no man can tell what is in a pye till the lid be taken up.

To ride poſt for a pudding.

Be fair condition'd, and eat bread with your pudding.

He's at a forc't put.

Q.

WE'll do as they do at Quern,

What we do not to day, we muſt do i'th morn.

R.

SOme rain ſome reſt, A harveſt proverb.

The dirt-bird [or dirt-owl] ſings, we ſhall have rain.

When melancholy perſons are very merry, it is obſerved that there uſually followes an extraordinary fit of ſadneſs; they doing all things commonly in extremes.

Every day of the week a ſhowre of rain, and on Sunday twain.

A rich rogue two ſhirts and a ragge.

Right maſter right, four nobles a year's a crown a quarter. Cheſh.

Room for cuckolds, &c.

He roſe with his A....upwards. A ſign of good luck.

He would live as long as old Roſse of Pottern, who liv'd till all the world was weary of him.

Let him alone with the Saints bell, and give him rope enough.

The laſs i'th'red petticoat ſhall pay for all.

Young men anſwer ſo when they are chid for being ſo [Page] prodigal and expenſive, meaning, they will get a wife with a good portion, that ſhall pay for it.

Neither rhythme nor reaſon.

Rub and a good caſt.

Be not too haſty, and you'll ſpeed the better: Make not more haſte then good ſpeed.

S.

'TIs ſooner ſaid then done.

School-boys are the reaſonableſt people in the world, they care not how little they have for their money.

A Scot on Scots bank.

The Scotch ordinary. i. e. The houſe of office.

That goes againſt the ſhins. i. e. It's to my prejudice, I do it not willingly.

He knows not whether his ſhooe goes awry.

Sigh not but ſend, He'll come if he be unhang'd.

Sirrah your dogs, ſirrah not me, For I was born before you could ſee.

Of all tame beaſts I hate Sluts.

He's nothing but skin and bones.

To ſpin a fair thread.

Spit in his mouth and make him a maſtiffe.

No man ever cryed ſtinking fiſh.

Stretching and yawning leadeth to bed.

To ſtumble at the truckle-bed.

To miſtake the chamber-maids bed for his wives.

[Page] He could have ſung well before he brake his left ſhoulder with whiſtling.

Sweet heart and bag pudding.

Nay ſtay, quoth Stringer when his neck was in the halter.

Say nothing when you are dead. i. e. be ſilent.

T.

HIs tail will catch the kin-cough.

Spoken of one that ſits on the ground.

A tall man of's hands, He will not let a beaſt reſt in's pocket.

He's Tom Tell-troth.

Two ſlips for a teſter.

The tears o th'tankard.

Four farthings and a thimble make a tailours pocket jingle.

To throw ſnot about. i. e. to weep.

Though he ſaith nothing, he pays it with thinking, like the Welchmans Jackdaw.

Tittle tattle, give the gooſe more hay.

Toſted cheeſe hath no maſter.

Trick for trick, and a ſtone in thy foot beſides, quoth one, pulling a ſtone out of his mares foot, when ſhe bit him on the back, and he her on the buttock.

Are there traitours at the table that the loaf is turn'd the wrong ſide upwards?

[Page] To trot like a Doe.

There's not a t.. to chuſe, quoth the good wife by her two pounds of butter.

He looks like a Tooth-drawer. i. e. very thin and meager.

That's as true as I am his uncle.

Turnſpits are dry.

V.

VEal will be cheap: Calves fall.

A jeer for thoſe who loſe the calves of their legs by &c.

In a ſhoulder of veal there are twenty and two good bits.

This [...] piece of country wit. They mean by it, There are twen (others ſay forty) bits in a ſhoulder of veal, and but two good ones.

He's a velvet true heart. Cheſh.

I'll venture it as Johnſon did his wife, and ſhe did well.

Up with it, if it be but a gallon, 't will eaſe your ſtomack.

W.

LOok on the wall, and it will not bite you.

Spoken in jeer to ſuch as are bitten with muſtard.

A Scotch warming-pan. i. e. A wench.

The ſtory is well known of the Gentleman travelling in Scotland, who deſiring to have his bed warmed, the ſervant-maid doffs her clothes, and lays her ſelf down in it [Page] a while. In Scotland they have neither bellowes, warmingpans, nor houſes of office.

She's as quiet as a waſp in ones noſe.

Every man in's way.

Water betwitch't. i. e. very thin beer.

Eat and wellcome, faſt and heartily wellcome.

I am very wheamow (i. e. nimble) quoth the old woman, when ſhe ſtep't into the milkbowl. Yorksh.

A white-liver'd fellow.

To ſhoot wide of the mark.

Wide quoth Wilſon.

To ſit like a wire-drawer under his work. Yorksh.

He hath more wit in's head then thou in both thy ſhoulders.

He hath plaid wily beguild with himſelf.

You may truſſe up all his wit in an egg-ſhell.

Hold your tongue husband, and let me talk that have all the wit.

The wit of you, and the wooll of a blew dog will make a good medly.

This is the world and the other is the countrey.

When the Devill is dead there's a wife for Humphrey.

To wrap it up in clean linnen.

To deliver ſordid or uncleanly matter in decent language.

A point next the wriſt.

Y.

HE has made a younger brother of him.

The younger brother hath the more wit.

The younger brother is the ancienter Gentleman.

Old and tough, young and tender.

Miſcellany Proverbiall Sayings.

PUt a miller, a weaver and a tailour in a bag, and ſhake them, the firſt that comes out will be a thief.

Harry's children of Leigh, never an one like another.

A Seaman if he carries a millſtone will have a quait out of it. Spoken of the common mariners, if they can come at things that may be eat or drunk.

Go here away, go there away, quoth Madge Whitworth, when ſhe rode the mare i'th'tedder.

There's ſtruſhion, i. e. deſtruction, of honey, quoth Dunkinly when he lickt up the henturd.

I kill'd her for good will, ſaid Scot, when he kill'd his neighbours mare.

Gip with an ill rubbing, quoth Badger when his mare kickt.

This is a ridiculous expreſſion, uſed to people that are pettiſh and froward.

He's a Hot ſhot in a muſtard pot, when both his heels ſtand right up.

Three dear years will raiſe a bakers daughter to a portion. 'Tis not the ſmalneſs of the bread, but the knavery of the baker.

I hope better quoth Benſon, when his wife bade him come in cuckold.

One, two, three, four, are juſt half a ſcore.

I'll make him fly up with Jackſons hens. i. e. undo him:

So when a man is broke, or undone, we ſay he is blown up.

I'll make him water his horſe at High-gate.

i. e. I'll ſue him, and make him take a journey up to London.

What have I to doe with Bradſhaws windmill? Leyceſter.

What have I to do with other mens matters?

He that would have good luck in horſes, muſt kiſs the Parſons wife.

He that ſnites his noſe, and hath it not, forfeits his face to the King.

A man can do no more then he can.

It's an ill gueſt that never drinks to his hoſt.

Run tap run tapſter.

This is ſaid of a tapſter that drinks ſo much himſelf, and is ſo free of his drink to others that he is fain to run away.

He hath got the fiddle, but not the ſtick. [Page]

i. e. The books but not the learning, to make uſe of them, or the like.

That's the way, to catch the old one on the neſt.

This muſt be if we brew.

That is if we undertake mean and ſordid, or lucrative employments, we muſt be content with ſome trouble, inconvenience, affronts, diſturbance, &c.

Proverbiall Periphraſes of one drunk.

HE's diſguiſed. He has got a piece of bread and cheeſe in's head. He has drunk more then he has bled. He has been i'th' Sun. He has a jagg or load. He has got a diſh. He has got a cup too much. He is one and thirty. He is dag'd. He has cut his leg. He is afflicted. He is top-heavy. The malt is above the water. As drunk as a wheelbarrow. He makes indentures with his legs. He's well to live. He's about to caſt up his reckoning or accompts. He has made an example. He is concerned. He is as drunk as Davids ſow. He has ſtollen a manchet out of the brewers basket. He's raddled. He is very weary. He drank till he gave up his half-penny, i. e. vomited.

Proverbiall Phraſes and Sentences belonging to drink and drinking.

LIck your diſh. Wind up your bottome. Play off your duſt. Hold up your dagger hand. Make a pearl on your nail. To bang the pitcher. There's no deceit in a brimmer. Sup Simon the beſt is at the bottom. Ale that would make a cat to ſpeak. Fill what you will, and drink what you fill. He hath piſt out all he hath againſt the walls: She's not a good houſe-wife that will not wind up her bottom, i. e. take off her drink.

One that hath the Fr. Pox.

HE has been at Haddam. He has got the Crinckams. He is pepper'd. He is not pepper-proof. He has got a Kentiſh ague. He has got the new conſumption. He has got a clap. He has got a blow over the noſe with a French cowlſtaff. He is Frenchified. The Covent-garden ague. The Barnwell ague.

To make water. &c.

TO make a little maids water. To water the Marigolds. To ſpeak with a maid. To gather a roſe. To look upon the wall.

A Lier.

HE deſerves the whetſtone. He'll not let any body lye by him. He ſhall have the kings horſe. He's a long-bow-man. He lies as faſt as a dog can trot.

A great Lie.

THat was laid on with a trowel. That's a loud one. That's a lie with a witneſs; a lie with a latchet. That ſticks in's throat. If a lie could have choked him, that would have done it. The dam of that was a whisker.

A Bankrupt.

HE's all to pieces. He has ſh.....i'th' plum-bag. He's blown up. He has ſhut up ſhopwindows. He dare not ſhew his head. He hath ſwallowed a ſpider. He hath ſhewn them a fair pair of heels. He is marched off. He goes on's laſt legs. He is run off his legs.

A Wencher.

HE loves lac't mutton. He'll run at ſheep. He'll commit poultry. He'll have a bit for's cat. He keeps a caſt of Merlins. Men of his hair are ſeen oftner at the B...court then at the gallows.

A Whore.

SHe's like a cat, ſhe'll play with her tail. She's as right as my leg. A light-skirts. A kindhearted ſoul. She's looſe i'th' hilts. A Lady of pleaſure. As errant a wh..... as ever piſt. A Cockatrice. A Leman. Shee's as common as a barbers chair. As common as the high way. She lyes backward and lets out her fore-rooms. She is neither wife, widow, nor maid.

A covetous perſon.

HIs money comes from him like drops of blood. He'l flay a flint. He'l not loſe the droppings of his noſe. He ſerves the poor with a thump on the back with a ſtone. He'll dreſs an egg, and give the offall to the poor. He's like a ſwine, never good untill he come to the knife. Avarus niſi cùm moritur nil recte facit. Lab. His purſe is made of a toads skin.

Proverbiall Phraſes relating to ſeveral trades.

THe ſmith hath always a ſpark in's throat. The ſmith and his penny are both black. Nine Taylours make a man. Coblers law, he that takes [Page] money muſt pay the ſhot. To brew in a bottle and bake in a bag. The Devil would have been a weaver but for the Temples. The gentle craft. S. Hughs bones. A Hangman is a good trade, he doth his work by day-light. It is good to be ſure. Toll it again quoth the miller. Any tooth good Barber. A horſe-doctour, i. e. a farrier. He ſhould be a ba [...]er by's bow-legs. Take all and pay the baker. He drives a ſubtill trade.

Proverbs that are entire Sentences.

[Page]

A

LOng abſent ſoon forgotten

Parallel to this are, Out of ſight out of mind, and Seldome ſeen ſoon forgotten: And not much different thoſe Greek ones. [...] Friends dwelling afarre off are no friends. And [...]. Forbearance of converſation diſſolves friendſhip.

Adverſity makes a man wiſe not rich.

The French ſay, ‘Vent au viſage rend un home ſage.’ The wind in a mans face makes him wiſe. If to be good be the greateſt wiſdom, certainly affliction and adverſity make men better. ‘Vexatio dat intellectum.’

He that's afraid of every graſs, muſt not piſs in a meadow.

‘Chi ha paura d'ogni urtica non piſci in herba. Ital.’ He that's afraid of every nettle, muſt not piſſe in the graſs.

He that's afraid of leaves muſt not come in a wood.

This is a French Proverb engliſhed. ‘Qui a peur de fueilles ne doit aller au bois.’

He that's afraid of the wagging of feathers, [Page] muſt keep from among wild foul.

Mr. Cotgrave in his French Dictionary produces this as an Engliſh Proverb, parallel to the precedent.

He that's afraid of wounds muſt not come nigh a battell.

Theſe four Proverbs have all one and the ſame ſence. viz. That timorous perſons muſt keep as farr off from danger as they can. They import alſo, that cauſeleſs fear workes men unneceſſary diſquiet, puts them upon abſurd and fooliſh practiſes, and renders them ridiculous.

He'ſt ne're have thing good cheap that's afraid to ask the price. ‘Il n'aura ja bon marchè qui ne le demande. Gall.’

Agree, for the Law is coſtly.

This is good counſell back't with a good reaſon, the charges of a ſuit many times exceeding the value of the thing contended for. The Italians ſay, ‘Meglio è magro accordo che graſſa ſentenza.’ A lean agreement is better then a fat ſentence.

A man cannot live by the air.

Good Ale is meat, drink and cloath.

Fair chieve good Ale, it makes many folks ſpeak as they think.

Fair chieve is uſed in the ſame ſence here as Well-fare ſometimes is in the South, that is, Good ſpeed, Good ſucceſs have it, I commend it. It ſhall have my good wiſh, or good word. ‘In vino veritas.’

We ſhall lie all alike in our graves.

[Page] ‘Aequa tellus Pauperi recluditur regúm (que) pueris. Horat.’ ‘Mors ſceptra ligonibus aequat.’

No living man all things can.

‘Non omnia poſſumus omnes. Virgil.’ See many ſentences to this purpoſe in Eraſmus's Adages.

Almoſt was never hang'd.

Almoſt and very nigh ſave many a lie.

The ſignification of this word Almoſt having ſome latitude, men are apt to ſtretch it to cover untruths.

Angry (or haſty) men ſeldome want woe.

Haſty in our language is but a more gentle word for angry. Anger indeed makes men haſty, and inconſiderate in their actions. ‘Furor irá (que) mentem praecipitant.’

He that's angry without a cauſe muſt be pleaſed without amends.

Two Anons and a by and by is an hour and half.

Scald not your lips in another mans pottage.

Parallel hereto is that place, Proverb. Chap. 26. v. 17.

The higher the Ape goes the more he ſhews his tail.

The higher beggers, or baſe-bred perſons are advanced, the more they diſcover the lowneſs and baſeneſs of their ſpirits and tempers: For as the Scripture ſaith. ‘Prov. 26. 1. Honour is unſeemly for a fool.’ ‘Tu fai come la ſimia, che piu va in alto piu moſtra il culo. Ital.’ The Italians I find draw this Proverb to a different ſence, to ſignifie one, who the more he ſpeaks the more ſport he makes, and the more ridiculous he renders himſelf.

Stretch your arm no further then your ſleeve will reach.

[Page] ‘Metiri ſe quem (que) modulo ſuo ac pede verum eſt.’

Lend you mine A—and ſh—through my ribs.

That is, lend you that whereof I have neceſſary and frequent uſe, and want it my ſelf. It is a Ruſſick proverb, and of frequent uſe in this nation; and was, I ſuppoſe, brought over to us by ſome merchants that traded there.

Never be aſhamed to eat your meat.

‘Apud menſam vereeundari neminem decet.’ Eraſm. takes notice that this Proverb is handed down to us from the Ancients, ſave that the vulgar addes ‘ne (que) in lecto:’ whereas (ſaith he) ‘Nuſquam magis habenda eſt vere cundiae ratio quàm in lecto & convivio.’ Yet ſome there are who out of a ruſtick ſhame-fac'tneſs or over mannerlyneſs are very troubleſom at table, expecting to be carv'd to, and often invited to eat, and refuſing what you offer them &c. The Italians ſay almoſt in the ſame words. ‘A tavola non biſogna haver vergogna.’ And the French. ‘Qui a honte de manger a Honte de vivre.’ He that's aſhamed to eat, is aſhamed to live.

Every man muſt eat a peck of Aſhes before he dies.

Loſe nothing for asking.

Every Aſs thinkes himſelf worthy to ſtand with the kings horſes.

A kindly Aver will never make a good horſe.

This is a Scottiſh Proverb quoted by K. James in his Baſilicon Doron. It ſeems the word Aver in Scottiſh ſignifies a colt, as appears alſo by that other proverb, ‘An inch of a nagg is worth a ſpan of an Aver:’ in our ancient writings Averium ſignifies any labouring beaſt, whether Ox or horſe, and ſeems to be all one with the Latine Jumentum.

Aw makes Dun draw.

B.

THat which is good for the back is bad for the head.

Omnis commoditas ſua fert incommoda ſecum.

He loves bacon well that licks the Swine-ſty door.

Where bad's the beſt, naught muſt be the choice.

A bad buſh is better then the open field.

That is, it's better to have any though a bad friend of relation, then to be quite deſtitute and expoſed to the wide world.

A bad ſhift is better then none.

When bale is hext boot is next.

Hext is a contraction of higheſt as next is of nigheſt. Bale is an old Engliſh word ſignifying miſery, and boot profit or help. So 'tis as much as to ſay, When things are come to the worſt they'l mend. ‘Cùm duplicantur lateres venit Moſes.’

A bald head is ſoon ſhaven.

Make not balks of good ground.

A balk, Lat. Scamnum; a piece of earth which the plow ſlips over without turning up or breaking, It is [Page] alſo uſed for narrow ſlips of land left unplowed on purpoſe in champian countreys, for boundaries between mens lands or ſome other convenience.

A good face needs no band; and a bad one deſerves none.

Some make a rhyme of this, by adding. And a pretty wench no land.

More words then one go to a bargain.

A good bargain is a pick-purſe.

‘Bon marchè tire l'argent hors de la bourſe. Gall.’ Good cheap is dear, for it tempts people to buy what they need not.

Bare walls make giddy houſe-wives.

i. e. Idle houſe-wives, they having nothing whereabout to buſie themſelves and ſhew their good houſewivery. We ſpeak this in excuſe of the good woman, who doth like St. Pauls widow [...], gad abroad a little too much, or that is blamed for not giving the entertainment that is expected, or not behaving her ſelf as other matrons do. She hath nothing to work upon at home, ſhe is diſconſolate, and therefore ſeeketh to divert her ſelf abroad: ſhe is inclined to be virtuous, but diſcompoſed through poverty. Parallel to this I take to be that French Proverb, ‘Vuides chambres font les dames folles,’ which yet Mr. Cotgrave thus renders, Empty chambers make women play the wantons; in a different ſence.

The greateſt barkers bite not foreſt: or dogs that bark at diſtance, bite not at hand.

[Page] ‘Cane chi abbaia non morde. Ital.’ ‘Chien qui abbaye ne mord pas. Gall.’ ‘Canes timidi vehementiùs latrant. Cave tibi à cane muto & aqua ſilente.’ Have a care of a ſilent dog and a ſtill water.

Sr John Barley-corn's the ſtrongeſt Knight.

It's a hard battel where none eſcapes.

Be as it it may be is no banning.

Every bean hath its black.

‘Vitiis nemo ſine naſcitur. Horat.’ [...]. ‘Non eſt alauda ſine criſta. Omni malo Punico ineſt granum putre.’ ‘Ogni grano ha la ſua ſemola. Every grain hath his bran. Ital.’

Sell not the bears skin before you have caught him.

‘Non vender la pelle del orſo inanzi che ſia preſo. Ital.’

He muſt have iron nails that ſcratches a Bear.

A man may bear till his back breaks.

If people find him patient they'll be ſure to load him.

You may beat a horſe till he be ſad, and a cow till ſhe be mad.

All that are in bed, muſt not have quiet reſt.

Where Bees are, there is honey.

Where there are induſtrious perſons, there is wealth, for the hand of the diligent maketh rich. This we ſee verified in our neighbours the Hollanders.

A Beggar pays a benefit with a louſe.

[Page] Beggers muſt be no chooſers.

The French ſay, Borrowers muſt be no chooſers.

Set a beggar on horſe-back, and he'll ride a gallop.

‘Aſperius nihil eſt humili cùm ſurgit in altum. Claudian’ ‘Il n'eſt orgueil que de pauvre enrichi. Gall.’ There is no pride to the inriched begger's. ‘Il villan nobilitado non conoſce il parentado. Ital.’ The villain ennobled will not own his kindred or parentage.

Sue a begger and get a louſe.

‘Rete non tenditur accipitri ne (que) milvio, Terent. Phorm.’

Much ado to bring beggers to ſtocks, and when they come there, they'll not put in their legs.

Beggers breed, and rich men feed.

A begger can never be bankrupt.

It's one beggers wo, to ſee another by the door go.

‘ [...]. Heſiod.’ ‘Etiam mendicum mendico invidet.’

A good beginning makes a good ending.

‘De bon commencement bonne fin Gall.’ & ‘de bonne vie bonne fin.’ A good life makes a good death. ‘Boni principii finis bonus.’

Well begun is half done.

[Page] ‘Dimidium facti qui coepit habet. Horat.’ Which ſome make a Pentameter by putting in bene before coepit.

Believe well and have well.

The belly hath no ears.

‘Venter non habet aures.’ ‘Ventre affame [...]'a point d'oreilles. Gall.’ Diſcourſe to or call upon hungry perſons, they'll not mind you, or leave their meat to attend. Or, as Eraſmus, ‘Ubi de paſtu agitur, non attenduntur honeſtae rationes.’ Nothing makes the vulgar more untractable, fierce and ſeditious, then ſcarcity and hunger. ‘Neſcit plebes jejuna timere.’ There is ſome reaſon the belly ſhould have no ears, becauſe words will not fill it.

Better belly burſt then good drink loſt.

Better belly burſt then good meat loſt.

Little difference between a feaſt and a belly-full.

A Belly full's a belly full, whether it be meat or drink,

When the belly is full, the bones would be at reſt.

The belly is not fill'd with fair words.

Beſt to bend, while 'tis a twig.

Udum & molle lutum es, nunc nunc properandus & acri, Fingendus fine ſinc rota.

Perſ.

Quae praebet latas arbor ſpatiantibus umbras, Quo pofita eſt primùm tempore virga fait.

Tunc poterat manibus ſummâ tellure revelli, Nunc ſtat in immenſum viribus acta ſuis.

Ovid.

‘Quare tunc formandi mores (inquit Eraſmus) cùm mollis adhuc aetas; tunc optimis aſſueſcendum cùm ad quidvis cereum eſt ingenium.’ ‘Ce qui poulain prend en jeuneſſe. Il le continue en vie illeſſe. Gall.’ The tricks a colt getteth at his firſt backing, will whilſt he continueth never be lacking. Cotgr.

[Page] They have need of a beſome that ſweep the houſe with a turf.

The beſt is beſt cheap.

For it doth the buyer more credit and ſervice.

Make the beſt of a bad bargain.

The best things are worſt to come by.

‘Difficilia quae pulchra: [...].’

Beware of had I wiſt.

Do as you're bidden and you'll never bear blame.

Birchen twigs break no ribs.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Like will to like. The Greeks and Latines have many Proverbs to this purpoſe, as ‘ [...]. Semper Graculus aſſidet Graculo.’ ‘ [...]. Theocrit.’ ‘Cicada cicadae chara, formicae formica.’ ‘ [...]. Homer. Odyſſ. 5.’ ‘Semper ſimilem ducit Deus ad ſimilem.’ ‘ [...].’ ‘Simile gaudet ſimili.’ & ‘ [...].’ ‘Simile appetit ſimile. unde’ & ‘ [...].’ Likeneſs is the mother of love. ‘Aequalis aequalem delectat.’ Young men delight in the company of young, old men of old. Learned men of learned; wicked of wicked, good fellows of drunkards, &c. ‘Tully in Cat. maj. Pares cum paribus (ut eſt in vetere proverbio) facillimè congregantur.’

He's in great want of a bird that will give a groat for an owl.

One bird i'th' hand is worth two in the buſh.

[Page] ‘E meglio aver hoggi un uovo che dimani una gallina, Ital.’ Better have an egg to day, then a hen to morrow. ‘Mieux vant un tenez que deux vous l'aurez. Gall.’ ‘ [...]. Theocr.’ ‘Praeſentem mulgeas, quid fugientem inſeq [...]eris?’ ‘ [...] Heſiod.’ He that leaves certainty and ſticks to chance, when fools pipe, he may dance.

It's an ill bird that berays its own neſt.

‘ [...]’.

Every bird muſt hatch her own egg.

‘Tute hoc intriſti omne tibi exedendum eſt. Terent.’ It ſhould ſeem this Latine Proverb is ſtill in uſe among the Dutch, For Eraſmus ſaith of it, ‘Qu [...] quidem ſententia vel hodie vulgo noſtrati in ere eſt. Faber compedes quas fecit ipſe geſtet. Auſon.’

Small birds muſt have meat.

Children muſt be fed, they cannot be maintained with nothing.

Birth is much, but breeding more.

If you cannot bite, never ſhew your teeth.

He that bites on every weed, muſt needs light on poiſon.

He that is a blab is a ſcab.

Black will take no other hue.

This Diers find true by experience. It may ſignifie, that vicious perſons are ſeldom or never reclaimed. ‘Lanarum nigrae nullum colorem bibunt, Plin. lib. 8. h. n.’

[Page] He that wears black, muſt hang a bruſh at his back.

A black plum is as ſweet as a white.

The prerogative of beauty proceeds from fancy.

A black hen lays a white egg.

This is a French Proverb. ‘Noire geline pond blanc oeuf.’ I conceive the meaning of it is, that a black woman may bear a fair child.

It is ill to drive black hogs in the dark.

They have need of a bleſſing, who kneel to a thiſtle.

Blind men can judge no colours.

‘Il cieco non giudica de colori. Ital.’ ‘ [...]; Quid coeco cum ſpeculo?’

The blind eat many a fly.

A man were better be half blind, then have both his eyes out.

Who ſo bold as blind bayard?

‘ [...].’ Ignorance breeds confidence, conſideration, ſlowneſs and warineſs.

Who ſo blind, as he that will not ſee?

Blow firſt and ſip afterwards.

‘Simul ſorbere & flare difficile eſt.’

A blot is no blot unleſs it be hit.

Bluſhing is vertues colour.

[Page] Great boaſt, ſmall roaſt.

‘Grands vanteurs petits faiſeurs. Gall.’ ‘ [...].’ ‘Briarcus eſſe apparet cùm ſit lepus.’ And ‘ [...].’

The nearer the bone, the ſweeter the fleſh.

He that is born to be hang'd, ſhall never be drown'd.

He that was born under a three half-penny planet, ſhall never be worth twopence.

He that goes a borrowing goes a ſorrowing.

He that borrows muſt pay again with ſhame or loſs.

Shame if he returns not as much as he borrowed, loſs if more, and it's very hard to cut the hair.

The father to the bough; and the ſon to the plough.

This ſaying I look upon as too narrow to be placed in the family of Proverbs; it is rather to be deemed a rule or maxime in the tenure of Gavil kind, where though the father had judgement to be hang'd, yet there followed no forfeiture of his eſtate, but his ſon might (a happy man according to Horace his deſcription) ‘paterna rura bobus exercere ſuis.’ Though there be that expound this Proverb thus, The father to the bough, i. e. to his ſports of hawking and hunting, and the ſon to the plow, i. e. to a poor husbandmans condition.

They that are bound muſt obey.

Bought wit is beſt, v. in W.

Better to bow then break.

[Page] ‘Il vaut mieux plier que rompre. Gall.’ ‘E meglio piegar che ſcavezzar. Ital.’

A bow long bent at laſt waxeth weak.

‘L'arco ſi rompe ſe ſta troppo teſo. Ital.’ ‘Arcus nimis intenſus rumpitur.’ Things are not to be ſtrained beyond their tonus and ſtrength. This may be applied both to the body and the mind: too much labour and ſtudy weakens and impairs both the one and the other.

Otia corpus alunt, animus quoque paſcitur illis;

Immodicus contra carpit utrumque labor.

Brag's a good dog, but that he hath loſt his tail.

Brag's a good dog if he be well ſet on: but he dare not bite.

Much bran and little meal.

Beware of breed, Cheſh. i. e. an ill breed.

That that's bred in the bone will never out of the fleſh.

‘Chi l'ha per natura fin alla foſſa dura. Ital.’ That which comes naturally continues till death. The Latines and Greeks have many Proverbial ſayings to this purpoſe, as ‘Lupus pilum mutat non mentem.’ The wolf may change his hair (for wolves and horſes grow gray with age) but not his diſpoſition.

‘Naturam expellas furcâ licet uſque recurret. Horat.’ and ‘ [...]. Ariſtoph.’ You can never bring a crabfiſh to go ſtraight forwards. ‘ [...].’ Wood that grows crooked, will hardly be ſtraightned. Perſons naturally inclined to any vice, will hardly be reclaimed. For this Proverb is for the moſt part taken in the worſer ſenſe.

[Page] Let every man praiſe the bridge he goes over. i. e.

Speak not ill of him who hath done you a courteſie, or whom you have made uſe of to your benefit; or do commonly make uſe of.

Bridges were made for wiſe men to walk over, and fools to ride over.

A bribe will enter without knocking.

A broken ſack will hold no corn.

This is a French Proverb engliſhed, ‘Un ſac perce ne peut tenir le grain:’ though I am not ignorant that there are many common both to France and England, and ſome that run through moſt Languages. ‘Sacco rotto non tien miglio. Ital.’ Millet being one of the leaſt of grains.

A broken ſleeve holdeth the arm back.

Much bruit little fruit.

Who bulls the cow muſt keep the calf.

Mr Howell ſaith, that this is a Law Proverb.

The burnt child dreads the fire.

Almoſt all Languages afford us ſayings and Proverbs to this purpoſe, ſuch are ‘ [...]. Heſiod.’ ‘ [...]. Homer.’ ‘Piſcator ictus ſapit;’ ſtruck by the Scorpion fiſh or Paſtinaca, whoſe prickles are eſteemed venemous. ‘Can'ſcottato da l'acqua calda ha paura poi della fredda. Ital.’ the ſame we find in French, ‘Chien eſchaudè craint l'eau froide.’ i. e. The ſcalded dog fears cold water.

Buſie will have bands.

Perſons that are medling and troubleſome muſt be tied ſhort.

[Page] Who more buſie then they that have leaſt to do?

Every man as his buſineſs lies.

All is not butter the cow ſhites.

‘Non è tutto butyro che fa la vocca. Ital.’

What is a pound of butter among a kennel of hounds?

They that have good ſtore of butter may lay it Thick on their bread. [or put ſome in their ſhooes.]

‘Cui multum eſt piperis etiam oleribus immiſeet.’

That which will not be butter muſt be made into cheeſe.

They that have no other meat, bread and butter are glad to eat.

Who buyes hath need of an hundred eyes, who ſells hath enough of one.

This is an Italian Proverb. ‘Chi compra ha biſogno dicent' occhi, chi vende n'ha aſſai de uno.’ And it is an uſual ſaying, ‘Caveat emptor,’ Let the buyer look to himſelf. The ſeller knows both the worth and price of his commodity.

Buying and ſelling is but winning and loſing.

C.

A Calves head will feaſt an hunter and his hounds.

A man can do no more then he can.

Care not would have it.

Care will kill a cat.

And yet a Cat is ſaid to have nine lives. ‘Cura facit canos.’

Care's no cure.

A pound of care will not pay an ounce of debt.

‘Cento carre di penſieri non pagerannoun'oncia di debito. Ital.’ i. e. An hundred cart-load of thoughts will not pay an ounce of debt.

The beſt cart may overthrow.

A muffled cat is no good mouſer.

‘Gatta guantata non piglia mai ſorice. Ital.’ A gloved cat, &c.

That cat is out of kind that ſweet milk will not lap.

You can have no more of a cat then her skin.

The cat loves fiſh, but ſhe's loath to wet her feet. Or in rhyme thus.

Fain would the cat fiſh eat,

But ſhe's loath her feet to wet.

‘Le chat aime le poiſſon,, mais il n'aime pas a meuiller [Page] le patte. Gall.’ In the ſame words, ſo that it ſhould ſeem we borrowed it of the French.

The more you rub a cat on the rump, the higher ſhe ſets up her tail.

The ca [...] ſees not the mouſe ever.

Well might the cat wink when both her eyes were out.

When the cat winketh little wots the mouſe what the cat thinketh.

Though the cat winks a while, yet ſure ſhe is not blind.

How can the cat help it if the maid be a fool?

This is an Italian proverb, ‘che ne puo la gatta ſe la maſſara è matta.’ Not ſetting up things ſecurely out of her reach or way.

That that comes of a cat will catch mice. Ital.

Parallel whereto is that Italian proverb. ‘Chi di gallina naſce convien che rozole.’ That which is bred of a hen will ſcrape. ‘Chi da gatta naſce ſorici piglia. Ital.’

A cat may look on a King.

An old cat laps as much as a young kitlin.

When the cat is away, the mice play. Ital.

‘Les rats ſe promenent a l'aiſe la ou il n'y a point des chats. Gall.’ ‘Quando la gatta non è in caſa, i ſorici ballano Ital.’

When candles are out, all cats are gray.

Jone is as good as my Lady in the dark. ‘ [...].’

[Page] The cat knows whoſe lips ſhe licks.

Cry you mercy, kill'd my cat.

This is ſpoken to them who do one a ſhrewd turn, and then make ſatisfaction with asking pardon or crying mercy.

By biting and ſcratching cats and dogs come together, Or, Biting and ſcratching gets the cat with kitlin.

i. e. Men and maid-ſervants that wrangle and quarrel moſt one with the other, are often obſerved to marry together.

Who ſhall hang the bell about the cats neck?

‘Appiccar chi vuol'il ſonaglio à la gatta? Ital.’ The mice at a conſultation held how to ſecure themſelves from the cat, reſolved upon hanging a bell about her neck, to give warning when ſhe was near, but when this was reſolved, they were as far to ſeek; for who would do it. This may be ſarcaſtically applied to thoſe who preſcribe impoſſible or unpracticable means for the effecting any thing.

A ſcalded cat fears cold water. v. in S.

He that leaves certainty and ſticks to chance, When fools pipe he may dance.

They may ſit i'th' chair that have malt to ſell.

It chanceth in an hour, that comes not in ſeven years.

‘Plus enim fati valet hora benigni Quàm ſi te Veneris commendet epiſtola Marti. Horat.’ Every man is thought to have ſome lucky hour, wherein he hath an opportunity offered him of being happy all his life, could he but diſcern it and embrace the occaſion. ‘Accaſca in un punto quel che non [Page] accaſca in cento anni. Ital.’ It falls out in an inſtant which falls not out in an hundred years.

There is chance in the cocks ſpur.

Change of paſture makes fat calves.

Charity begins at home.

Self-love is the meaſure of our love to our neighbour. Many ſentences occurre in the ancient Greek and Latine Poets to this purpoſe, as, ‘Omnes ſibi meliùs eſſe malunt quàm alteri. Terent. Andr.’ ‘Proximus ſum egomet mihi. ibid.’ ‘ [...], &c. V. Eraſm Adag.’ ‘Fa bone á te & tuoi, Epoi à gli altri ſe tu puoi. Ital.’ ‘ [...].’

When good chear is lacking our friends will be packing.

Thoſe that eat cherries with great perſons ſhall have their eyes ſprinted out with the ſtones.

Chickens feed capons.

i. e. As I underſtand it, chickens come to be capons, and capons were firſt chickens.

It's a wife child knows his own father.

‘ [...]. Homer. Odyſſa.’

Childs pig, but fathers bacon.

Parents uſually tell their children, this pig or this lambe is thine, but when they come to be grown up and ſold, parents themſelves take the money for them.

[Page] Charre-folks are never paid.

That is, give them what you will they are never contented.

When the child is chriſtned, you may have godfathers enough.

When a mans need is ſupplied or his occaſions over, people are ready to offer their aſſiſtance or ſervice.

Children and fools ſpeak truth.

The Dutch Proverb hath it thus, You are not to expect truth from any but children, perſons drunk or mad. ‘In vino veritas,’ we know. ‘Enfans & fols ſont Divins. Gall.’

Children and fools have merry lives.

For out of ignorance or forgetfulneſs and inadvertency, they are not concern'd either for what is paſt, or for what is to come. Neither the remembrance of the one, nor fear of the other troubles them, but onely the ſence of preſent pain: nothing ſticks upon them, they lay nothing to heart. Hence it hath been ſaid, ‘Nihil ſcire eſt vita jucundiſſima,’ to which that of Eccleſiaſtes gives ſome countenance. He that encreaſeth knowledge encreaſeth ſorrow.

Children ſuck the mother when they are young, and the father when they are old.

So we have the chink we'll bear with the ſtink.

‘Lucri bonus eſt odor ex re Quâlibet. Juvenal.’ This was the Emperour Veſpaſians anſwer to thoſe who complained of his ſetting gabels on urine and other ſordid things.

[Page] After a Chriſtmas comes a Lent.

The Church is not ſo large but the Prieſt may ſay Service in it.

The nearer the Church the further from God.

This is a French Proverb. ‘Pres de l'egliſe loin de Dieu.’

Church-work goes on ſlowly.

Let the Church ſtand in the Church-yard.

Where God hath his Church the Devil will have his chappell.

‘Non ſi toſto ſi fa un tempio à Dio come il Diavolo ci fabrica una capella appreſſo. Ital.’

Pater noſter built Churches, and Our father pulls them down.

I do not look upon the building of Churches as an argument of the goodneſs of the Roman Religion, for when men have once entertained an opinion of expiating ſin and meriting heaven by ſuch works, they will be forward enough to give not onely the fruit of their land, but even of their body for the ſin of their ſoul: and it's eaſier to part with ones goods then ones ſins.

Claw a churl by the breech, and he will ſh—in your fiſt.

Perſons of ſervile temper or education, have no ſenſe of honour or ingenuity, and muſt be dealt with accordingly.

‘Ungentem pungit, pungentem ruſticus ungit.’

Which ſentence both the French and Italian in their languages have made a Proverb. ‘Oignez villain qu' il vous poindra. Gall. &c.’ Inſomuch that one would be apt with [Page] Ariſtotle to think, that there are ſervi naturâ.

The greateſt clerks, are not always the wiſeſt men.

For prudence is gained more by practiſe and converſation, then by ſtudy and contemplation.

It's the clerk makes the Juſtice.

Haſty climbers, have ſudden falls.

Thoſe that riſe ſuddenly from a mean condition to great eſtate or dignity, do often fall more ſuddenly, as I might eaſily inſtance in many Court-favourites: and there is reaſon for it, becauſe ſuch a ſpeedy advancement is apt to beget pride and conſequently folly in them, and envy in others, which muſt needs precipitate them. Sudden changes to extraordinary good or bad fortune, are apt to turn mens brains. ‘A cader va chi troppo alto ſale. Ital.’

The clock goes at it pleaſes the clark.

Can jack-an-apes be merry when his clog is at's heels?

Cloſe ſits my ſhirt, but cloſer my skin.

That is, I love my friends well, but my ſelf better: none ſo dear to me as I am to my ſelf. Or my body is dearer to me then my goods. ‘Plus pres eſt la chair che la chemiſe. Gall.’

A cloſe mouth catcheth no flies.

People muſt ſpeak and ſolicite for themſelves, or they are not like to obtain preſerment. Nothing carries it like to boldneſs and importunate, yea, impudent begging. Men will give to ſuch ſe defendendo, to avoid their trouble, who would have no conſideration of the modeſt, though never [Page] ſo much needing or well deſerving. ‘Bocca trinciata moſca non ci entra Ital.’

It's a bad cloth indeed will take no colour.

‘Cattiva è quella lana che non ſi puo tingere. Ital.’

Cloudy mornings turn to clear evenings.

‘Non ſi malè nunc & olim ſic erit.’

Better ſee a clout then a hole out.

They that can cobble and clout, ſhall have work when others go without.

Glowing coals ſparkle oft.

When the mind is heated with any paſſion, it will often break out in words and expreſſions, Pſalm 39. 1.

You muſt cut your coat according to your cloth.

‘Noi facciamo la ſpeſe ſecondo l'entrata. Ital.’ We muſt ſpend according to our income. ‘Selon le pain il faut le couteau. Gall.’ According to the bread muſt be the knife. & ‘Fol eſt qui plus deſpend que ſa rente ne vaut. Gall.’ He is a fool that ſpends more then his receits. ‘Sumptus cenſum nè ſuperet. Plaut. Poen.’ ‘Meſſe tenus propria vive. Perſ.’

Every cock is proud on his own dunghill.

‘Gallus in ſuo ſterquilinio plurimum poteſt. Senec. in ludicro.’ The French ſay, ‘Chien ſur ſon fumire eſt hardi.’ A dog is ſtout on his own dunghill.

Let him that is cold blow the coal.

In the coldeſt flint there is hot fire.

Cold of complexion good of condition.

A ragged colt may make a good horſe.

An unhappy boy may make a good man. It is uſed ſometimes to ſignifie, that children which ſeem leſs handſome when young, do afterwards grow into ſhape and comelineſs: as on the contrary we ſay, fair in the cradle, and ſoul in the ſadle: and the Scots, ‘A kindly aver will never make a good horſe.’

Company makes Cuckolds.

Compariſons are odious.

Conceited goods are quickly ſpent.

Confeſs and be hang'd.

An evill conſcience breaks many a mans neck.

He's an ill cook that cannot lick his own fingers.

‘Celuy gouverne bien mal le miel qui n'en taſte & ſes doigts n'en leche. Gall.’ He is an ill keeper of honey, who taſtes it not.

God ſends meat, and the Devil ſends cooks.

Salt cooks bear blame, but freſh bear ſhame.

Corn and horn go together.

i. e. for prices, when corn is cheap cattel are not dear, & vice verſâ.

Much corn lies under the ſtraw that is not ſeen.

More coſt more worſhip.

I'll not change a cottage in poſſeſſion for a kingdome in reverſion.

[Page] All covet all loſe.

Covetouſneſs brings nothing home.

Qui tout convoite tout perd. Gall. & qui trop empoigne rien n'eſtrain'd. He that graſps at too much, holds faſt nothing. The fable of the dog is known, who catching at the appearance in the water of the Shoulder of mutton he had in his mouth, let it drop in and loſt it. ‘Chi tutto abbraccia nulla ſtringa. Ital.’

A cough will ſtick longer by a horſe then half a peck of oats.

Good counſell lightly never comes too late.

For if good, it muſt ſuit the time when it is given.

Count not your chickens before they be hatch't.

‘Ante victoriam nè canas triumphum.’

So many countreys ſo many cuſtomes.

‘Tant de gens tant de guiſes. Gall.’

A man muſt go old to the Court and young to a ClOyſter, that would go from thence to heaven.

A friend in Court is worth a penny in a mans purſe.

‘Bon fait avoir amy en cour, car le proces en eſt plus court. Gall.’ A friend in Court makes the proceſs ſhort.

Far from Court far from care.

Full of courteſie full of craft.

[Page] Sincere and true-hearted perſons are leaſt given to complement and ceremony. It's ſuſpicious he hath ſome deſign upon me who courts and flatters me. ‘Chi te ſa piu carezza che non vuole, O ingannato t' ha, o ingannar te vuole. Ital.’ He that makes more of you then you deſire or expect, either he hath cozen'd you or intends to do it.

Leſs of your courteſie and more of your purſe.

‘Re opitulandum non verbis.’

Call me couſin but cozen me not.

Curſt cowes have ſhort horns.

‘Dat Deus immiti cornua curta bovi.’ Providence ſo diſpoſes that they who have will, want power or means to hurt.

Who would keep a cow, when he may have a pottle of milk for a penny?

Many a good cow hath but a bad calf.

‘ [...].’ ‘Heroum filii noxae.’ ‘ [...]. Homer. Odyſſ. ε.’ Aelius Spartianus in the life of Severus ſhews by many examples, that men famous for learning, vertue, valour, ſucceſs have for the moſt part either left behind them no children, or ſuch as that it had been more for their honour and the intereſt of humane affairs that they had died childleſs. We might add unto thoſe which he produceth, many inſtances out of our own hiſtory. So Edward the firſt a wiſe and valiant Prince, left us Edward the ſecond: Edward the black Prince Richard the ſecond: Henry the fifth a valiant and ſucceſsful King, Henry the ſixth a very unfortunate Prince, though otherwiſe a good man. And yet there [Page] want not in hiſtory inſtances to the contrary, as among the French, Charles Martell, Pipin and Charl [...]main in continual ſucceſſion, ſo Joſeph Scaliger the ſon, was in point of ſcholarſhip no whit inferiour to Julius the father. ‘Fortes creantur fortibus & bonis, &c.’

Where coyn's not common, commons muſt be ſcant.

A colliers cow and an ale wives ſow are always well ſed.

Others ſay a poor mans cow, and then the reaſon is evident, why a colliers is not ſo clear.

Much coyn much care.

‘Creſcentem ſequitur cura pecuniam. Horat.’

The greateſt crabs are not always the beſt meat

Great and good are not always the ſame thing, though our Language oft makes them ſynonymous terms, as when we call a great way a good way, and a great deal a good deal, &c. in which and the like phraſes good ſignifies ſomewhat leſs then great, viz. of a middle ſize or indifferent. Bonus alſo in Latine is ſometimes uſed in the ſame ſenſe, as in that of ‘Perſius. Sat. 2. Bona pars procerum.’ ‘Les grands boeuſs ne font pas les grands journees. Gall.’ The greateſt oxen rid not moſt work.

Crabs breed babs by the help of good lads.

Country wenches when they are with child uſually long for Crabs: or Crabs may ſignifie Scolds.

[Page] There's a craft in dawbing. or, There is more craft in dawbing then throwing dirt on the wall.

There is a myſtery in the meaneſt trade.

No man is his crafts-maſter the firſt day.

‘Neſſuno naſce maeſtro. Ital.’

Shameleſs craving muſt have, &c. V. in S.

You muſt learn to creep before you go.

Soon crooks the tree that good gambrell would be.

A gambrell is a crooked piece of wood on which butchers h [...]ng up the carcaſſes of beaſts by the legs, from the Italian word gamba ſignifying a leg. Paralel to this Is that other Proverb, It early prick, that will be a thorn. ‘Adcò à teneris aſſueſcere mulium eſt.’

Each croſs hath it's inſcription.

Croſſes and afflictions come not by chance, they ſpring not out of the earth, but are laid upon men for ſome juſt reaſon. Divines truly ſay, that many times we may read the ſin in the puniſhment.

No croſs no crown.

It's ill killing a crow with an empty ſling.

The crow thinks her own bird faireſt.

‘Afinus aſino, ſus ſui pulcher, & ſuum cuique pulchrum.’ So the Ethiopians are ſaid to paint the Devil white. Every one is partial to, and well conceited of his own art, his own compoſitions, his own children, his own countrey, &c. Self-love is a more in every ones eye; it influences, biaſſes and blinds the judgements even of the moſt modeſt and [Page] perſpicatious. Hence it is (as Ariſtotle well obſerves) that men for the moſt part love to be flattered. Rhetor. 2. & ‘A tous oiſeaux leur nid▪ ſont beaux. Gall.’ Every bird likes its own neſt. ‘A ogni grolla paion belli i ſuoi grollatini. Ital.’

A crow is never the whiter for waſhing her ſelf often.

No carrion will kill a crow.

Cunning is no burden.

It is part of Bias his goods, it will not hinder a mans flight when the enemies are at hand.

Many things fall between the cup and the lip.

‘Multa cadunt inter calicem ſupremáque labra.’ ‘ [...]. Citantur ab A. Gell [...]o.’ ‘De la main à la bouche ſo perd ſouvent la ſoupe. Gall.’ Between the hand and the mouth, the broth is many times ſhed. ‘Entre la bouche & le cueillier vient Souvent grand deſtourbier. Gall.’

What cannot be cured, muſt be endured.

‘Levius fit patientia quicquid corrigere eſt neſas. Horat. Od’

A bad cuſtome is like a good cake, better broken then kept.

A curſt curre muſt be tied ſhort.

‘A meſchant chien courtlien. Gall.’

Cuſtome is another nature.

Deſperate cuts, muſt have deſperate cures.

D.

HE that will not be ruled by his own dame, muſt be rul'd by his ſtepdame.

He dances well, to whom Fortune pipes.

‘Aſſal ben balla à chi Fortuna ſuona. Ital.’ The French have a Proverb, ‘Mieux vaut une once de fortune qui une livre de ſageſſe.’ Better is an ounce of good Fortune, then a pound of good forecaſt.

They love dancing well, that dance among thorns.

When you go to dance, take heed whom you take by the hand.

It's as good to be in the dark, as without light.

Jone's as good as my Lady in the dark. v. in I.

One may ſee day at a little hole.

The better day, the better deed.

‘A bon jour bon oeuvre. Gall.’ ‘Dicenda bonâ ſunt bona verba die.’

He never broke his hour that kept his day.

Today a man, tomorrow a mouſe.

Today me, tomorrow thee.

‘Aujourd'huy Roy, demain rien. Gall.’

The longeſt day muſt have an end.

‘Il n'eſt ſi grand jour qui ne vienne à veſpre. Gall.’ ‘Non [Page] vien di, che non venga ſera. Ital.’

Be the day never ſo long, at length cometh evenſong.

'Tis day ſtill while the Sun ſhines.

Speak well of the dead.

‘Mortuis non conviciandum,’ & ‘De mortuis nil niſi bonum. Namque cùm mortui non mordent iniquum eſt ut mordeantur.’

A dead mouſe feels no cold.

He that waits for dead mens ſhooes, may go long enough barefoot.

‘A longue corde tire qui d'autruy mort deſire. Gall.’ He hath but a cold ſuit who longs for another mans death.

After death the Doctour.

This is a French Proverb, ‘Apres la mort le medecin,’ parallel to that ancient Greek one, ‘ [...].’ ‘Poſt bellum auxilium.’ We find it in Quintilians Dec [...]am. Cadavirib. paſti, with another of the like import; ‘Quid quod medicina mortuorum ſera eſt? Quid quod nemo aquam infundit in cineres?’ After a mans houſe is burnt to aſhes, its too late to pour on water.

Who gives away his goods before he is dead,

Take a beetle and knock him on the head.

‘Chi dona il ſuo inanzi morire il s' apparecchia aſſai patire. Ital.’ He that gives away his goods before death, prepares himſelf to ſuffer.

[Page]

He that could know what would be dear,

Need be a merchant but one year.

Such a merchant was the Philoſopher Thales, of whom it is reported, that to make proof, that it was in the power of a Philoſopher to be rich if he pleaſed, he foreſeeing a future dearth of Olives, the year following, bought up at eaſie rates all that kind of fruit then in mens hands.

Out of debt, out of danger.

‘ [...],’ Happy he that owes nothing.

Deſperate cuts muſt have, &c. v. in C.

There's difference between ſtaring and ſtark blind [or mad.]

This Proverb may have a double ſenſe, if you read it ſtark mad, it ſignifies, that we ought to diſtinguiſh, and not preſently pronounce him ſtark mad that ſta [...]es a little, or him a rank fool who is a little impertinent ſometimes, &c. If you read it ſtark blind, then it hath the ſame ſenſe with that of Horace, ‘Eſt inter Tanaim medium ſoccrúm (que) Vitelli.’ and is a reprehenſion to thoſe who put no difference between extremes, as perfect blindneſs and Lynceus his ſight.

He that would eat a good dinner let him eat a good breakfaſt.

Dinners can't be long, where dainties want.

He that ſaveth his dinner, will have the more for his ſupper.

This is a French Proverb, ‘Qui garde ſon diſne il a mieux [Page] à ſouper.’ He that ſpares when he is young, may the better ſpend when he is old. ‘Mal ſoupe qui tout diſne.’ He ſups ill who eats all at dinner.

An ounce of diſcretion, is worth a pound of wit.

The French ſay, An ounce of good fortune, &c. ‘ [...]. Nazianz.’ ‘Gutta fortunae prae dolio ſapientiae.’

I will not make my diſh-clout my table-cloth.

It's a ſin to belie the Devil.

Give the Devil his due.

He that takes the Devil into his boat, muſt carry him over the Sound.

He that hath ſhipt the Devil, muſt make the beſt of him.

Seldom lies the Devil dead in a ditch.

We are not to truſt the Devil or his Children, though they ſeem never ſo gentle or harmleſs, without all power or will to hurt. The ancients in a Proverbial Hyperbole, ſaid of a woman, ‘Mulierinè credas nè mortuae quidem,’ becauſe you might have good reaſon to ſuſpect that ſhe feigned; we may with more reaſon ſay the like of the Devil and diabolical perſons, when they ſeem moſt mortified. Perchance this Proverb may allude to the fable of the fox, which eſcaped by feigning himſelf dead. I know no phraſe more frequent in the mouths of the French and Italians then this, The Devil is dead, to ſignifie that a difficulty is almoſt conquered, a journey almoſt finiſhed, or as we ſay, The neck of a buſineſs broken.

Talk of the Devil and he'll either come or ſend.

[Page] As good eat the Devil, as the broth he is boil'd in.

The Devil rebukes ſin.

‘Clodius accuſat moechos. Aliorum medicus ipſe ulceribus ſcates.’

The Devils child the Devils luck.

He muſt needs go, whom the Devil drives.

He had need of a long ſpoon, that eats with the Devil.

The Devil ſhites upon a great heap.

The Devil is good when he is pleaſed.

The Devil is never nearer then when we are talking of him.

The Devils meal is half bran.

‘La farine du diable n'e que bran, or s' en va moitie en bran. Gall.’

What is gotten over the Devils back, is ſpent under his belly.

‘Malè parta malè dilabuntur.’ What is got by oppreſſion or extortion is many times ſpent in riot and luxury.

Every dog hath his day, and every man his hour.

All the dogs follow the ſalt bitch.

Love me and love my dog.

‘Qui aime Jean aime ſon chien. Gall.’ ‘Speſſe volte ſi ha riſpetto al cane per il padrone.’

He that would hang his dog, gives out firſt [Page] that he's mad.

He that is about to do any thing diſingenuous, unworthy, or of evil fame, firſt bethinks himſelf of ſome plauſible pretence.

The hind moſt dog may catch the hare.

He that keeps another mans dog, ſhall have nothing left him but the line.

This is a Greek Proverb, ‘ [...].’ The meaning is, that he who beſtows a benefit upon an ungratefull perſon; looſes his coſt. For if a dog break looſe he preſently gets him home to his former maſter, leaving the cord he was tied with.

What? keep a dog and bark my ſelf.

That is, muſt I keep ſervants, and do my work my ſelf.

There are more ways to kill a dog then hanging.

Hang a dog on a crabtree, and he'll never love verjuyce.

This is a ludicrous and nugatory ſaying, for a dog once hang'd is paſt loving or hating. But generally men and beaſts ſhun thoſe things, by or for which they have ſmarted. ‘ [...]. Amphis in Ampelurgo apud Stoboeum.’

Et mea cymba ſemel vaſtâ percuſſa procellâ,

Illum quo leaſa eſt, horret adire locum.

Ovid.

Dogs bark before they bite.

It's an ill dog that deſerves not a cruſt.

‘Digna canis pabulo.’ ‘ [...]. Eraſ. ex Suida.’

[Page] A good dog deſerves a good bone.

It is an ill dog that is not worth the whiſtling.

Better to have a dog fawn on you then bite you.

He that lies down with dogs, muſt riſe up with fleas.

‘Chi con cane dorme con pulce ſi leva. Ital.’ ‘Qui ſe couche avec les chiens ſe leve avec des puces. Gall.’

Give a child till he craves, and a dog while his tail doth wave, and you'll have a fair dog, but a foul knive.

The dog that licks aſhes truſt not with meal.

The Italians ſay this of a cat, ‘Gatto che lecca cenere non ſidar farina.’

Into the mouth of a bad dog, often falls a good bone.

‘Souvent à mauvais chien tombe un bon os en gueule. Gal.’

Hungry dogs will eat dirty pudding.

‘Jejun [...] raró ſtomachus vulgaria temnit.’ ‘A la faim il n'y a point de mauvais pain. Gall.’ To him who is hungry any bread ſeems good, or none comes amiſs. ‘l'Aſino chi ha fame mangia d'ogni ſtrame. Ital.’

It's an eaſie thing to find a ſtaff to beat a dog: or a ſtone to throw at a dog.

‘Qui veut battre ſon chien trouve aſſez de baſtons. Gal.’ ‘Malefacere qui vult nuſquam non cauſam invenit. Pub. Mimus.’ He who hath a mind to do me a miſchief, will eaſily find [Page] ſome pretence. ‘ [...].’ To do evil, a flight pretence or occaſion will ſerve mens turns. ‘A petite achoiſon le loup prend le mouton. Gall.’

An old dog will learn no tricks, v. in O.

Do well and have well.

Draffe is good enough for ſwine.

He that's down down with him.

Drawn wells are ſeldom dry.

Drawn wells have ſweeteſt water.

‘Puteus ſi hauriatur melior evadit.’ ‘ [...]. Baſil. in epiſt. ad Euſtachium medicum.’ All things, eſpecially mens parts, are improved and advanced by uſe and exerciſe. Standing waters are apt to corrupt and putrifie: weapons laid up and diſuſed do contract ruſt, nay the very air if not agitated and broken with the wind, is thought to be unhealthfull and peſtilential, eſpecially in this our native Countrey, of which it is ſaid, ‘Anglia ventoſa, ſi non ventoſa venenoſa.’

Golden dreams make men awake hungry.

After a dream of a wedding comes a corps.

Draff was his errand, but drink he would have.

Drunken folks ſeldom take harm.

This is ſo far from being true, that on the contrary of my own obſervation, I could give divers inſtances of ſuch as have received very much harm when drunk.

Ever drunk, ever dry.

‘Parthi quo plus bibunt ed plus ſitiunt.’

[Page] What ſoberneſs conceals drunkenneſs reveals.

‘Quod eſt in corde ſobrii eſt in ore ebrii.’ ‘ [...]. Plutarch. [...].’ Eraſmus cites to this purpoſe a ſentence out of Herodotus, ‘ [...],’ when wine ſinks, words ſwim: and Pliny hath an elegant ſaying to this purpoſe, ‘Vinum uſque adeò mentis a [...]ana prodit, ut mortiſera etiam inter pocula loquantur homines, & nè per jugulum quidem reditur as voces contineant. Quid non ebrietas deſignat? operta recludit.’

He that kills a man when he is drunk, muſt be hang'd when he is ſober.

The ducks fare well in the Thames.

Dumb folks get no lands.

This is parallel to that, Spare to ſpeak and ſpare to ſpeed, and that former, A cloſe mouth catcheth no flies.

E.

EArly up and never the nearer.

Early ſow early mow.

It early pricks that will be a thorn.

Soon crooks the tree that good gambrel would be.

The early bird catcheth the worm.

A penny-worth of eaſe is worth a penny.

The longer Eaſt the ſhorter Weſt.

You can't eat your cake, and have your cake.

‘Vorrebbe mangiar la forcaccia & trovar la in taſca. Ital.’

[Page] Eating and drinking takes away ones ſtomack.

‘En mangeant l'appetit ſe perd.’ To which the French have another ſeemingly contrary. ‘En mangeant l'appetit vient,’ parallel to that of ours, One ſhoulder of mutton draws down another.

He that will eat the kernel muſt crack the nut.

‘Qui nucleum eſſe vult nucem ſrangat oportet.’ No gains without pains.

Madam Parnel crack the nut and eat the kernel.

Eaten bread is forgotten.

It's very hard to ſhave an egg.

Where nothing is, nothing can be had.

An egg will be in 3 bellies in 24 hours.

Better half an egg then an empty ſhell.

Better half a loaf then no bread.

Ill egging makes ill begging.

Evil perſons by enticing and flattery, draw on others to be as bad as themſelves.

All ekes [or helps] as the Geni-wren ſaid, when ſhe piſt in the ſea.

Many littles make a mickle, the whole Ocean is made up of drops. ‘Goutte a goutte on remplit la cuve. Gall.’ And ‘Goutte à goutte la mer s' egoute.’ Drop by drop the ſea is drained.

[Page] Empty veſſels make the greateſt ſound.

The Scripture ſaith, A fools voice is known by multitude of words. None more apt to boaſt then thoſe who have leaſt real worth; leaſt whereof juſtly to boaſt. The deepeſt ſtreams flow with leaſt noiſe.

Empty hands no hawks allure.

A right Engliſhman knows not when a thing is well.

Whoſo hath but a mouth, ſhall ne're in England ſuffer drought, v. ſupra.

For if he doth but open it, its a chance but it will rain in. True it is, we ſeldom ſuffer for want of rain: and if there be any fault in the temper of our air, it is its overmoiſtneſs, which inclines us to the ſcurvy and conſumptions; diſeaſes the one ſcarce known, the other but rare in hotter Countries.

Every thing hath an end, and a pudding hath two.

All's well that ends well.

‘Exitus acta probat.’

There's never enough where nought leaves.

This is an Italian Proverb, ‘Non vi è à baſtanza ſe niente auvanza.’ It is hard ſo to cut the hair, as that there ſhould be no want and nothing to ſpare.

Enough is as good as a feaſt.

‘Aſſer y a, ſi trop n'y a. Gall.’

[Page] Better be envied then pitied.

This is a ſaying in moſt languages, although it hath little of the nature of a Proverb in it. ‘ [...]. Herodot. in Thalia.’ ‘ [...]. Pindar.’ ‘Piu toſto invidia che compaſſione. Ital.’

Eſſex ſtiles, Kentiſh miles, Norfolk wiles many men beguiles.

For ſtiles Eſſex may well vie with any County of England, it being wholly divided into ſmall cloſes, and not one common field that I know of in the whole County. Length of miles I know not what reaſon Kent hath to pretend to, for generally ſpeaking, the further from London the longer the miles, but for cunning in the Law and wrangling, Norfolk men are juſtly noted.

Where every hand fleeceth, &c. v. fleeceth.

Evening orts are good morning fodder.

The Evening crowns the day.

‘La vita il fine, e' l di loda la ſera. Ital.’ The end or death commends the life, and the evening the day. ‘Dici (que) beatus Ante obitum nemo ſupremá (que) funera debet. Ovid.’

Of two evils the leaſt is to be choſen.

This reaſon the Philoſopher rendred why he choſe a little wife.

Exchange is no robbery.

A bad excuſe is better then none at all.

Experience is the miſtreſs of fools.

‘Experientia ſtultorum magiſtra.’ Wiſe men learn by others [Page] harms, fools by their own, like Epimetheus, [...].

What the eye ſees not, the heart rues not.

‘Le coeur ne veut douloirce que l'oeil ne peut veoir. Gall.’ Therefore it is not good to peep and pry into every corner, to be two inquiſitive into what our ſervants or relations do or ſay, leſt we create our ſelves unneceſſary trouble.

Better eye out then always aking, [or watching]

He that winketh with one eye, and ſeeth with the other,

I would not truſt him, though he were my brother.

This is only a Phyſiognomical obſervation.

He that hath but one eye ſees the better for it.

Better then he would do without it: a ridiculous ſaying.

F.

A Good face, &c. v. band.

Faint heart ne're won fair Lady.

‘ [...]. Suidas ex Eupolide, Timidi nunquam ſtatuêre tropaeum.’ ‘Ja couard n'aura belle amie. Gall.’ For, ‘audentes fortuna juvat.’

Fair feathers make fair fowls.

Fair clothes, ornaments and dreſſes ſet off perſons, and [Page] make them appear handſome, which if ſtript of them would ſeem but plain and homely. God makes, and apparel ſhapes. ‘I panni rifanno le ſtanghe, veſti una colonna & par una donna. Ital.’

Fair words, &c. v. words.

Fair and ſoftly goes far in a day.

‘Pas à pas on va bien loing. Gall.’ ‘Chi va piano va ſano è anche lontano. Ital.’ He that goes ſoftly, goeth ſure and alſo far. He that ſpurs on too faſt at firſt ſetting out, tires before he comes to his journeys end. ‘Feſtinalenté.’

Fair in the cradle, and foul in the ſaddle.

A fair face is half a portion.

Praiſe a fair day at night.

Or elſe you may repent, for many times clear mornings turn to cloudy evenings. ‘La vita il fine e' l di loda la ſera.’ The end commends the life, and the evening the day.

The faireſt ſilk is ſooneſt ſtained.

This may be applied to women. The handſomeſt women are ſooneſt corrupted, becauſe they are moſt tempted. It may alſo be applied to good natures, which are more eaſily drawn away by evil company.

Men ſpeak of the Fair, as things went with them there.

If a man once fall, all will tread on him.

‘Dejecta arbore quivis ligna colligit. Vulgus ſequitur fortunam & odit damnatos. Juven.’ When the tree is fallen every man goeth to it with his hatchet. Gall.

[Page]There's falſhood in fellowſhip.

Common fume's ſeldome to blame.

A general report is rarely without ſome ground. No ſmoke without ſome fire. ‘ [...]. Heſiod.’

Too much familiarity breeds contempt.

‘Nimia familiaritas contemptum parit. E tribus optimis rebus tres peſſimae oriuntur; è veritate odium, è familiaritate contemptus, è felicitate invidia. Plutarch.’

Fancy paſſes beauty.

Fancy may boult bran and think it flour.

You can't fare well, but you muſt cry roaſtmeat.

‘Saſſe bonne farine ſans trompe ny buccine. Gall.’ Boult thy fine meal, and eat good paſt, without report or trumpets blaſt. ‘ [...]’. They that are thirſty drink ſilently. ‘Si corvus tacuiſſet haberet’

‘Plus dapis & rixae multò minùs invidiaeque. Horat.’

Far fetch't and dear bought's good for Ladies.

‘Vache de loin a laict aſſez. Gall.’

Far folks fare well, and fair children die.

People are apt to boaſt of the good and wealthy condition of their far-off friends, and to commend their dead children.

It's good farting before ones own fire.

[Page] A man far from his good, is near his harm.

‘Qui eſt loing du plat eſt prez de ſon dommage. Gall.’ Far from the diſh and near to his loſs; for commonly they that are far from the diſh, ſhed their broth by the way.

As good be out of the world as out of the faſhion.

Fat drops fall from fat fleſh.

Fat ſorrow is better then lean ſorrow.

Better have a rich husband and a ſorrowfull life then a poor husband and a ſorrowfull life with him, ſpoken to encourage a maid to marry a rich man, though ill conditioned.

Little knows the fat ſow what the lean one means.

The father to the bough, &c. v. in B.

Where no fault is there needs no pardon.

Every man hath his faults, or He is liveleſs that is faultleſs.

‘Ut vitiis nemo ſine naſcitur. Quiſque ſuos patimur manes.’

They that feal [i. e. hide] can find.

It's good to fear the worſt, the beſt will ſave it ſelf.

No feaſt to a Miſers.

‘Il n'eſt banquet que d'homme chiche. Gall.’

Little difference between a feaſt and a bellyfull.

Better come at the latter end of a feaſt, then the beginning of a fray.

[Page] Feeling hath no fellow.

No fence againſt a flail. Ill fortune.

Some evils and calamities aſſault ſo violently that there is no reſiſting or bearing them off.

No man loves his fetters though of gold.

Next to health and neceſſary food, no good in this world more deſireable then liberty.

The fineſt lawn ſooneſt ſtains.

The fineſt ſhoe often hurts the foot.

There is no fire without ſome ſmoke.

‘Nul feu ſans fumée. Gall.’

Fire and water are good ſervants, but bad maſters.

Firſt come firſt ſerved.

‘Qui premier arrive au moulin, premier doit mouldre. Gal.’

It's ill fiſhing before the net. One would rather think after the net.

No fiſhing to fiſhing in the ſea.

‘Il fait beau peſcher en eau large. Gall.’ It's good fiſhing in large waters.

Fiſhes are caſt away, that are caſt into dry ponds.

It's good fiſhing in troubled waters.

‘Il n'y a peſche qu' en eau troublé. Gall.’ In troubled [Page] waters; that is, in a time of publick calamity, when all things are in confuſion.

Freſh fiſh and new come gueſts, ſmell by that they are three days old.

‘L'hoſte & le poiſſon paſſe trois jours puent. Gall.’ ‘Piſcis nequam eſt niſi recens, Plaut.’ Ordinary friends are welcome at firſt, but we ſoon grow weary of them.

The beſt fiſh ſwim neer the bottom.

Still he fiſheth that catcheth one.

‘Tousjours peſche qui en prend un. Gall.’

When flatterers meet the Devil goes to dinner.

Where every hand fleeceth the ſheep goes naked.

All fleſh is not veniſon.

This is a French Proverb, ‘Toute chair n'eſt pas venaiſon.’

Fleſh ſtands never ſo high but a dog will venture his legs.

A flow will have an ebb.

No flying without wings, or,

He would fain fly, but he wants feathers.

‘Sine pennis volare haud facile eſt. Plaut. in Poenulo.’ Nothing of moment can be done without neceſſary helps, or convenient means. ‘Non ſi puo volar ſenza ale, Ital.’

How can the fole amble, when the horſe and mare trot.

[Page] A fool and his mony are ſoon parted.

No fool to the old fool.

Every man hath a fool in his ſleeve.

Fools will be medling.

A fool may ask more queſtions in an hour, then a wiſe man can anſwer in ſeven years.

A fool may put ſomewhat in a wiſe bodies head.

A fools bolt is ſoon ſhot.

‘De fol juge brieve ſentence. Gall.’ A fooliſh judge paſſes a quick ſentence.

As the fool thinks, ſo the bell tinks, or clinks.

Fools ſet ſtools for wiſe folks to ſtumble at.

Fools build houſes, and wiſe men buy them.

Fools make feaſts and wiſe men eat them.

‘Le fols font la feſte & lesſages le mangent. Gall.’ The ſame almoſt for word.

Fools lade water and wiſe men catch the fiſh.

The fool will not part with his bable for the Towre of London.

If every fool ſhould wear a bable fewell would be dear.

‘Si tous les fols portoient le marotte, on ne ſeait de quel bois s' eſchaufferoit. Gall.’

Send a fool to the market and a fool he will return again.

The Italians ſay, ‘Chi beſtia va à Roma beſtia retorna.’ He that goes a beaſt to Rome returns thence a beaſt. [Page] Change of place changes not mens minds or manners. ‘Coelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt.’

Fortune favours fools, or fools have the beſt luck.

‘Fortuna favet fa [...]uis.’ It's but equall, Nature having not that Fortune ſhould do ſo.

It's good to go on foot when a man hath a horſe in his hand.

‘Al aiſe marche à pied qui mene ſon cheval par la bride. Gall.’

Forbearance is no acquittance.

In the forehead and the eye the lecture of the mind doth lie.

‘Vultus index animi.’

To forget a wrong's the beſt revenge.

‘Delle ingiurie il remedio è lui ſcordarſi. Ital.’ ‘Infirmi eſt animi exigui (que) voluptas Ultio. Juv.’

It's not good praiſing a ford till a man be over.

Forewarn'd forearm'd. ‘Praemonitus, praemunitus.’

Forecaſt is better then work-hard.

Every ones faults are not written in their foreheads.

The fox prey's furtheſt from's hole.

To avoid ſuſpicion. Crafty thieves ſteal far from home.

[Page] The fox never fares better, then when he's ban'd [or curſt.]

Populus me ſibilat, at mihi plaudo

Ipſe domi, quoties nummos contemplor in area.

Horat.

It's an ill ſign to ſee a fox lick a lamb.

When the fox preaches, beware of your geeſe.

Fire quoth the fox, when he piſt on the ice. He ſaw it ſmoak't, and thought there would be fire e're long.

This is ſpoken in deriſion to thoſe which have great expectation from ſome fond deſign or undertaking, which is not likely to ſucceed.

Fie upon heps (quoth the fox) becauſe he could not reach them.

The fox knows much, but more he that catcheth him.

Every fox muſt pay his own skin to the flayer.

‘Tutte le volpi ſi trouvano in pelliceria. Ital.’ ‘En fin les regnards ſe trouvent chez le pelletier. Gal.’ The crafty are at length ſurpriſed. Thieves moſt commonly come to the gallows at laſt.

What's freer then gift?

It's good to have ſome friends both in heaven and hell.

He is my friend, that grindeth at my mill.

That ſhews me real kindneſs.

A friend in need is a friend indeed.

[Page] Prove thy friend e're thou have need.

All are not friends, that ſpeak us fair.

He's a good friend that ſpeaks well on's behind our backs.

No longer foſter no longer friend.

As a man is friended, ſo the law is ended.

Where ſhall a man have a worſe friend, then he brings from home?

Friends may meet, but mountains never greet.

‘Mons cum monte non miſcebitur: Pares cum paribus’ Two haughty perſons will ſeldom agree together. ‘Deux hommes ſe rencontrent bien, mais jamais deux montagnes. Gall.’

Many kinsfolk, few friends.

Ones kindred are not always to be accounted ones friends, though in our Language they be ſynonymous terms. There is a friend that ſticketh cloſer then a brother.

One God no more, but friends good ſtore.

‘ [...]. Unus Deus, ſed plures amici parandi.’

Where ever you ſee your friend, truſt your ſelf.

A friend is never known till one have need.

‘Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur. Cic. ex Ennio.’

Scilicet ut fulvum ſpectatur in ignibus aurum,

Tempore ſic duro eſt inſpicienda fides.

Ovid.

[...]. Friends ſtand afar off, when a man is in adverſity.

What was good, the Frier never lov'd.

When the Frier's beaten, then comes Iames.

‘ [...].’ ‘Sic eſt ad pugnae partes re peractâ veniendum.’

The Frier preach't againſt ſtealing when he had a pudding in his ſleeve.

‘Il ſrate predicava, che non ſi doveſſe robbare & lui haveva l'occha nel ſcapulario. Ital.’ The ſame with the Engliſh, ‘only gooſe inſtead of pudding.’

To fright a bird is not the way to catch her.

‘Qui veut prendre un oiſeau qu' il ne l'affarouche. Gall.’ The ſame with the Engliſh.

The frog cannot out of her bog.

Froſt and fraud both end in foul.

A ſaying ordinary in the mouth of Sr Tho. Egerton Lord Chancellour.

Take away fewel take away flame.

Remove the tale-bearer and contention ceaſeth. ‘Sine Cercre & Libero friget Venus.’

The furtheſt way about's the neareſt way home.

What is gained in the ſhortneſs may be loſt in the goodneſs of the way. ‘Compendia plerum (que) ſunt diſpendia.’

[Page] Fields have eyes, and woods have ears.

‘Bois ont oreilles, & champs oeillets. Gall.’ ‘Some hear and ſee him whom he heareth and ſeeth not; For fields have eyes, and woods have ears, ye wot. Heywood.’

G.

TOuch a galled horſe on the back, and he'll kick, [or wince.]

Try your skill in galt firſt, and then in gold.

‘In care periculum, ſubaudi fac. Cares olim notatiſunt. quód primi vitam mercede locabant.’ They were the firſt mercenary ſouldiers. Practiſe new and doubtfull experiments in cheap commodities, or upon things of ſmall value.

You may gape long enough, e're a bird fall in your mouth.

He that gapeth untill he be fed, well may he gape untill he be dead.

‘C' eſt folie de beer contre un four. Gall.’

No gaping againſt an oven.

Make not a gauntlet of a hedging glove.

What's a Gentleman but his pleaſure.

A Gentleman without living, is like a pudding without ſewet.

Gentry ſent to market, will not buy one buſhel of corn.

Gentility without ability, is worſe then plain beggery.

[Page] Giff gaff was a good man, but he is ſoon weary.

Giffe gaffe is one good turn for another.

Look not a gift horſe in the mouth.

It ſeems this was a Latine Proverb in Hieroms time, Eraſmus quotes it out of his preface to his commentaries on the epiſtle to the Epheſians, ‘Noli (ut vulgare eſt proverbium) equi dentes inſpicere donati.’ ‘A caval donato non guardar in bocca. Ital.’ ‘A cheval donne il ne ſaut pas regarder aux dens. Gall.’ It is alſo in other modern Languages.

There's not ſo bad a Gill but there's as bad a Will.

Giving much to the poor, doth increaſe a mans ſtore.

Give a thing and take a thing, &c.

Or, give a thing and take again, And you ſhall ride in hells wain.

Plato mentions this as a childrens Proverb in his time. ‘ [...]’, which with us alſo continues a Proverb among children to this day.

Better fill a gluttons belly then his eye.

‘Les yeux plus grands que la pance. Gall.’ ‘Piu toſto ſi ſatolla il ventre chel'occhio. Ital.’

A belly full of gluttony will never ſtudy willingly, i. e. the old proverbial Verſe.

‘Impletus venter non vult ſtudere libenter.’

[Page] Man doth what he can, and God what he will.

When God wills, all winds bring rain.

‘Deus undecun (que) juvat modò propitius. Eraſ.’ ‘La ou Dieu veut il pleut. Gall.’

God ſends corn, and the Devil marres the ſack.

God ſends cold after clothes.

After clothes, i. e. according to the peoples clothes. ‘Dieu donne le ſroid ſelon le drap. Gall.’

God is where he was.

Spoken to encourage People in any diſtreſs.

Not God above, gets all mens love.

‘ [...]. Theogn.’

God knows well which are the beſt Pilgrims.

What God will, no froſt can kill.

Tell me with whom thou goeſt, and I'll tell thee what thou doeſt.

La mala compagnia è quella che mena huomini à la furca, Ital.

Gold goes in at any gate except Heavens.

Philip Alexanders father was reported to ſay, that he did not doubt to take any caſtle or cittadel, let the aſcent be never ſo ſteep and difficult, if he could but drive up an aſs laden with gold to the gate.

[Page] All is not gold that gliſters.

‘Toutce qui luit n'eſt pas or. Gall.’ ‘Non è oro tutto quel che luce. Ital.’ ‘Fronti nulla fides. Juven.’

A man may buy gold too dear.

Though good be good, yet better is better, or better carries it.

That's my good that does me good.

Some good things I do not love, a good long mile, good ſmall beer, and a good old woman.

Good enough is never ought.

A good man can no more harm then a ſheep.

Ill gotten goods, ſeldom proſper.

‘Della robba di mal acquiſta non ſe ne vede allegrezza. Ital.’ And, ‘Vien preſto conſumato l'ingiuſtamente acquiſtato.’ ‘De mal è venu l'agneau & à mal retourne le peau. Gall.’ To naught it goes that came from naught. ‘ [...]. Heſiod.’ ‘Mala lucra aequalia damnis. Malè parta malè dilabuntur:’ and, ‘De malè quaeſitis vix gaudet tertius haeres. Juven.’

That that's good ſawce for a gooſe, is good for a gander.

This is a womans Proverb.

There's meat in a gooſes eye.

As deep drinketh the gooſe, as the gander.

Gooſe, and gander and goſling are three ſounds, but one thing.

A Goſhawk beats not at a bunting.

‘Aquila non capit muſcas.’

Grace will laſt, favour will blaſt.

While the graſs grows, the ſteed ſtarves.

‘Caval non morire, che herba dè venire. Ital.’

Graſs grows not upon the high way.

Gray and green make the worſt medley.

‘Turpe ſenex miles, turpe ſenilis amor. Ovid.’ An old lecher is compared to an onyon, or leek, which hath a white head but a green tail.

Gray hairs are deaths bloſſoms.

Great gifts are from great men.

The Gull comes againſt the rain.

H.

HAckney miſtreſs hackney maid.

‘ [...]. Cic. Epiſt. Att. 5. Qualis hera tales pedijſequae. Et, [...].’ ‘Catulae dominam imitantur. Videas autem (inquit Eraſmus) & Melitaeas, opulentarum mulierum delicias, faſtum, laſeiviam totàm (que) ferè morum imaginem reddere.’

Had I fiſh is good without muſtard.

Half an acre is good land.

No halting before a cripple.

For fear of being detected. ‘Il nè faut pas clocher devant un boiteux. Gall.’

Half an egg, &c. v. egg.

Half a loaf, v. loaf.

Help hands for I have no lands.

[Page] He is handſom that handſom doth.

Half an hours hanging hinders 5 m. riding.

It's better to be happy then wiſe.

‘E meglio eſſer fortunato che ſavio. Ital.’ ‘Gutta fortunae prae dolio ſapientiae.’ ‘Mieux vaut une once de fortune qu' une libre de ſageſſe. Gall.’ An ounce of good fortune is better then a pound of wiſdom.

Happy is he whoſe friends were born before him.

i. e. Who hath rem non labore parandam ſed relictam.

Happy man happy dole, or Happy man by his dole.

Happy is the child whoſe father went to the Devil.

For commonly they who firſt raiſe great eſtates, do it either by uſury and extortion, or by fraud and cozening, or by flattery and miniſtring to other mens vices.

Some have the hap, ſome ſtick i'th' gap.

Hap, and half-penny goods enough, i. e. Good luch is enough, though a man hath not a penny left him.

Set hard heart againſt hard hap.

‘Tu-ne cede malis, ſed contra audentior ito. In re mala enimo ſi bono utare adjuvat.’

Hard with hard makes not the ſtone wall.

‘Duro con duro non fa mai buon muro. Ital.’ Though I have ſeen at Ariminum in Italy an ancient Roman bridge [Page] made of hewn ſtone laid together without any morter or cement.

Hard fare makes hungry bellies.

It's a hard winter, &c. v. winter.

It's a hard battel, &c. v. battel.

Where we leaſt think, there goeth the hare away.

Harm watch, harm catch.

King Harry lov'd a man, i. e. valiant men love ſuch as are ſo, hate cowards.

Moſt haſte worſt ſpeed.

‘Come s' ha fretta non ſi fa mai niente che ſtia bene. Ital.’ ‘Qui trop ſe haſte en cheminent, en beau chemin ſe fourvoye ſouvent. Gall.’ He that walks too haſtily, often ſtumbles in plain way. ‘Qui nimis properè minùs proſperè, & Nimium properans ſeriùs abſolvit. Et Canis feſtinans caecos parit catulos. Et feſtinalenté.’ Tarry a little that we may make an end the ſooner, was a ſaying of Sr Amias Paulet. ‘Preſto & bene non ſi conviene. Ital.’ Haſtily and well never meet.

Haſte makes waſte, And waſte makes want, And want makes ſtrife between the good man and his wife.

As the man ſaid to him on the tree top. Make no more haſte when you come down then when you went up.

Nothing moſt be done haſtily but killing of fleas.

Haſty climbers, &c. v. climbers.

A haſty [or angry] man never wants woe, v. A.

Haſty People will never make good Midwives.

Haſty gameſters overſee.

[Page] No haſte to hang true men.

It's good to have a hatch before the door.

High flying hawks are fit for Princes.

Make hay while the ſun ſhines.

A great head and a little wit.

This is only for the clinch ſake become a Proverb, for certainly the greater, the more brains; and the more brains, the more wit, if rightly conformed.

Better be the head of a pike, then the tail of a ſturgeon.

Better be the head of a dog, then the tail of a lion.

‘Meglio è eſſer capo di lucertola che coda di dragone. Ital.’

Better be the head of an aſs, then the tail of a horſe.

Better be the head of the yeomanry, then the tail of the gentry.

‘E meglio eſſer teſta di luccio che coda di ſturione. Ital.’ Theſe four Proverbs have all the ſame ſenſe, viz. Men love priority and precedency, had rather govern then be ruled, command then obey, lead then be ſed, though in an inferiour rank and quality.

He that hath no head needs no hat.

‘Qui n'a point de teſte n'a que faire de chaperon. Gall.’

A man is not ſo ſoon healed as hurt.

You muſt not pledge your own health.

[Page] Health is better then wealth.

The more you heap, the worſe you cheap.

The more you rake and ſcrape the worſe ſucceſs you have; or the more buſie you are and ſtir you keep, the leſs you gain.

He that hears much and ſpeaks not all, ſhall be wellcome both in bower and hall.

‘Parla poco, aſcolta aſſai, & non fallirai. Ital.’

Where the hedge is loweſt commonly men leap over.

‘Chaſcun joue au Roy deſpouille. Gall.’ They that are once down ſhall be ſure to be trampled on.

Take heed is a good read.

Or as another Proverb hath it, Good take heed doth ſurely ſpeed. ‘Abundans cautela non nocct.’

One pair of heels is often worth two pair of hands.

Always for cowards. The French ſay, ‘Qui n'à coeur ait jambes’; and the Italian in the ſame words, ‘Chi non ha cuore habbi gambe’. He that hath no heart let him have heels. So we ſee, Nature hath provided timorous creatures, as Deers, Hares, Rabbets, with good heels, to ſave themſelves by flight.

They that be in hell think there's no other Heaven.

[Page] Every herring muſt hang by his own gill.

Every tub muſt ſtand upon its own bottom. Every man muſt give an account for himſelf.

Hide nothing from thy Miniſter, Phyſician and Lawyer.

‘Al confeſſor medico & advocato Non ſi dè tener il vero celato. Ital.’ He that doth ſo doth it to his own harm or loſs wronging thereby either his ſoul, body or eſtate.

Look not too high, leſt a chip fall in thine eye.

‘Noli altum ſapere.’ Mr Howel hath it, Hew not too high, &c. according to the Scottiſh Proverb.

The higher ſtanding the lower fall.

‘Tolluntur in altum ut lapſu graviora ruant.’ The higher floud hath always the lower ebb.

The higheſt tree hath the greateſt fall.

Celſae graviore caſu decidunt turres. Horat.

Up the hill favour me, down the hill beware thee.

Every man for himſelf, and God for us all.

Ogniun per ſe & Dio per tutti, Ital.

It is hard to break a hog of an ill cuſtom.

Ne're loſe a hog for an half-penny-worth of tarr.

A man may ſpare in an ill time: as ſome who will rather [Page] die, then ſpend ten groats in Phyſick. Some have it, loſe not a ſheep, &c. Indeed tarr is more uſed about ſheep then ſwine.

A man may hold his tongue in an ill time.

‘Amyclas ſilentium perdidit.’ It's a known ſtory, that the Amycleans having been oft frighted and diſquieted with vain reports of the enemies coming, made a law that no man ſhould bring or tell any ſuch news. Whereupon it hapned, that when the enemies did come indeed, they were ſurpriſed and taken. There is a time to ſpeak as well as to be ſilent.

Who can hold that they have not in their hand, i. e. a fart.

Home is home though it be never ſo homely.

[...]. Becauſe there we have greateſt freedom. ‘v. Eraſ. Bos alienus ſubinde proſpect at for as.’

An honeſt mans word is as good as his bond.

An honey tongue a heart of gall.

Honours change manners.

‘Honores mutant mores.’ As poverty depreſſeth and debaſeth a mans mind. So great place and eſtate advance and enlarge it; but many times corrupt and puff it up.

Where honour ceaſeth, there knowledge decreaſeth.

‘Honos alit artes. Quis enim virtutem amplectitur ipſam praemia ſi tollas?’ On the other ſide. [Page]

Sint Mecaenates non deerunt Flacco Marones:

Virgilium (que) tibi vel tua rura dabunt.

A hook well loſt to catch a Salmon.

‘Il faut perdre un veron pour peſcher un Saulmon. Gall.’

If it were not for hope, the heart would break.

‘Spes alunt exules. Spes ſervat afflictos.’ ‘ [...]’. ‘Spes bona dat vires, animum quo (que) ſpes bona firmat.’ ‘Vivere ſpe vidi qui moriturus crat.’ ‘Hope well and have well, quoth Hickwell.’

You can't make a horn of a pigs tail.

Parallel hereto is that of Apoſtolius, [...]. An aſſes tail will not make a ſieve. ‘Ex quovis ligno non ſit Mercurius.’

Horns and gray hairs do not come by years.

Who hath horns in's boſom, let him not put them on his head.

Let a man hide his ſhame, not publiſh it.

It's a good horſe that never ſtumbles: and a good wife that never grumbles.

‘Il n'y a ſi bon cheval qui ne bronche. Gall.’ ‘Quandó (que) bonus dormitat Homerus.’

A good horſe cannot be of a bad colour.

A good horſe often wants a good ſpur.

[Page] It's an ill horſe will not carry his own provender.

It's an ill horſe can neither whinny nor wag his tail.

Let a horſe drink when he will, not what he will.

A man may lead a horſe to the water, but he cannot make him drink unleſs he will.

‘On ne fait boire a l'Aſne quand il ne veut. Gall.’ & ‘On a beau mener le boeuf a l'eau s' il n'a ſoif. Gall.’ In vain do you lead the ox to the water, if he be not thirſty.

A reſty horſe muſt have a ſharp ſpur. A ſcal'd horſe is good, &c. v. ſcald.

The common horſe is worſt ſhod. A ſhort horſe, &c. v. ſhort.

The beſt horſe needs breaking, and the apteſt child needs teaching.

Where the horſe lies down, there ſome hair will be found. Fullers Worth.

The horſe that's next the mill, &c. v. mill.

A gall'd horſe will not endure the comb. Touch a gall'd horſe, &c. v. gall'd.

‘Il tignoſa non ama il pettine. Ital.’ ‘Jamais tigneux n'aime le pigne. Gall.’ & ‘Cheval roigneux n'a cure qu' on l'eſtrille. Gall.’

You may know the horſe by his harneſs.

They are ſcarce of horſe-fleſh where two and two ride on a dog.

A ſhort horſe is ſoon wiſp't, And a bare a—ſoon kiſt.

[Page] The horſe that draws his halter, is not quite eſcaped.

‘Non á ſcappato chi ſtraſcina la catena dietro. Ital.’ ‘Il n'eſt pas eſchappée qui traine ſon lien. Gall.’

Truſt not a horſes heel, nor a dogs tooth.

‘Ab equinis pedibus procul recede.’

He that hires the horſe muſt ride before.

The fairer the hoſteſs the fouler the reckoning.

‘Belle hoſteſſe c' eſt un mal pour la bourſe. Gall.’

Hot ſup, hot ſwallow.

It chanceth in an hour, &c. v. chanceth.

Better ones houſe too little one day, then too big all the year after.

When thy neighbours houſe is on fire, beware of thine own.

‘Tua res agitur paries cùm proximus ardet.’

A mans houſe is his caſtle.

This is a kind of Law Proverb, ‘Jura publica ſavent privato domîls.’

He that builds a houſe by the high-way ſide, it's either too high or too low.

‘Chi fabrica la caſa in piazza, ô che è troppo alta ô troppo baſſa. Ital.’

[Page] He that buyes a houſe ready wrought, hath many a pin and nail for nought.

‘Il faut acheter maiſon fait & femme à faire. Gall.’ A houſe ready made and a wife to make. Hence we ſay, ‘Fools build houſes and wiſe men buy them.’

When a mans houſe burns, it's not good playing at cheſs.

A man may love his houſe well, and yet not ride on the ridge.

A man may love his children and relations well, and yet not cocker them, or be fooliſhly fond and indulgent to them.

Huge winds blow on high hills.

‘Feriúnt (que) ſummos fulmina montes,’ Horat.

Hunger is the beſt ſawce.

‘Appetito non-vuol ſalſa. Ital.’ ‘Il n'y a ſaulce que d'appetit. Gall.’ This Proverb is reckoned among the Aphoriſms of Socrates, ‘Optimum cibi condimentum fames ſitis potûs. Cic. lib. 2. de finibus.’

Hunger will break through ſtone walls.

Hungry flies bite ſore.

The horſe in the Fable with a gall'd back deſired the flies that were full might not be driven away, becauſe hungry ones would then take their places.

Hungry dogs, &c. v. dogs.

They muſt hunger in froſt that will not work in heat.

[Page] A hungry horſe makes a clean manger.

Hunger makes hard bones ſweet beans.

Eraſmus relates as a common Proverb (among the Dutch I ſuppoſe) ‘Hunger makes raw beans reliſh well or taſte of Sugar.’ ‘Manet holié (que) vulgò tritum proverbium. Famem efficere ut crudae ctiam fabae ſaccharum ſapiant.’ Darius in his ſlight drinking puddle-water deſiled with dead carcaſſes, is reported to have ſaid, that he never drank any thing that was more pleaſant, for ſaith the ſtory, ‘Ne (que) enim ſitiens unquam biberat:’ he never had drank thirſty. ‘The full ſtomach loatheth the honey-comb, but to the hungry, every bitter thing is ſweet. Prov.’ ‘ [...]’.

All are not hunters that blow the horn.

I.

EVery Iack muſt have his Gill.

‘Chaſcun demande ſa ſorte. Gall.’ Like will to like. It ought to be written Jyll, for it ſeems to be a nickname for Julia or Juliana.

A good Iack makes a good Gill.

‘Bonus dux bonum reddit comitem.’ Inferiours imitate the manners of ſuperiours; ſubjects of their Princes, ſervants of their maſters, children of their parents, wives of their husbands. ‘Praecepta ducunt, exempla trahunt.’

Iack would be a gentleman, if he could but ſpeak French.

[Page] This was a Proverb, when the Gentry brought up their children to ſpeak French. After the conqueſt, the firſt Kings endeavoured to aboliſh the Engliſh Language, and introduce the French.

More to do with one Iack-an apes, then all the bears.

Iack would wipe his noſe if he had it.

Iack ſprat would teach his Grandame.

‘Ante barbam doces ſenes.’

Of idleneſs comes no goodneſs.

Better to be idle, then not well occupied.

‘Praeſtat otioſum eſſe quàm nihil agere. Plin. epiſt.’ Better be idle then do that which is to no purpoſe, or as good as nothing; much more then that which is evil.

An idle brain is the Devils ſhop.

Idle folks have the moſt labour.

Idle folks lack no excuſes.

No jeſting with edge tools, or with bell-ropes.

‘Treſca con i fanti & laſcia ſtari ſanti. Ital.’ Play with children, and let the ſaints alone.

When the demand is a jeſt, the fitteſt anſwer is a ſcoff.

Better loſe a jeſt then a friend.

Ill gotten goods, &c. v. goods.

Ill news comes apace.

Ill weeds grow apace.

‘Mauvaiſe herbe croiſt tous jours. Gall.’ ‘Pazzi creſcono [Page] ſenza inaffiargli. Ital.’ Fools grow without watering. ‘A mauvais chien la queüe luy vient. Gall.’ ‘Herba mala praeſto creſce, Ital.’

Ill will never ſaid well.

An inch breaks no ſquares. Some add, in a burn of thorns.

‘Pour un petit n'avant n'arriere. Gall.’

An inch in a miſs is as good as an ell.

Ione's as good as my Lady in the dark.

‘ [...]’. Eraſmus draws this to another ſenſe, viz. There is no woman chaſt where there is no witneſs: but I think he miſtakes the intent of it, which is the ſame with ours. When candles are out all cats are gray.

No joy without annoy.

‘Extrema gaudii luctus occupat: & Uſque adeò nulla eſt ſincera voluptas, Sollicitum (que) aliquid laetis intervenit.’

Strike while the iron is hot.

‘Infin che il ferro è caldo biſogna batterlo. Ital.’ ‘Il fait bon battre le fer tandis qu' il eſt chaud. Gal.’ People muſt then be plied when they are in a good humour or mood.

He that hath many irons in the fire, ſome of them will cool.

Ill luck is worſe then found money.

He that will not endure to itch muſt endure to ſmart.

K.

KA me and I'll ka thee.

‘Da mihi mutuum teſtimonium. Cic. orat. pro Flacco.’ Lend me an oath or teſtimony. Swear for me and I'll do as much for you. Or claw me and I'll claw you. Commend me and I'll commend you. & Pro Delo Calauriam. Neptune changed with Latona Delos for Calauria.

Keep ſome till furthermore come.

The kettle calls the pot black a—

‘La padella diee al paiuolo vati in la, che tu mi non tinga. Ital.’ ‘Il lavezzo fabeffe de la pignata. Ital.’

All the keys hang not at one mans girdle.

A piece of a kid's worth two of a cat.

Who was kill'd by a cannon bullet, was curſt in his mothers belly.

He that kills a man when he's drunk, v. in D.

The kiln call's the oven burnt-houſe.

It's good to be near of kin to an eſtate.

A kings favour is no inheritance.

The Kings cheeſe goes half away in parings.

Kiſſing goes by favour.

Better kiſs a knave then be troubled with him.

He that kiſſeth his wife in the market-place, ſhall have enough to teach him.

If you can kiſs the miſtreſs, never kiſs the maid.

[Page] To kiſs a mans wife or wipe his knife, is but a thankleſs office.

Many kiſs the child for the nurſes ſake.

A carrion kite will never make good hawk.

‘On ne ſeauroit faire d'une buſe un eſpreuvier. Gall,’

Many kinsfolks, &c. v. friends.

Knaves and fools divide the world.

When knaves fall out, true men come by their goods.

‘Les larrons s' entrebatent, les larcins ſe deſcouvrent. Gall.’ When High-way men fall out, robberies are diſcovered.

Knavery may ſerve for a turn, But honeſty is beſt at long run.

The more knave the better luck.

Two cunning knaves need no broker: or a cunning knave, &c.

It's as hard to pleaſe a knave as a Knight.

It is better to knit then bloſſom.

As in trees thoſe that bear the faireſt bloſſoms, as double flower'd cherries and peaches, often bear no fruit at all, ſo in children, &c.

Where the knot is looſe, the ſtring ſlippeth.

They that know one another ſalute afar off.

L.

AN unhappy lad may make a good man.

A ragged colt, &c.

A quick landlord makes a carefull tenant.

He that hath ſome land muſt have ſome labour.

No ſweet without ſome ſweat, without pains no gains.

Land was never loſt for want of an heir.

A i ricchi non mancano parenti. Ital. The rich never want kindred.

One leg of a lark 's worth the whole body of a kite.

He that comes laſt makes all faſt.

‘Le dernier ferme la porte, ou la laiſſe ouverte. Gall.’

Better late then never.

‘Il vaut mieux tard que jamais. Gall.’ ‘Meglio tarde che non mai. Ital.’

It's never too late to repent.

‘Nunquam ſera eſt.’ &c▪

Let them laugh that win.

‘Merchand qui perd ne peut rire. Gall.’ The merchant [Page] that loſes cannot laugh. Give loſers leave to ſpeak, and I ſay, Give winners leave to laugh, for if you do not, they'll take it.

He that buys lawn before he can fold it, ſhall repent him before he have ſold it.

They that make laws muſt not break them.

Patere legem quam ipſc tuliſti.

In commune jubes ſiquid cenſéſve tenendum,

Primus juſſa ſubi, tunc obſervantior aequi

Fis populus, nec ferre vetat cùm viderit ipſum, Autorem parere ſibi. Claudian.

Better a lean jade then an empty halter.

Never too old to learn.

‘Nulla aetas ad perdiſcendum ſera eſt, Ambroſ’.

The leaſt boy always carries the greateſt fiddle.

All lay load upon thoſe that are leaſt able to bear it. For they that are leaſt able to bear, are leaſt able to reſiſt the impoſition of the burden.

Better leave then lack.

Leave is light.

It's an eaſie matter to ask leave, but the expence of a little breath, and therefore ſervants and ſuch as are under command are much to blame, when they will do, or neglect to do what they ought not or ought, without asking it,

While the leg warmeth, the boot harmeth.

He that doth lend will loſe his friend.

Qui preſte al amis perd au double. Gall. He that lends [Page] to his friend, loſeth double, i. e. both mony and friend.

Learn to lick betimes, you know not whoſe tail you may go by.

Shew me a liar, and I'll ſhew you a thief.

Life is ſweet.

While there's life there's hope.

‘Infin que v' è fiato v' è ſperanza, Ital.’ ‘Aegroto dum anima eſt ſpes eſt. Tull. ad Attic.’ ‘ [...]’. When all diſeaſes fled out of Pandora's box, hope remained there ſtill.

There's life in a muſcle, i. e. There is ſome hopes though the means be but weak.

Life lieth not in living, but in liking.

Martial ſaith, ‘Non eſt vivere, ſed valere vita.’

Light gains make a heavy purſe.

‘Le petit gain remplit la bourſe. Gall.’ They that ſell for ſmall profit, vend more commodities and make quick returns, ſo that to invert the Proverb, What they loſe in the hundred, they gain in the county. Whereas they who ſell dear, ſell little, and many times loſe a good part of their wares, either ſpoil'd or grown out of uſe and faſhion by long keeping. ‘Poco è ſpeſſo empie il borſetto. Ital.’ Little and often fills the purſe.

Light burdens far heavy.

‘Petit far deau poiſe à la longue, or Petite choſe de loing poiſe, Gall.’

Light cheap lither yield.

[Page] That that coſts little, will do little ſervice, for commonly the beſt is beaſt cheap.

Lightly come lightly go.

The light is nought for ſore eyes.

‘Al'oeil malade le lumiere nuit. Gall.’ He that doth evil hateth the light, &c.

There's lightning lightly before thunder.

A heavy purſe makes a light heart.

The lion's not half ſo fierce as he is painted.

‘Minuunt praſentia famam,’ is a true rule. Things are repreſented at a diſtance, much to their advantage beyond their juſt proportion and merit. Fame is a magnifying glaſs.

Every one as they like beſt, as the good man ſaid when he kiſt his cow.

Like will to like (as the Devil ſaid to the Collier.) Or as the ſcab'd Squire ſaid to the mangy Knight, when they both met in a diſh of butter'd fiſh.

‘Ogni ſimile appetiſce il ſuo ſimile, Ital.’ ‘Chaſcum cherche ſon ſemblable, or, demande ſa ſorte, Gall.’ ‘Caſcus eaſcam ducit, i. vetulus anum. Significat a. ſimilis ſimilem delectat.’

Like lips like lettuce.

‘Similes habent labra lactucas.’ A thiſtle is a ſallet fit for an aſſes mouth. We uſe when we would ſignifie that, things happen to people which are ſuitable to them, or which they deſerve: as when a dull ſcholar happens to a ſtupid or ignorant [Page] maſter, a froward wife to a peeviſh husband, &c. ‘Dignum patellâ operculum.’ Like prieſt, like people, and on the contrary. Theſe Proverbs are always taken in the worſe ſenſe. ‘Tal carne tal cultello. Ital.’ Like fleſh like knife.

Like ſaint like offering.

Like carpenter like chips.

Trim tram, like maſter like man.

‘Quel maiſtre tel valet, Gall.’ ‘Tal Abbate tali i monachi. Ital.’

A liquoriſh tongue is the purſes canker.

A liquoriſh tongue a liquoriſh lecherous tail.

A little pot's ſoon hot.

Little perſons are commonly cholerick.

Little things are pretty. [...].

Many littles make a mickle.

‘ [...].’ ‘ [...]. Heſiod.’

‘Adde parum parvo magnus acervus erit.’

‘De petit vient on au grand. and, Les petits ruiſſeaux font les grands rivieres, Gall.’ All ekes, &c. The greateſt number is made up of unites; and all the waters of the ſea, of drops. ‘Piuma à piuma ſe pela l'occha. Ital.’ Feather by feather the gooſe is pluckt.

Little pitchers have ears.

‘Ce quel'enfant oit au fouyer, eſt bien toſt cogneu juſques au Monſtier.’ That which the child hears by the fire, is often known as far as Monſtier, a Town in Savoy. So that it ſeems they have long tongues, as well as wide ears. And therefore (as Juvenal well ſaid) ‘Maxima debetur puero reverentia.’

By little and little the poor whore ſinks her barn.

Little ſaid ſoon amended.

Little ſtrokes fell great oaks.

‘Multis ictibus dejicitur quercus.’ Many ſtrokes fell, &c.

Aſſiduity overcomes all difficulty. [...].

‘Minutula pluvia imbrem parit. Aſſidua ſtilla ſaxum excavat.’

‘Quid magis eſt durum ſaxo? quid mollius unda?’

‘Dura tamen molli ſaxa cavantur aqud. Ovid.’

‘Annulus in digito ſubter tenuatur habendo:’

‘Stillicidî caſus lapidem cavat, uncus aratri’

‘Ferrcus occultè decreſcit vomer in armis, Lucret.’

Pliny reports, that there are to be found flints worn by the feet of Piſmires. Which is not altogether unlikely; for the Horſe ants eſpecially, I have obſerved to have their rodes or foot-paths ſo worn by their travelling, that they may eaſily be obſerved.

A little good is ſoon ſpent.

A little ſtream drives a light mill.

Live and let live, i. e. Do as you would be done by. Let ſuch pennyworths as your Tenants may live under you; ſell ſuch bargains, &c.

Every thing would live.

They that live longeſt, muſt go furtheſt for wood.

Longer lives a good fellow then a dear year.

As long lives a merry heart as a ſad.

One may live and learn.

‘Non ſi finiſce mai d'imparare, Ital.’ ‘ [...]’, A famous ſaying of Solon, ‘Diſcenti aſſiduè multa ſenecta vexit.’

And well might he ſay ſo, for ‘Ars longa vita brevis,’ As Hippocrates begins his Aphoriſms.

They that live longeſt muſt fetch fire furtheſt.

[Page] They that live longeſt muſt die at laſt.

All lay load on the willing horſe.

‘On touche tous jours ſur le cheval qui tire, Gall.’ The horſe that draws is moſt whipt.

Half a loaf is better then no bread.

It's a long run that never turns.

The longeſt day, &c. v. day.

Long lookt for comes at laſt.

Look to the main chance.

Look before you leap, For ſnakes among ſweet flowers do creep.

Look not too high, &c. v. high.

Where the knot is looſe, &c. v. knot.

No great loſs, but ſome ſmall profit.

As for inſtance, he whoſe ſheep die of the rot, ſaves the skins and wooll.

It's not loſt that comes at laſt.

All is not lost that is in danger.

In love is no lack.

Love thy neighbour, but pull not down thy hedge.

Better a louſe i'th' pot then no fleſh at all.

The Scotch Proverb ſaith a mouſe, which is better ſenſe, for a mouſe is fleſh and edible.

He muſt ſtoop that hath a low door.

Lowly ſit richly warm.

A mean condition is both more ſafe and more comfortable, [Page] then a high eſtate.

The lower millſtone grinds as well as the upper.

Ill luck is worſe, &c. v. Ill.

What is worſe then ill luck?

Give a man luck, and throw him into the ſea.

The honeſter man, the worſe luck, v. honeſter.

Thieves and rogues have the beſt luck, if they do but ſcape hanging.

He that's ſick of a feaver lurden muſt be cured by the haſel gelding.

No law for lying. A man may lie without danger of the law.

M.

YOu'll ne're be mad, you are of ſo many minds.

There are more maids then Maukin, and more men then Michael, i. e. little Mal or Mary.

Maids ſay nay and take.

Who knows who's a good maid?

Every maid is undone.

Look to the main, &c. v. look.

Make much of one, good men are ſcarce.

Malice is mindfull.

Man propoſes, God diſpoſes.

‘Homme propoſe, mais Dieu diſpoſe, Gall.’ ‘Humana confiiia divinitus gubernantur.’

[Page] A man's a man though he hath but a hoſe on's head.

He that's man'd with boys and hors'd with colts, ſhall have his meat eaten and his work undone.

Many hands make light [or quick] work.

‘Multorum manibus grande levatur onus.’

‘ [...]. Homer.’ ‘Unus vir nullus vir.’ ‘ [...]. Euripid.’

He that hath many irons, &c. v. irons.

Many ſands will ſink a ſhip.

We muſt have a care of little things, leſt by degrees we fall into great inconveniences. A little leak neglected, in time will ſink a ſhip.

Many littles, &c. v. little.

So many men ſo many minds.

‘Tant [...] teſte tanti cervelli, Ital.’ ‘Autant de teſtes autant d'opinions, Gall.’ ‘Quot homines tot ſententiae, Terent.’

There are more mares in the wood then Griſell.

You may know by the market-folks, how the market goes.

He that cannot abide a bad market deſerves not a good one.

Forſake not the market for the toll.

No man makes haſte to the market, where there's nothing to be bought but blows.

The maſters eye makes the horſe fat.

‘l'occhio del padrone ingraſſa il cavallo, Ital.’ ‘L'oeil [Page] du maiſtre engraiſſe le cheval. Gall.’ ‘ [...]. Ariſt. Oeconom. 2.’ The anſwers of Perſes and Libys are worth the obſerving. The former being asked, what was the beſt thing to make a horſe fat, anſwered the maſters eye: the other being demanded what was the beſt manure, anſwered the maſters footſteps. Not impertinent to this purpoſe, is that ſtory related by Gellius. A fat man riding upon a lean horſe asked, how it came to paſs, that himſelf was fat, and his horſe ſo lean. He anſwered becauſe I feed my ſelf, but my ſervant my horſe.

That is not always good in the maw that is ſweet in the mouth.

Who that may not as he will, &c. v. will.

Every may be hath a may not be.

Two ill meals make the third a glutton.

Meaſure is a treaſure.

After meat comes muſtard.

When there is no more uſe of it.

Meat is much, but manners is more.

Much meat much maladies.

Surfetting and diſeaſes often attend full tables. Our nation in former time, hath been noted for exceſs in eating, and it was almoſt grown a Proverb, That Engliſh men dig their graves with their teeth.

Meat and mattens hinder no mans journey.

In other words, Prayers and provender, &c.

[Page] He that will meddle with all things, may go ſhoe the goſlins.

‘C' e da fare per tutto, diceva colui che fer [...]ava l'occha. Ital.’

Of little medling comes great eaſe.

It's merry in the hall when beards wag all.

When all are eating, feaſting or making good chear. By the way we may note that this word chear, which is particularly with us applied to meats and drinks, ſeems to be derived from the Greek word [...] ſignifying joy: As it doth alſo with us in thoſe words chearly and chearfull.

Merry meet merry part.

Be merry and wiſe.

The more the merrier, the fewer the better chear.

Merry is the feaſt-making till we come to the reckoning.

As long lives a merry, &c. v. lives.

Can Jack-an-apes be merry, &c. v. clog.

Who doth ſing ſo merry a note, &c. v. ſing.

Mickle ado and little help.

Might overcomes right.

No mill no meal.

‘ [...].’ ‘Qui ſugit molam ſugit ſarinam.’ ‘ [...].’ He that would have honey, muſt have bees. Eraſmus ſaith, they commonly ſay, He that would have eggs, muſt endure the cackling of hens. It is I ſuppoſe a Dutch Proverb.

[Page] Much water goes by the mill, the miller knows not of.

‘Aſſai acqua paſſa per il molino the il molinaio non vede, Ital.’

An honeſt miller hath a golden thumb.

In vain doth the mill clack, if the miller his hearing lack.

Every miller draws water to his own mill.

‘Amener eau au moulin, or; Tirer eau en ſon moulin, Gall.’ ‘Tutti tira l'acqua al ſuo molino. Ital.’

The horſe next the mill, carries all the griſt.

My mind to me a kingdom is.

A pennyworth of mirth is worth a pound of ſorrow.

Miſchiefs come by the pound, and go away by the ounce.

‘I mali vengono à carri & ſuggino a onze. Ital.’

Better a miſchief, then an inconvenience.

That is, better a preſent miſchief that is ſoon over, then a conſtant grief and diſturbance. Not much unlike to that, Better eye out, then always aking. The French have a Proverb in ſenſe, contrary to this, ‘Il faut laiſſer ſon enfant morveux plus toſt que luy arracher le nez.’ Better let ones child be ſnotty then pluck his noſe off. Better endure ſome ſmall inconvenience, then remove it with a great miſchief.

There's no feaſt to the miſers, v. feaſt.

[Page] Misfortunes ſeldom come alone.

The French ſay, ‘Malheur ne vient jamais ſeul.’ One misfortune never came alone. & ‘Apres perdre perd on bien.’ When one begins once to loſe, one never makes an end. & ‘Un mal attire l'autre.’ One miſchief draws on another, or one miſchief falls upon the neck of another. ‘Fortuna nulli obeſſe contenta eſt ſemel.’

Miſreckoning's no payment.

Miſunderſtanding brings lies to town.

This is a good obſervation, lies and falſe reports ariſe moſt part from miſtake and miſunderſtanding. The firſt hearer miſtakes the firſt reporter, in ſome conſiderable circumſtance or particular; the ſecond him, and ſo at laſt the truth is loſt, and a lie paſſes currant.

Money will do more then my lords letter.

It's money makes the mare to go.

‘Pecuniae obediunt omnia.’ [...] &c. ‘I danari ſan correre i cavaili. Ital.’

Prate is but prate, it's money buyes land.

Beauty is potent, but money is omnipotent.

‘Amour fait beaucoup, mais a gent fait tout. & Amour fait rage, mais argent fait marriage, Gall.’ Love makes rage, And money makes marriage.

God makes, and apparel ſhapes, but money makes the man.

‘Pecunia vir.’ ‘ [...].’ ‘Tanti quantum habeas fis, Horat.’

[Page] Tell money after your own father.

Do as the moſt do, and feweſt will ſpeak evil of thee.

The moon's not ſeen where the ſun ſhines.

A mote may choke a man.

A child may have too much of his mothers bleſſing.

Mothers are oftentimes too tender and fond of their children. Who are ruined and ſpoiled by their cockering and indulgence.

The mouſe that hath but one hole is eaſily taken.

‘Triſto è quel topo, che non ha ch' un ſol pertuggio per ſalvarſi. Ital.’ ‘La ſouris qui n'a qu' une entrée eſt incontinent happée, Gall.’ ‘Mus non uni fidit antro.’ Good riding at two anchors, having two ſtrings to ones bow. This ſentence came originally from Plautus in Truculento, v. Eraſm. Adag.

A mouſe in time may bite in two, &c. v. time.

God never ſends mouths, but he ſends meat.

This Proverb is much in the mouth of poor people: who get children, but take no care to maintain them.

Much would have more.

‘Multa petentibus deſunt multa, Horat.’

‘Creverunt & opes & opum furioſa Cupido,’

‘Ut quò poſſideant plurima plura p [...]ant.’

‘Sic quibus intumuit ſuffuſa venter ab unda,’

‘Quo plus ſunt potae plus ſitiuntur aquae. Ovid. Faſt.’

[Page] Muck and money go together.

Thoſe that are ſlovenly and dirty uſually grow rich, not they that are nice and curious in their diet, houſes and clothes.

Murder will out.

This is obſerved very often to fall out in the immediate ſenſe, as if the Providence of God were more then ordinarily manifeſted in ſuch diſcoveries, It is uſed alſo to ſignifie, that any knavery or crime or the like will come to light.

Men muſe as they uſe, meaſure other folks corn by their own buſhel,

When a muſician hath forgot his note, he makes as though a crum ſtuck in his throat.

‘ [...].’ When a ſinging-man or muſician is out or at a loſs, to conceal it he coughes. ‘ [...].’ Some ſeeking to hide a ſcape with a cough, render themſelves doubly ridiculous.

He loves mutton well, that dips his bread in the wooll.

N.

IF ones name be up he may lie in bed.

‘Qui a bruit de ſe lever matin peut dormir juſques a diſner, Gall.’ ‘Etiam trimeſtres liberi felicibus, Sue.’

[Page] He that hath an ill name is half hanged.

Take away my good name and take away my life.

Naught is never in danger.

Near is my petticoat, &c. v. petticoat.

Neceſſity hath no law.

‘ [...].’ ‘La neceſſita non ha legge, Ital.’ ‘Ingens telum neceſſitas. Cic. de Amic.’

Neceſſity is cole-black.

They need much whom nothing will content.

Need makes the old wife trot.

‘Biſogno la trottar la vecchia, Ital.’ ‘Beſoign fait vieille trotter, Gall.’ All the ſame, word for word.

Need will have it's courſe.

Need makes the naked man run, [or the naked quean ſpin.]

A good neighbour, a good goodmorrow.

‘Qui à bon voiſin à bon matin, Gall.’ ‘Chi ha cattivo vicino ha il mal matino, Ital.’ ‘Aliquid mali propter vicinum malum, Plaut. in Merc.’ ‘ [...], Heſiod.’ Themiſtocles having a farm to ſell, cauſed the crier who proclaimed it, to add that it had a good neighbour: rightly judging that ſuch an advantage would make it more vendible.

Love thy neighbour, &c. v. in L.

Neighbour-quart is good quart, i. e. Giffe gaffe is a good fellow.

He dwells far from neighbours [or hath ill [Page] neighbours] that's fain to praiſe himſelf.

‘Proprio laus ſordet in ore.’ Let another man praiſe thee and not thine own mouth, a ſtranger and not thine own lips.

Here's talk of the Turk and Pope, but it's my next neighbour does me the harm.

You muſt ask your neighbour if you ſhall live in peace.

The rough net's not the beſt catcher of birds.

New lords new laws.

‘De nouveau ſeigneur nouvelle meſnie, Gall.’

Every one has a penny to ſpend at a new Alehouſe.

A new broom ſweeps clean.

No penny no, &c. v penny.

No mill no, &c. v. mill.

No ſilver no, &c. v. ſilver.

No living man all, &c. v. all.

One may know by your noſe, what pottage you love.

Every mans noſe will not make a ſhooing horn.

‘Non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum, Horat.’

Where nothing is a little doth eaſe.

Where nothing 's to be had, the King muſt loſe his right.

‘Ninno da quello che non ha, Ital.’ ‘Le Roy perd ſa rente ou il n'y a que prendre, Gall.’

[Page] One year a nurſe and ſeven years the worſe.

Becauſe feeding well and doing little ſhe becomes liquoriſh and gets a habit of idleneſs.

Fair fall nothing once by the year.

It may ſometimes be better to have nothing then ſomething. So ſaid the poor man, who in a bitter ſnowy morning could lie ſtill in his warm bed, when as his neighbours who had ſheep and other cattel, were fain to get up betimes and abroad, to look after and ſecure them.

O.

AN unlawfull oath is better broke then kept.

He that meaſureth oil, ſhall anoint his fingers.

‘Qui meſure l'huile il s' en oingt les mains, Gall.’

To caſt oil in the fire's not the way to quench it.

Old men are twice children.

‘ [...].’ And that not in reſpect of the mind only, but alſo of the body.

Old be or young die.

Never too old to learn. v. learn.

Older and wiſer.

‘Diſcipulus eſt prioris poſterior dies, Senec.’ ‘Nunquam ita quiſquam benè ſubductâ ratione ad vitam ſuit, quin res, aetas uſus ſemper aliquid apportet novi, &c. Terent.’ ‘ [...].’

[Page] You can't catch old birds with chaff.

Annoſa vulpes non capitur laqueo.

If you would not live to be old, you muſt be hang'd when you are young.

Young men may die, old men muſt.

The old woman would never have look't for her daughter i'th' oven, had ſhe not been there her ſelf.

‘Se la madre non foſſe mai ſtata nel forno, non vi cercarebbe la figlia. Ital.’ The ſame to a word.

An old ape hath an old eye.

An old dog biteth ſore.

Un vieil chien jamais ne jappe en vain, Gall.

Of young men die many, of old men ſcape not any.

‘De Giovane ne muoiono di molti, di vecchi ne ſcampa neſſuno, Ital.’

An old fox needs learn no craft.

An old ſack asketh much patching.

Old men and far travellers may lie by authority.

‘Il à beau, mentir qui vient de loin. Gall.’

Better keep under an old hedge, then creep under a new furze-buſh.

As the old cock crows, ſo crows the young [or [Page] ſo the young learns.]

Chi di gallina naſce convien che rozole, Ital. Some have it,

The young pig grunts like the old ſow.

An old thief deſires a new halter.

Old cattel breed not.

This I believe is a true obſervation, for probable it is, that all ter eſtrial animals both birds and beaſts have in them from the beginning, the ſeeds of all thoſe young they afterwards bring forth, which ſeeds, eggs if you ſo pleaſe to call them; when they are all ſpent, the female becomes effaete or ceaſes to breed. In birds theſe ſeeds or eggs are viſible, and Van Horn hath diſcovered them alſo in beaſts.

An old naught will never be ought.

An old dog will learn no tricks.

It's all one to phyſick the dead, as to inſtruct old men. ‘ [...].’ ‘Senis mutare inguam’ is an abſurd impoſſible thing. Old age is int [...]actable, moroſe, ſlow and forgetfull. If they have been put in a wrong way at firſt, no hopes then of reducing them. ‘Senex pſittacus negligit ferulam.’

An old man hath one foot in the grave.

An old man is a bed full of bones.

The old withy tree would have a new gate hung at it.

Old mares luſt after new cruppers.

That that's one mans meat's another mans poiſon.

‘l'un mort dont l'autre vit, Gall.’

[Page] One ſwallow makes not a ſpring, nor one woodcock a winter.

This is an ancient Greek Proverb. ‘Arist. Ethic. Nicom. lib. 1. [...].’

One ſhoulder of mutton draws down another.

‘En mangeant l'appetit vient. Gall.’

One mans breath's another mans death.

One man may better ſteal a horſe, then another look over the hedge.

If we once conceive a good opinion of a man, we will not be perſwaded he doth any thing amiſs; but him whom we have a prejudice againſt, we are ready to ſuſpect on the ſleighteſt occaſion. Some have this good fortune, to have all their actions interpreted well, and their faults overlookt; others to be ill beheld and ſuſpected, even when they are innocent. So parents many times are obſerved to have great partiality towards ſome child; and not to be offended with him for that, which they would ſeverely puniſh in their other children.

One beats the buſh and another catcheth the bird.

‘Il bat le buiſſon ſans prendre l'oiſillon. Gall.’ ‘Alii ſementem faciunt, alii metent.’ This Proverb was uſed by Henry the fifth, at the ſiege of Orleans: when the citizens beſieged by the Engliſh, would have yielded up the town to the D. of Burgundy who was in the Engliſh camp, and not to the King. He ſaid, ſhall I beat the buſh and another take the bird? no ſuch matter. Which words did ſo offend the Duke, that he made peace with the French, and withdrew from the Engliſh.

[Page] One doth the ſcath and another hath the ſcorn, i. e. One doth the harm and another bears the blame. Scath ſignifies loſs or harm.

Opportunity makes the thief.

‘Occaſio facit furem.’ Therefore, maſters and ſuperiours and houſe-keepers ought to ſecure their moneys and goods under lock and key; that they do not give their ſervants, or any others, a temptation to ſteal.

It is good to cry ule at other mens coſts. Ule that is Chriſtmaſs.

It's time to ſet in when the oven comes to the dough,

i. e. Time to marry when the maid woes the man: parallel to that Cheſhire Prov. It's time to yoke when the cart comes to the caples, i. e. horſes.

All's out is good for priſoners but naught for the eyes.

It's good for priſoners to be out, but bad for the eyes to be out. This is a droll uſed by good fellows when one tells them, all the drink is out.

God ſend us of our own when rich men go to dinner.

Let him that owns the cow take her by the tail.

Tis good chriſtening a mans own child firſt.

The ox when wearieſt treads ſureſt.

‘Bos laſſus fortiùs ſigit pedem.’ Thoſe that are ſlow are ſure.

P.

A Small pack, &c. v. ſmall.

Pain is forgotten where gain follows.

Great pain and little gain make a man ſoon weary.

Without pains no gains.

‘Dii laboribus omnia vendunt.’

It's good enough for the Parſon unleſs the pariſh were better

Its here ſuppoſed that if the Pariſh be very bad the Parſon muſt be in ſome fault; and therefore any thing is good enough for that Parſon whoſe Pariſhioners are bad, either by reaſon of his ill example, or the neglect of his duty.

Fat paunches make lean pates, &c.

‘Pinguis venter non gignit ſenſum tenuem.’ This Hierom mentions in one of his Epiſtles as a Greek Proverb. The Greek is more elegant.

‘ [...].’

All the honeſty is in the parting.

Patch by patch is good husbandry, but patch upon patch is plain beggery, or

One patch on a knee, &c.

Two patches on a knee, &c.

Patience with poverty, is all a poor mans remedy.

[Page] Patience perforce is a medicine for a mad dog.

Patience is a plaiſter for all ſores.

Pauls will not always ſtand.

A fair pawn never ſham'd his maſter.

A good pay-maſter needs no ſurety, or Starts not at aſſurances.

Once paid never craved.

He that pays laſt, never pays twice.

He that cannot pay, let him pray.

They take a long day that never pay.

He that would live in peace and reſt, muſt hear and ſee and ſay the beſt.

‘Oy, voy, & te tais, ſi tu veux vivre en paix, Gall.’ ‘Ode, vede, tace, Sevuoi viver in pace, Ital.’

Pen an ink is wits plough.

A penny in my purſe will bid me drink when all the friends I have will not.

Penny in pocket's a good companion.

No penny no pater noſter.

That penny is well ſpent that ſaves a groat.

‘Bonne la maille qui ſuave le denier, Gall.’ The halfpenny is well ſpent that ſaves a penny.

Penny and penny laid up will be many.

Who will not keep a penny ſhall never have many.

The greateſt ſum is made up of pence: and he that is prodigall of a little can never gain a great deal: beſides by his ſquandring a little one may take a ſcantling of his inclination.

[Page] Near is my petticoat, but nearer is my ſmock.

‘Mu chemiſe m' eſt plus proche que ma robe. Gall.’ ‘Tocca piu la camiſia ch' il gippone, Ital.’ i. e. ‘Tunica pallio propior.’ ‘ [...]. Theocr.’ Some friends are nearer to me then others: my Parents and Children then my other Relations, thoſe then my neighbours, my neighbours then ſtrangers: but above all I am next to my ſelf. ‘Plus pres eſt la chair que la chemiſe. Gall.’ My fleſh is nearer then my ſhirt.

If Phyſick do not work, Prepare for the kirk.

I'll not buy a pig in a poke.

The French ſay chat en poche, i. e. a cat in a poke.

Pigs love that lie together.

A familiar converſation breeds friendſhip among them who are of the moſt baſe and fordid natures.

When the pig's profer'd hold up the poke.

Never refuſe a good offer.

He that will not ſtoop for a pin, ſhall never be worth a point.

He can ill pipe, that wants his upper lip.

Things cannot be done without neceſſary helps and inſtruments.

No longer pipe no longer dance.

Piſs not againſt the wind.

‘Chi piſcia contra il vento ſi bagna la camiſcia, Ital.’ [Page] He that piſſeth againſt the wind, wets his ſhirt. It is to a mans own prejudice, to ſtrive againſt the ſtream; he wearies himſelf and loſes ground too. ‘Chi ſpuda contra il vento ſi ſpuda contra il viſo. Ital.’ He that ſpits againſt the wind ſpits in his own face.

The pitcher doth not go ſo often to the water, but it comes home broken at laſt.

‘Tant ſouvent va le pot à l'eau que l'anſe y demeure, Gall.’ ‘Quem ſaepe tranſit aliquando invenit. Sen. Trag.’

Fooliſh pity ſpoils a city.

Plain dealing's a jewel but they that uſe it die beggers.

He plays well that wins.

As good play for nothing as work for nothing.

He that plays more then he ſees forfeits his eyes to the King.

He had need riſe betimes that would pleaſe every body.

He that would pleaſe all and himſelf too, Undertakes what he cannot doe.

‘ [...].’

Pleaſing ware is half ſold.

‘Choſe qui plaiſt eſt à demi vendu. Gall.’ ‘Mercantia chi piace è meza venduta. Ital.’

Short pleaſure long lament, v. in S.

Plenty makes dainty.

[Page] The plow goes not well if the plow-man holds it not.

He that by the plow would thrive Himſelf muſt either hold or drive.

There belongs more then whiſtling to going to plow.

A man muſt plow with ſuch oxen as he hath.

He is poor indeed that can promiſe nothing.

Poor folks are glad of pottage.

Poor and proud, fie, fie.

The devil wipes his tail with the poor mans pride.

A poor mans table is ſoon ſpread.

Poſſeſſion is eleven points of the Law, and they ſay there are but twelve.

A cottage in poſſeſſion, &c. v. cottage.

If you drink in your pottage, you'll cough in your grave.

When poverty comes is at the doors, love leaps out at the windows.

Plain of poverty and die a begger.

Poverty parteth good fellowſhip.

Pour not water on a drown'd mouſe.

i. e. Add not affliction to miſery.

Praiſe a fair day, &c. v. fair.

Praiſe the ſea, &c. v. ſea.

Prayers and provender hinder no mans journey.

They ſhall have no more of our prayers then we of their pies (quoth the Vicar of Layton.)

He that would learn to pray, let him go to ſea.

‘Qui veut apprendre à prier, Aille ſouvent ſur la mer, Gal.’

[Page] Prettineſs makes no pottage.

Pride will have a fall.

Pride feels no cold.

Pride goes before, ſhame follows after.

It's an ill proceſſion where the Devil carries the croſs.

A proud mind and a beggers purſe agree not well together.

There's nothing agrees worſe then a proud mind and a beggers purſe.

As proud come behind as go before.

A man may be humble that is in high eſtate, and people of mean condition may be as proud as the higheſt.

It's good beating proud folks, for they'll not complain.

The Prieſt forgets that he was a clerk.

Proud upſtarts remember not the meanneſs of their former condition.

He that prieth into every cloud, may be ſtricken with a thunderbolt.

Proffer'd ſervice [and ſo ware] ſtinks.

‘Merx ultronea putet, apud Hieronym.’ Eraſmus ſaith, ‘Quin vulgo etiam in ore eſt, ultro delatum obſequium plerun (que) ingratum eſſe,’ So that it ſeems this Proverb is in uſe among the Dutch too. ‘Merchandiſe offe [...]te eſt à demi vendue, Gall.’ Ware that is proffer'd is ſold for half the worth, or at half the price.

[Page] All promiſes are either broken or kept.

This is a flam or droll, uſed by them that break their word.

The properer man [and ſo the honeſter] the worſe luck.

‘Aux bons meſchet il, Gall.’

Better ſome of a pudding then none of a pie.

There's no deceit in a bag pudding.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Pull hair and hair, and you'll make the carle bald.

‘Caudae pilos equinae paulatim vellere.’ There is a notable ſtory of Sertorius mentioned by Plutarch in his life. He to perſwade his ſouldiers that counſel was more available then ſtrength, cauſe, two horſes to be brought out, the one poor and lean; the other ſtrong and having a buſhy tail. To the poor weak horſe he ſets a great, ſtrong, young man. To the ſtrong horſe he ſets a little weak fellow, each to pluck off his horſes tail. This latter pulling the hairs one by one, in a ſhort ſpace got off the whole tail: whereas the young man catching all the tail at once in his hands, fell a tugging with all his might, labouring and ſweating to little purpoſe; till at laſt he tired, and made himſelf ridiculous to all the company. ‘Piuma à piuma ſe pela l'occha. Ital.’ Feather by feather the gooſe is pluckt.

Like puniſhment and equal pain, both key and key-hole do maintain.

Let your purſe be your maſter.

‘Meſſe tenus propria vive.’

[Page] All is not won that is put in the purſe.

He that ſhews his purſe longs to be rid of it.

Be it better or be it worſe, be rul'd by him that bears the purſe.

That's but an empty purſe that is full of other mens money.

Q.

QUick at meat, quick at work.

‘Bonne beſte s' eſchauſſe en mangeant, Gall.’ A good beaſt will get himſelf on heat with eating. ‘Hardi gaigneur hardi mangeur, Gall.’

We muſt live by the quick, and not by the dead.

Any thing for a quiet life.

Next to love quietneſs.

R.

SMall rain lays great duſt.

‘Petite pluye abat grand vent.’ Small rain, or a little rain lays a great wind, Gall. So ſaid a mad fellow, who lying in bed bepiſt his farting wives back.

After rain comes fair weather.

Raiſe no more ſpirits then you can conjure down.

[Page] Thou art a bitter bird, ſaid the Raven to the Sterling.

Raw leather will ſtretch.

There's reaſon in roaſting of eggs.

‘Eſt modus in rebus.’

No receiver no thief.

The receiver's as bad as the thief.

‘ [...]. Phocyl.’

He that reckons without his hoſt, muſt reckon again.

‘Chi fa conto ſenza l'hoſte fa conto due volte, Ital.’ ‘Qui compte ſans ſon hoſte, il lui convient compter deux ſois, Gal.’

Even reckoning keeps long friends.

‘A vieux comptes nouvelles diſputes, Gall.’ Old reckonings breed new diſputes or quarrels. ‘Conto ſpeſſo è amicitia longa. Ital.’

Never refuſe a good offer.

If I had reveng'd all wrong, I had not worn my skirts ſo long.

'Tis brave ſcrambling at a rich mans dole.

Soon ripe ſoon rotten.

‘Citò maturum citò putridum. Odi puerulum praecoci ſapientia, Apul.’ It is commonly held an ill ſign, for a child to be too forward and riſe-witted, viz. either to betoken premature death, according to that motto I have ſomewhere ſeen under a coat of arms,

[Page] ‘Is cadit ante ſencm qui ſapit ante diem;’ or to betoken as early a decay of wit and parts. As trees that bear double flowers, viz Cherties Peaches, &c. Bring forth no fruit, but ſpend all in the bloſſom. Wherefore as another Proverb hath it; It is better to knit then bloſſom. ‘Praeſto maturo, praeſto marzo. Ital.’

Why ſhould a rich man ſteal?

Men uſe to worſhip the riſing ſun.

‘Plures adorant ſolem orientem quam occidentem.’ They that are young and riſing have more followers, then they that are old and decaying. This conſideration, it is thought, withheld Queen Elizabeth, a prudent Princeſs, from declaring her ſucceſſour.

All's loſt that's put in a riven diſh.

All is loſt that is beſtowed upon an ungratefull porſon; he remembers no courteſies. ‘Perit quod facis ingrato. Senec.’

He loves roaſt-meat well, that licks the ſpit.

Many talk of Robin Hood, that never ſhot in his bow.

And many talk of little John that never did him know.

Tales of Robin Hood are good enough for fools.

That is, many talk of things which they have no skill in, or experience of. Robert Hood was a famous robber in the time of King Richard the firſt: his principal haunt was about Shirewood foreſt in Notingham-ſhire. Camden calls him, ‘praedonem mitiſſimum.’ Of his ſtollen goods he afforded good penny-worths, Lightly come lightly go. ‘Molti parlan di Orlando chi non viddero mai ſuo brando. Ital.’ ‘Non omnes qui citharam tenent citharoedi.’

[Page] Spare the rod and ſpoil the child.

A rogues wardrobe is harbour for a louſe.

A r [...]lling ſtone gathers no moſs.

‘Saxum volutum non obducitur muſco.’ ‘ [...].’ ‘Pietra moſſa non fa muſchio, Ital.’ ‘La pierte ſouvent remuée n'amaſſe pas volontiers mouſſe. Gall.’ To which is parallel that of Fabius, Qu. ‘Planta quae ſaepiùs transſcrtur non coaleſcit.’ A plant often removed cannot thrive.

Rome was not built in one day.

‘Rome n'a ſte baſti tout en un jour, Gall.’ & ‘Grand bien ne vient pas en peu d'heures.’ A great eſtate is not gotten in a few hours.

Name not a rope in his houſe that hang'd himſelf.

No roſe without a thorn.

Nulla eſt ſincera voluptas.

The faireſt roſe at laſt is withered.

The rough net, &c. v. net.

At a round table there's no diſpute of place.

This deſerves not place among Proverbs, yet becauſe I find it both among our Engliſh Collections, and likewiſe the French and Italian, I have let it paſs. ‘A tavola tonda non ſi contende del luoco, Ital.’ ‘Ronde table oſte le debat, Gall.’

He may ill run that cannot goe.

He that runs faſteſt, gets moſt ground.

There's no general rule without ſome exception.

S.

AN old ſack, &c. v. old.

Set the ſaddle on the right horſe.

This Proverb may be variouſly applied; either thus, Let them bear the blame that deſerve it: or thus, Let them bear the burden that are beſt able.

Where ſaddles do lack, better ride on a pad, then the bare horſe-back.

‘ [...].’

Sadneſs and gladneſs ſucceed each other.

It's hard to ſail o're the ſea in an egg ſhell.

A young ſaint an old devil, v. young.

A good ſalade is the prologue to a bad ſupper. Ital.

There's a ſalve for every ſore.

‘A ogni coſa è rimedio fuora qu' alla morte. Ital.’ There's a remedy for every thing but death.

Save ſomething for the man that rides on the white horſe.

For old age, wherein the head grows white. It's ſomewhat a harſh Metaphor to compare age to a horſe.

Some ſavers in a houſe do well.

[Page] Every penny that's ſaved is not gotten.

Of ſaving cometh having.

Learn to ſay before you ſing.

He that would ſail without danger, muſt never come on the main ſea.

Saying and doing are two things.

‘Du dire au faict y a grand traict, Gall.’

Say well and do well end with one letter, Say well is good, but do well is better.

One ſcab'd ſheep will marr a whole flock.

‘Un a pecora inſetta n'ammorba una ſetta. Ital.’ ‘Il nè faut qu' une brebis rogneuſe pour gaſter tout le troupeau, Gall.’ ‘Grex toius in agris unius ſcabie cadit & porrigine porci, Juvenal.’

Scald not your lips in another, &c. v. another.

A ſcalded cat fears cold water.

‘Can ſcottato d'acqua calda ha paura poi della fredda, Ital.’ ‘Chat eſchaudè craint l'eau froide. Gall.’

A ſcal'd head is ſoon broken.

A ſcal'd horſe is good enough for a ſcab'd ſquire.

‘Dignum patellâ operculum.’

Among the common people Scoggin's a doctour.

‘ [...].’ ‘Eſt autem Corydus viliſſimum aviculae genus minimé (que) canorum.’

Who more ready to call her neighbour ſcold, [Page] then the erranteſt ſcold in the pariſh?

Scorning is catching.

He that ſcorns any condition, action or employment, may come to be, nay often is driven upon it himſelf. Some word it thus: Hanging's ſtretching, mocking's catching.

Scratch my breech, and I'll claw your elbow.

‘Mutuum muli ſcabunt.’ Ka me and I'll ka thee. When undeſerving perſons commend one another. ‘Manus manum fricat’ & ‘Manus manum lavat.’ Differ not much in ſenſe.

Praiſe the ſea, but keep on land.

‘Loda il mare & tienti à terra, Ital.’

The ſecond blow makes the fray.

Seldom ſeen ſoon forgotten.

Seeing is believing.

‘Chi con l'occhio vede, col cuor crede. Ital.’

Seek till you find, and you'll not loſe your labour.

Seldom comes a better.

To ſee it rain is better then to be in it.

The ſelf-edge makes ſhew of the cloth.

Self do, ſelf have.

Self-love's a mote in every mans eye.

Service is no inheritance.

A young ſerving-man, &c. v. young.

It's a ſhame to ſteal, but a worſe to carry home.

Shameleſs craving muſt have ſhamefull nay.

A bon demandeur bon refuſeur, Gall.

[Page] It's very hard to ſhave an egg, v. egg.

A barber learns to ſhave by ſhaving of fools.

‘A barbe de fol on apprend à raire, Gall.’ ‘Ala barba de pazzi il barbier impara a radere, Ital.’ He is a fool that will ſuffer a young beginner to practiſe firſt upon him.

It's ill ſhaving againſt the wooll.

He that makes himſelf a ſheep, ſhall be eaten by the wolf.

‘Chi pecora ſi fa il lupo la mangia, Ital.’ ‘Qui ſe fait brebis le loup le mange Gall.’ He that is gentle, and puts up affronts and injuries ſhall be ſure to be loaden. ‘Veterem ferendo injuriam invitas novam, Terent.’ ‘Poſt folia cadunt arbores, Plaut.’

Shear ſheep that ha's them.

The difference is wide that the ſheets will not decide.

He that ſhews his purſe, &c. v. purſe.

Hang him that hath no ſhifts.

A bad ſhift, &c. v. bad.

A good ſhift may ſerve long, but it will not ſerve ever.

Cloſe ſits my ſhirt, &c. v. cloſe.

Shitten luck's good luck.

The wearer beſt knows where the ſhooe wrings him.

Every ſhooe fits not every foot.

It is therefore an inſtance of abſurd application, Eundem calceum omni pedi induere. Or Eodem collyrio omnibus mederi.

[Page] Who goes worſe ſhod then the ſhooemakers wife? or, Who goes more bare then the ſhooemakers wife and the ſmiths mare.

The ſhooe will hold with the ſole.

‘La ſuola tien con la Scarpa, Ital.’ i. e. The ſole holds with the ſhooe.

Every man will ſhoot at an enemy, but few will go to fetch the ſhaft.

Keep thy ſhop, and thy ſhop will keep thee.

Short and ſweet.

i. e.Sermonis prolixitas faſtidioſa. Cognat. è Ficino.

Short acquaintance brings repentance.

A ſhort horſe is ſoon curried.

Short ſhooting loſeth the game.

Short pleaſure long lament.

‘De court plaiſir long repentir, Gall.’

A ſhort man needs no ſtool to give a great lubber a box on the ear.

A ſharp ſtomack makes ſhort devotion.

Out of ſight out of mind.

This is (I ſuppoſe) alſo a Dutch Proverb. For Eraſmus ſaith, ‘Jam omnibus in ore eſt, qui ſemotus ſit ab oculis eundem quoque ab animo ſemotum eſſe. Abſens hares non erit.’

Silence is conſent. ‘Chi tace confeſſa, Ital.’

‘ [...], Euripid.’ ‘Qui [Page]tacet conſentire videtur, inquiunt Juris conſulti. Aſſez conſent qui nè mot dit, Gall.’

White Silver draws black lines.

No ſilver no ſervant.

The Suiſſes have a Proverb among themſelves, parallel to this. ‘Point d'argent point de Suiſſe.’ No money no Suiſſe. The Suiſſes for money will ſerve neighbouring Princes in their wars, and are as famous in our days for mercenary ſouldiers, as were the Carians of old.

Who doth ſing ſo merry a note, as he that cannot change a groat?

‘Cantabit vacuus coram latrone viator.’

The brother had rather ſee the ſiſter rich then make her ſo.

As good ſit ſtill as riſe up and fall.

If the sky falls we ſhall catch larks.

‘Se rouinâſſe il cielo ſi pigliarebbon di molti uccelli, Ital.’ ‘Sile ciel tomboiles cailles ſcroyent prinſes, Gall.’

A broken ſleeve, &c. v. broken.

Good to ſleep in a whole skin.

The ſluggards guiſe, Loath to go to bed and loath to riſe.

Sluts are good enough to make ſlovens pottage.

A ſmall ſum will ſerve to pay a ſhort reckoning.

A ſmall pack becomes a ſmall pedler.

‘Petit mercier, petit panier, Gall.’

[Page] Better are ſmall fiſh then an empty diſh.

The ſmoke follows the fair.

No ſmoke without ſome fire, i. e. There is no ſtrong rumour without ſome ground for it. Cognatus hath it among his Latine Proverbs, ‘Non eſt fumus abſque igne,’ though it be no ancient one.

Snotty folks are ſweet, But ſlavering folks are weet. Others have it.

Slavering folks kiſs ſweet, but ſnotty folks are wiſe.

Ride ſoftly, that we may come ſooner home.

Soft fire makes ſweet malt.

Something hath ſome ſavour.

Soon hot ſoon cold.

Soon ripe, &c. v. ripe.

Soon crooks the tree, &c. v. crooks.

Sorrow and an evil life, maketh ſoon an old wife.

Sorrow comes unſent for. Mala ultro adſunt.

Sorrow will pay no debt.

Sorrow is always dry.

A turd's as good for a ſow as a pancake.

‘Truy aime mieux bran que roſes, Gall.’

Every ſow to her own trough.

In ſpace comes grace.

Better ſpared, then ill ſpent.

Better ſpare at the brim, then at the bottom.

Ever ſpare and ever bare.

[Page] Spare the rod, &c. v. rod.

What the goodwife ſpares the cat eats.

It's too late to ſpare when the bottom is bare.

‘Sera in fundo parſimonia. Seneca Epiſt. 1.’ ‘ [...]. Heſiod.’

Spare to ſpeak, and ſpare to ſpeed.

Speak fare and think what you will.

He that ſpeaks laviſhly, ſhall hear as knaviſhly.

‘Qui pergit ea quae vult dicere, ea quae non vult audict. Terent.’

Speak when you are ſpoke to, come when you are call'd.

‘Ad conſilium nè acceſſeris antequam voceris.’

Great ſpenders are bad lenders.

Raiſe no more ſpirits, &c. v. raiſe.

Spend and God will ſend.

‘A qui chapon mange chapon lui vient, Gall.’ He that eats good meat ſhall have good meat.

A man cannot ſpin and reel at the ſame time.

You muſt ſpoil before you ſpin.

That is well ſpoken, that is well taken.

The worſt ſpoke in a cart breaks firſt.

No ſport no pye.

Sport is ſweeteſt, when no ſpectatours.

Do not ſpur a free horſe.

‘Non opus admiſſo ſubdere calcar equo, Ovid.’

[Page] A ſpur in the head's worth two in the heel.

It's a bad ſtake will not ſtand one year in the hedge.

Nothing ſtake nothing draw.

Standing pools gather filth.

Standers by, ſee more then gameſters.

‘Plus in alieno quàm in ſuo negotio vident homines.’

He that will ſteal an egg, will ſteal an ox.

He that will ſteal a pin, will ſteal a better thing.

When the ſteed is ſtoln, the ſtable door ſhall be ſhut.

‘Serrar la ſtalla quando s' han perduti i buovi, Ital.’ ‘Il eſt temps de ſermer l'eſtable quand les chevaux en ſontalles, Gall.’ ‘ [...].’

‘Quandoquide accepto claudenda eſt janua damno, Juv. Sa. 13.’ ‘Serò clypeum poſt vnlnera ſumo, Ovid.’

‘ [...]. Lucian.’

Bleſſed be S. Stephen, ther's no faſt on his even.

He that will not go over the ſtile muſt be thruſt through the gate.

The ſtill ſow eats up all the draff.

Whoſo lacketh a ſtock, his gain's not worth a chip.

Store is no ſore.

Stretch your arm, &c. v. arm.

Strike while the iron, &c. v. iron.

He muſt ſtop that hath a low door.

After a ſtorm comes a calm.

‘Doppo il cattivo ne vien il buon tempo, Ital.’ ‘Apres [Page] la pluye vient le beau temps, Gall.’

No ſtriving againſt the ſtream.

‘Contra torrentem niti.’ ‘ [...].’ ‘Stultus ab obliquo qui cum diſcedere poſſit, Pugnat in adverſas ire natator aquas, Ovid.’

Of ſufferance comes eaſe.

That ſuit is beſt that beſt fits me.

No ſunſhine but hath ſome ſhadow.

Put a ſtool in the ſun, when one knave riſes another comes, viz. to places of profit.

They that walk much i'th' ſun, will be tann'd at laſt.

Sure bind ſure find.

‘Bon guet chaſſe mal aventure, Gall.’ ‘Abundans cautetela non nocet.’

If you ſwear you'll catch no fiſh.

No ſweet without ſome ſweat.

‘Nul'pain ſans peine, Gall.’

Sweet meat muſt have ſowre ſauce.

He muſt needs ſwim, that's held up by the chin.

‘Celuy peut hardiment nager à qui l'on ſouſtient le menton, Gall.’

Put not a naked ſword in a mad mans hand.

‘Nè puero gladium.’ For they will abuſe it to their own and others harm.

[Page] He that ſtrikes with the ſword, ſhall be beaten with the ſcabbard.

Sweep before your own door.

T.

MAke not thy tail broader then thy wings, i. keep not too many attendants.

A tailours ſhreds are worth the cutting.

Good take heed doth ſurely ſpeed.

A good tale ill told, is marr'd in the telling.

One tale is good till another is told.

Therefore a good Judge ought to hear both parties. ‘Qui ſtatuit aliquid parte inauditá alterâ, Aequum licet ſtatuerit haud aquus fucrit.’

The greateſt talkers are always the leaſt doers.

‘ [...].’ ‘Non verbis ſed fact is opus eſt. Nec mihi diccre promptum, nec facere eſt lſti. Ovid.’ ‘Verba importat Hermodorus.’

He teacheth ill, who teacheth all.

Nothing dries ſooner then tears.

‘Niente piu toſto ſe ſecca che lagrime, Ital.’

When I've thatch't his houſe, he would throw me down.

‘ [...].’ I have taught thee to dive, and thou ſeekeſt to drown me.

[Page] He that thatches his houſe with T—ſhall have more teachers then reachers.

Set a thief to take a thief.

All are not thieves that dogs bark at.

Save a thief from the gallows, and he'll be the firſt ſhall cut your throat.

‘Diſpiccha l'impicchato che impicchera poi te, Ital.’ ‘Oſtez un vilain du gibet il vous y mettra, Gall.’

Give a thief rope enough, and he'll hang himſelf.

One may think that dares not ſpeak.

And it's as uſual a ſaying, Thoughts are free.

Humane laws can take no cognizance of thoughts, unleſs they diſcover themſelves by ſome overt actions.

Where ever a man dwells, he ſhall be ſure to have a thorn-buſh near his door.

No place no condition is exempt from all trouble. ‘Nihil eſt ab omni parte beatum. In medio Tybride Sardinia eſt.’ I think it is true of the thorn-buſh in a litteral ſenſe, Few places in England where a man can live in but he ſhall have one near him.

He that handles thorns, ſhall prick his fingers.

Thought lay a bed and beſh—himſelf.

‘Certo ſu appiccato per ladro. Ital.’ i. e. Truly or certainly was hang'd for a thief.

Threatned folks live long.

[Page] Three may keep counſel, if two be away.

The French ſay, ‘Secret de Deux ſecret de Dieu, ſecret de trois ſecret de tous.’ The Italians in the ſame words, ‘Tre taceranno, ſe due vi non ſono.’

If you make not much of three pence you'll ne'xe be worth a groat.

Tickle my throat with a feather, and make a fool of my ſtomach.

He that will thrive, muſt riſe at five: He that hath thriven may lie till ſeven.

The thunderbolt hath but his clap.

Tidings make either glad or ſad.

Time fleeth away without delay.

‘Cito pede praeterit atas, Fugit irrevocabile tempus.’

A mouſe in time may bite in two a cable.

Time and tide tarry for no man.

Time and ſtraw make medlars ripe.

‘Col tempo & la paglia ſi maturano meſpoli, Ital.’ ‘Avec le temps & la paille l'on meure les meſles, Gall.’

Take time when time is, for time will away.

Timely bloſſom timely ripe.

A tinkers budget's full of neceſſary tools.

Too much of one thing is good for nothing.

‘Aſſez y a ſi trop n'y a, Gall.’ ‘Nè quid nimis.’ ‘ [...].’ This is an Apophthegm of one of the ſeven wiſe men; ſome attribute it to Thales, ſome to Solon. ‘Eſt modus in rebus, ſunt, &c. Hor.’ ‘l'abondanza delle coſe ingenera faſtidio. Ital.’

Too too will in two, Cheſh. i. e. Strain a thing too much and it will not hold.

Touch a gall'd horſe, &c. v. gall'd.

[Page] He that travels far, knows much.

Traſh and trumpery is the highway to beggery.

Tread on a worm, &c. v. worm.

There's no tree but bears ſome fruit.

Such as the tree is, ſuch is the fruit.

‘Telle racine, telle fueille. Gall.’ ‘De fructu arborem cognoſco. Mat. 12. 34.’ The tree is known by its fruit.

If you truſt before you try, you may repent before you die.

‘ [...]. Theogn.’ Therefore it was an ancient precept. ‘ [...].’ ‘Non vien ingannato ſe non che ſi fida. Ital.’ There is none deceived but he that truſts.

In truſt is treaſon.

Speak the truth and ſhame the devil.

Truth may be blamed, but it ſhall never be ſhamed.

Truth finds foes where it makes none.

‘Obſequium amicos, veritas odium parit, Terent.’

Truth hath always a faſt bottom.

All truth muſt not be told at all times.

Tout vray n'eſt pas bon à dire, Gall.

That is true which all men ſay.

‘Vox populi, vox Dei.’

Fair fall truth and day-light.

Let every tub ſtand on it's own bottom.

‘Chaſcun ira au moulin avec ſon propre ſac, Gall.’ Every one muſt go to the mill with his own ſack, i. e. bear his own burden.

[Page] A t—is as good for a ſow, v. ſow.

Where the Turks horſe once treads, the graſs never grows.

One good turn asks another.

‘Qui plaiſir fait plaiſir requiert, Gall.’ ‘Gratia gratiam parit.’ ‘ [...], Sophocl.’ He that would have friends, muſt ſhew himſelf friendly. ‘Fricantem refrica,’ ‘ [...].’ It is meet and comely, juſt and equal to requite kindneſſes, and to make them amends who have deſerved well of us. Mutual offices of love, and alternate help or aſſiſtance, are the fruits and iſſues of true friendſhip.

Swine, women and bees cannot be turn'd.

For one good turn another doth itch, claw my elbow, &c.

All are not turners that are diſh-throwers.

As good twenty as nineteen.

If things were to be done twice, all would be wiſe.

Two heads are better then one.

‘ [...].’ ‘Unus vir nullus vir.’

Two good things are better then one.

Two eyes ſee more then one.

‘Deux yeux voyent plus clair qu' un, Gall.’ ‘Plus vidont oculi quàm oculus.’

Two of a trade ſeldom agree.

Two ill meals, &c. v. meals.

Between two ſtools the breech cometh to the ground.

[Page] ‘Tener il cul ſu due ſcanni, Ital.’ ‘Il a le cul entre deux ſelles, ar, Aſſis entre deux ſelles le cul à terre, Gall.’ ‘Tout eſt fait negligemment la ou l'un l'autre s' attend.’ While one truſts another, the work is left undone.

Two dry ſticks will kindle a green one.

Two to one is ods.

‘Noli pugnare duobus, Catull.’ & ‘Nè Hercules quidem adverſus duos.’ It's no uncomely thing to give place to a multitude. Hard to reſiſt the ſtrength, or the wit, or the importunity of two or more combin'd againſt one. Hercules was too little for the Hydra and Cancer together.

Two cats and a mouſe, two wives in one houſe, two dogs and a bone never agree in one.

‘Deux chiens ne s' accordent point à un os, Gall.’

Good riding at two anchors men have told, For if one break 'tother may hold.

‘Duabus anchoris fultus.’ ‘ [...], Ariſtid.’ ‘ [...]. Pindar.’ It's good in a ſtormy or winter night, to have two anchors to caſt out of a ſhip.

Two dogs ſtrive for a bone, and the third runs away with it.

V.

HE that ſtays in the valley, ſhall never get over the hill.

[Page] Valour would fight, but diſcretion would run away.

You cannot make velvet of a ſows ear.

Venture a ſmall fiſh to catch a great one.

‘Il faut hazarder un petit poiſſon pour prendre un grand, Gall.’ ‘Butta una ſardola per pigliar un luccio. Ital.’

Venture not all in one bottom.

Nothing venture nothing have.

‘Chi non s' arriſchia non guadagna, Ital.’ ‘Qui ne s' adventure n'à cheval ny mule, Gall.’ ‘Quid enim tentare nocebit? & Conando Graeci Troja potiti ſunt.’

Where vice is, vengeance follows.

‘Rarò antecedentem ſceleſtum deſeruit pede poena claudo, Horat.’

Unbidden gueſts, &c. v. in G.

Better be unborn then unbred.

Make a vertue of neceſſity.

‘Il ſavio fa della neceſſita virtu, Ital.’ ‘ [...].’ Eraſmus makes to be much of the ſame ſenſe, That is, to do or ſuffer that patiently which cannot well be avoided. ‘Levius fit patientia, Quicquid corrigere eſt nefas.’ Or to do that our ſelves by an act of our own, which we ſhould otherwiſe ſhortly be compelled to do. So the Abbeys and Covents which reſigned their lands into King Henry the eight his hands, made a vertue of neceſſity.

Ungirt unbleſt.

Better be unmannerly, then troubleſome.

[Page] Unminded unmoned.

Uſe makes perfectneſs.

Uſus promptos facit.

Uſe legs and have legs.

Once an uſe and ever a cuſtom.

To borrow on uſury brings ſuddain beggery.

‘Citiùs uſura currit quam Heraclitus.’ The pay days recur before the creditour is aware. Of the miſchiefs of uſury I need ſay nothing, there having been two very ingenious treatiſes lately publiſhed upon that ſubject, ſufficient to convince any deſintereſſed perſon of the evil conſequences of a high intereſt and the benefit that would accrue to the common wealth in general, by the depreſſion of intereſt.

W.

NO ſafe wading in an unknown water.

It's not good to wake a ſleeping dog; or lion. Ital.

Good ware makes quick markets.

‘Proba merx facilè emptorem reperit, Plaut. poen.’

When the wares be gone, ſhut up the ſhop windows.

One cannot live by ſelling ware for words.

War muſt be wag'd by waking men.

Wars bring ſcars.

No marvell if water be lue.

[Page] Lue, i. e. enclining to cold, whence comes the word lukewarm.

Foul water will quench fire.

Where the water is ſhallow, no veſſel will ride.

It's a great way to the bottom of the ſea.

There are more ways to the wood then one.

The weakeſt muſt go to the wall.

‘Les mal veſtus devers le vent, Gall.’ The worſt clothed are ſtill put to the wind-ward.

Weak men had need be witty.

Wealth makes worſhip.

The wearer beſt knows where the ſhooe, &c. v. ſhooe.

Never be weary of well doing.

It's hard to make a good web of a bottle of hay.

There goes the wedge where the beetle drives it.

One ill weed marrs a whole pot of pottage.

An ill-ſpun weft, will out either now or eſt.

Weft, i. e. web. This is a Yorkshire Proverb.

Great weights hang on ſmall wires.

‘Tutte le gran facende ſi fanno di poca coſa. Ital.’

Welcome is the beſt chear.

‘ [...].’ ‘In muncribus res praeſtantiſſima mens eſt. Super omnia vultus acceſſêre boni.’

That that is w [...]ll done is twice done.

Well well, is a word of malice, Cheſh.

[Page] In other places, if you ſay well well, they will ask, whom you threaten.

If well and them cannot, then ill and them can, Yorksh.

A whet is no let.

As good never a whit as never the better.

A white wall is a fools paper.

‘Muro bianco carta da matti, Ital’ Some put this in rhyme; He is a fool and ever ſhall, that writes his name upon a wall.

Two whores in a houſe will never agree.

A young whore an old ſaint.

Once a whore and ever a whore.

‘Qui ſemel ſcurra nunquam paterſamilias, Cic. Orat.’ ‘Aliquando qui luſit iterum ludet.’

Wide will wear but narrow will tear.

Who ſo blind, as they that will not ſee? v. in B.

Who ſo deaf, as they that will not hear?

‘Il n'eſt de pire ſourd que celuy qui ne veut ouïr, Gall.’

He that will not when he may, when he wills he ſhall have nay.

Nothing is impoſſible to a willing mind.

Will is the cauſe of wo.

They who cannot as they will, muſt will as they may: or muſt do as they can.

‘Chi non puo ſare come voglia faccia come puo, Ital.’ and ‘Chi non puo quel che vuol, quel che puo voglia.’ ‘Quoniam[Page]id fieri quod vis non poteſt, velis id quod poſſis. Terent. Andria.’

Puff not againſt the wind.

It is an ill wind blows no body profit.

‘A quelque choſe malheur eſt bonne, Gall.’ Misfortune is good for ſomething.

The wind keeps not always in one quarter.

Good wine needs no buſh.

‘Al buon vino non biſogna fraſca, Ital.’ ‘A bon vin il ne faut point d'enſeigne, Gall.’ ‘Vino vendibili hederâ ſuſpensâ nihil eſt opus.’

When the wine is in, the wit is out.

‘In Proverbium ceſſit, Sapientiam vino obumbrari, Plin. lib. 27. cap. 1.’ ‘Vin dentro, ſenno fuora. Ital.’

The ſweeteſt wine, makes the ſharpeſt vineger.

Vineger, i. e. Vinum acre. ‘Forte e l'aceto di vin dulce, Ital.’ ‘Corruptio optimi eſt peſſima.’

Wink at ſmall faults.

It's a hard winter, when one wolf eats another.

This is a French Proverb, ‘Mauvaiſe eſt la ſaiſon quand un loup mange l'autre.’

Winter is Summers heir.

He that paſſeth a winters day, eſcapes an enemy.

[Page] This is alſo a French Proverb, ‘Qui paſſe un jour d'hyver paſſe un de ſes ennemis mortels.’

Winter finds out what Summer lays up.

By wiſdom peace, by peace plenty.

Wiſe men are caught in wiles.

A wiſe head makes a cloſe mouth.

Some are wiſe, and ſome are otherwiſe.

Send a wiſe man of an errand, and ſay nothing to him.

Wiſhers and woulders are never good houſeholders.

If wiſhes were butter-cakes beggers might bite.

If wiſhes were thruſhes, beggers would eat birds.

If wiſhes would bide, beggers would ride.

‘Si ſouhaits furent vrais paſtoureaux ſeroyent rois, Gall.’ If wiſhes might prevail, ſhepherds would be Kings.

It will be long enough ere you wiſh your skin full of holes.

I never fared worſe, then when I wiſh't for my ſupper.

Wiſh in one hand and ſh—in the other, and ſee which will be full firſt.

Bought wit is beſt.

‘Duro flagello mens docetur rectiús.’ ‘ [...], Nazianz.’ ‘ [...]’, ‘Nocumenta documenta, Galeatum ſerò duelli poenitet.’

Good wits jump.

[Page] Wit once bought, is worth twice taught.

A wonder laſts but nine days.

A wooll-ſeller knows a wooll-buyer. Yorkſh.

A word is enough to the wiſe.

‘A buon intenditor poche parole, Ital.’ ‘A bon entendeuril ne faut que demye parole, Gall.’ So the Italians ſay, A few words; we ſay one word; and the French ſay, half a word is enough to the underſtanding and apprehenſive.

Many go out for wooll and come home ſhorn.

Words are but wind, but blows unkind.

[...].

Words are but ſands Its money buys lands.

Fair words make fools fain, i. e. glad.

‘Douces promeſſes obligent les fols, Gall.’ I fatti ſono maſchii, le parole femine. Ital. Deeds are males, words are females.

Few words are beſt.

‘Poche parole & buon regimento. Ital.’ A fools voice is known by multitude of words. Nature hath furniſhed man with two ears and but one tongue, to ſignifie, He muſt hear twice ſo much as he ſpeaks.

Fair words butter no parſnips.

‘Re opitulandum non verbis:’ the ſame in other terms,

Good words fill not a ſack.

Good words coſt nought.

[Page] Good words cool more then cold water.

Soft words hurt not the mouth.

‘Douces or belles paroles ne ſcorchent pas la langue, Gall.’ Soft words ſcald not the tongue.

Words have long tails; and have no tails.

Soft words break no bones.

Soft words and hard arguments.

Many words hurt more then ſwords.

An ill workman quarrels with his tools.

‘Meſchant ouvrier ja ne trouvera bons outils, Gall.’

He that kills himſelf with working muſt be buried under the gallows.

The better workman the worſe husband.

Though this be no Proverb, yet it is an obſervation generally true (the more the pity) and therefore as I have found it, I put it down.

Account not that work ſlavery, That brings in penny ſavoury.

All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy.

The world was never ſo dull, but if one will not another will.

It's a great journey to the worlds end.

I wote well how the world wags, he is moſt lov'd that hath moſt bags.

‘ [...].’ ‘Felicium multi cognati.’ It was wont to be ſaid, ‘Ubi amici ibi opes,’ but now it may (as Eraſmus complains) well be inverted, ‘Ubi opes ibi amici.’

[Page] Tread on a worm and it will turn.

‘Habet & muſca ſplcnem.’ ‘ [...].’ ‘Ineſt & formicae & ſerpho bilis.’ The meaneſt or weakeſt perſon is not to be provoked or deſpiſed. No creature ſo ſmall, weak or contemptible, but if it be injured and abuſed, will endeavour to revenge it ſelf.

Every thing is the worſe for wearing.

He that worſt may, ſtill holds the candle.

‘Au plus debile la chandelle a la main, Gall.’

The worth of a thing, is beſt known by the want.

‘Bien perdu bien connu, or Choſe perdue eſt lors connue, Gall.’ ‘Vache ne ſeait que vaut ſa queue juſques a ce qu' elle l'ait perduë.’ The cow knows not what her tail is worth, till ſhe hath loſt it.

He that wreſtles with at—is ſure to be beſh—whether he fall over or under.

That is, he that contends with vile perſons, will get nothing but a ſtain by it. One cannot touch pitch without being defiled.

Y.

AS ſoon goes the young lambs skin to the market, as the old ews.

‘Auſſi toſt meurt veau comme vache, Gall.’ ‘Coſi toſto muore il capretto come capra, Ital.’

[Page] Young men think old men fools, and old men know young men to be ſo.

This is quoted by Camden, as a ſaying of one Doctour Metcalf. It is now in many peoples mouths, and likely to paſs into a Proverb.

A young ſaint an old Devil.

‘De jeune Angelote vieux diable, Gall.’ ‘A Tarteſſo ad Tartarum.’

A young ſerving-man an old begger.

‘Chi vive in corte muore à pagliaro. Ital.’

A young whore an old ſaint. v. in W.

Young men may die, but old men muſt. v. in O.

If youth knew what age would crave, it would both get and ſave.

Proverbial Phraſes and forms of Speech that are not Entire Sentences.

[Page]

A.

TO bring an Abbey to a Grange.

To bring a noble to nine-pence. We ſpeak it of an unthrift. ‘Ha fatto d'una lanza una ſpina, & d'una calza una borſetta. Ital.’ He hath made of a lance a thorn, and of a pair of breeches a purſe: parallel to ours, He hath thwitten amill-poſt to a pudding-prick.

To commit as many abſurdities as a clown in eating of an egg.

Afraid of far enough. Cheſh.

Of that which is never likely to happen.

Afraid of him that died laſt year. Cheſh.

Afraid of the hatchet leſt the helve ſtick in's a—Cheſ.

Afraid of his own ſhadow.

More afraid then hurt.

[Page] They agree like cats and dogs.

They agree like harp and harrow.

This hath the ſame ſenſe with the precedent. Harp and harrow are coupled, chiefly becauſe they begin with the ſame letter.

They agree like bells, they want nothing but hanging.

He is paced like an Alderman.

The caſe is alter'd, quoth Ployden.

Edmund Plowden was an eminent common Lawyer in Queen Elizabeths time, born at Plowden in Shropſhire, of whom Camden gives this character, Vitae integritate inter homines ſuae profeſſionis nulli ſecundus. Elizabeth. Ann. 1584. And Sr Edward Coke calls him the Oracle of the common Law. This Proverb is uſually applied to ſuch Lawyers or others as being corrupted with larger fees ſhift ſides and pretend the caſe is altered; ſuch as have bovem in lingua. Some make this the occaſion of the Proverb: Plowden being asked by a neighbour of his, what remedy there was in Law againſt his neighbour for ſome hogs that had treſpaſſed his ground, anſwered, he might have very good remedy, but the other replying, that they were his hogs, Nay then neighbour (quoth he) the caſe is altered. Others more probably make this the originall of it. Plowden being a Roman Catholick, ſome neighbours of his who bare him no good will, intending to entrap him and bring him under the laſh of the Law, had taken care to dreſs up an Altar in a certain place, and provided a Lay-man in a Prieſts habit, who ſhould do Maſs there at ſuch a time. And withall notice thereof was given privately to Mr Plowden, who thereupon went and was preſent at the Maſs. For this he was preſently accuſed and indicted. He at firſt ſtands upon his defence and would not acknowledge the thing. Witneſſes are produced, and among the reſtone, [Page] who depoſed, that he himſelf performed the Maſs, and ſaw Mr Plowden there. Saith Plowden to him, art thou a Prieſt then? the fellow replied, no. Why then Gentlemen (quoth he) the caſe is altered: No Prieſt no Maſs. Which came to be a Proverb, and continues ſtill in Shropſhire with this addition. The caſe is altered (quoth Ployden) No Prieſt no Maſs.

To angle with a ſilver hook.

‘Peſchar col hamo d'argento.’ The Italians by this phraſe mean, to buy fiſh in the market. It is alſo a Latine Proverb, ‘Aureo hamo piſcari.’ Money is the beſt bait to take all ſorts of perſons with.

If you be angry you may turn the buckle of your girdle behind you.

To cut large ſhives of another mans loaf.

To cut large thongs of another mans leather.

‘De alieno corio liberalis.’ ‘Del cuoio d'altri ſi fanno le corregge largee. Ital.’ ‘Il coupe large courroye du cuir d'autruy. Gall.’ It may paſs for a ſentence thus, Men cut large ſhives of others loaves. This ſhould ſeem to be alſo a Dutch Proverb: for Eraſmus ſaith, ‘Circumfertur apud noſtratium vulgus non abſimile huic Proverbium, Ex alieno tergore lata ſecari lora.’

To hold by the Apron-ſtrings.

i. e. in right of his wife.

To anſwer one in his own language.

‘Ut ſalutaris ita reſalutaberis.’

A bit and a knock [or bob] as men feed apes.

[Page] Arſy verſy. [...].

She is one of mine Aunts that made mine uncle go a begging.

A pretty fellow to make an axle-tree for an oven. Cheſh.

B.

HE knows not a B from a battledoor.

His back is broad enough to bear jeſts.

My Lord Baldwin's dead.

It is uſed when one tells that for knews which every body knows. A Suſſex Proverb, but who this Lord Baldwin was I could not learn there.

You'll not believe he's bald till you ſee his brains.

Never a barrell better herring.

Bate me an ace, quoth Bolton.

Who this Bolton was I know not, neither is it worth the enquiring. One of this name might happen to ſay Bate me an ace, and for the coincidence of the firſt letters of theſe two words Bate and Bolton it grew to be a Proverb. We have many of the like originall as v. g. Sup Simon. &c. Stay quoth Stringer, &c. There goeth a ſtory of Queen Elizabeth, that being preſented with a Collection of Engliſh Proverbs, and told by the Authour that it contained all the Engliſh Proverbs, nay replied ſhe, Bate me an ace quoth Bolton: which Proverb being inſtantly looked for happened to be wanting in his Collection.

You dare as well take a bear by the tooth.

[Page] If it were a bear it would bite you.

Are you there with your bears.

To go like a bear to the ſtake.

He hath as many tricks as a dancing bear.

If that the courſe be fair, again and again quoth Bunny to his bear.

I bear him on my back.

That is I remember his injuries done to me with indignation and grief, or a purpoſe of revenge.

To bear away the bell.

You'll ſcratch a begger before you die.

That is, you'll be a begger, you'll ſcratch your ſelf.

It would make a begger beat his bag.

I'll not hang all my bells on one horſe.

That is, give all to one ſon.

Better believe it then go where it was done to prove it.

‘Voglio piu toſto crederlo che andar a cercarlo. Ital.’

The belly thinks the throat cut.

To have the bent of ones bow.

There's ne're a beſt among them, as the fellow ſaid by the Fox-cubs.

Between hawk and buzzard.

To look as big as if he had eaten bull-beef.

He'll have the laſt word though he talk bilk for it.

Bilk, i. e. nothing. A man is ſaid to be bilkt at Cribbets [Page] when he gets nothing, when he can make never a game.

Bill after helve.

He'll make 19 bits of a bilberry.

Spoken of a covetous perſon.

To bite upon the bridle.

That is, to fare hardly, to be cut ſhort or ſuffer want, for a horſe can eat but ſlowly when the bridle is in his mouth. Or elſe it may ſignifie to fret, ſwell and diſquiet himſelf with anger. Froena mordere in Latine hath a different ſenſe, i. e. to reſiſt thoſe who have us in ſubjection, as an unruly horſe gets the bridle between his teeth and runs away with his rider, or as a dog bites the ſtaff you beat him with. Statius uſeth it in a contrary ſenſe, viz. to ſubmit to the Conquerour and take patiently the bridle in ones mouth. ‘Subiit leges & froena momordit.’

Though I be bitten I am not all eaten.

What a Biſhops wife? eat and drink in your gloves?

To waſh a Blackmore white.

‘Aethiopem lavare or dealbare,’ [...] ſeu [...]. Labour in vain. Parallel whereto are many other Latine Proverbs, as ‘laterem lavare, arenas arare.’

You cannot ſay black is his eye [or nail]

That is you can find no fault in him, charge him with no crime.

Blind-mans holiday, i. e. twilight, almoſt quite dark.

[Page] As the blind man ſhot the crow.

He hath good blood in him if he had but groats to it.

That is, good parentage, if he had but wealth. Groats are great oatmeal of which good houſewives are wont to make black puddings.

To come bluely off.

He's true blue, he'll never ſtain.

Coventry had formerly the reputation for dying blues, in ſo much that true blue came to be a Proverb, to ſignifie one that was alway the ſame, and like himſelf.

To make a bolt or a ſhaft of a thing.

There's a bone for you to pick.

‘Egli m' ha dato un oſſo da roſegar. Ital.’

To be bought and ſold in a company.

She hath broken her elbow at the Church door.

Spoken of a houſewively maid that grows idle after marriage.

You ſeek a brack where the hedge is whole.

His brains are addle.

His brains crow.

His brains will work without barm. Yorksh.

He knows which ſide his bread is butter'd on.

'Twould make a horſe break his bridle, or a dog his halter.

One may as ſoon break his neck as his faſt there.

Break my head, and bring me a plaiſter.

[Page] ‘Taglia m' il naſo & ſoppi me poi nelle orecchie. Ital.’

Spare your breath [or wind] to cool your pottage.

You ſeek breeches of a bare-ars'd man.

Ab aſino lanam.

His breech makes buttons.

This is ſaid of a man in fear. We know vehement fear cauſes a relaxation of the ſphincter ani, and unvoluntary dejection. Buttons, becauſe the excrements of ſome animals are not unlike buttons or pellets: as of ſheep, hares, &c. Nay they are ſo like, that they are called by the ſame name; this figure they get from the cells of the Colon.

As they brew e'en ſo let them bake.

Some have it, ſo let them drink, and it ſeems to be better ſence ſo. ‘Tute hoc intrîſti tibi omne exedendum eſt. Terent. Phorm.’ ‘Ut ſementem feceris ita metes. Cic. de Orat. lib. 2.’

To make a bridge of ones noſe.

i. e. to intercept ones trencher, cup, or the like; or to offer or pretend to do kindneſſes to one, and then paſs him by and do it to another, to lay hold upon and ſerve himſelf of that which was intended for another.

To leave one i'th' briers or ſuds.

He hath brought up a bird to pick out his own eyes.

‘ [...].’ ‘Tal nutre il corvo che gli cavera poi gli occhi.’ He brings up a raven, &c. Ital.

[Page] He'll bring buckle and thong together.

To build caſtles in the air.

‘Far caſtelli in aria. Ital.’

He thinks every buſh a boggard, i. e. a bugbear or phantaſm.

Buſh natural, more hair then wit.

No butter will ſtick to his bread.

To buy and ſell and live by the loſs.

To have a breez, i. e. a gad-fly, in his breech.

Spoken of one that frisks about, and cannot reſt in a place.

The butcher look't for his knife when he had it in his mouth.

His bread is buttered on both ſides.

i. e. He hath a plentifull eſtate: he is fat and full.

C.

I Think this is a butchers horſe, he carries a calf ſo well.

His calves are gone down to graſs.

This is a jeer for men with over-ſlender legs.

His candle burns within the ſocket.

That is, he is an old man, Philoſophers are wont to compare mans life not ineptly to the burning of a lamp, the vitall heat always preying upon the radical moiſture, which [Page] when it is quite conſumed a man dies. There is indeed a great likeneſs between life and flame, air being as neceſſary to the maintaining of the one as of the other.

If his cap be made of wooll.

In former times when this Proverb came firſt in uſe men generally wore caps: Hats were a thing hardly known in England, much leſs hats made of rabbets or beavers furr. Capping was then a great trade and ſeverall ſtatutes made about it. So that, if his cap were made of wooll, was as much as to ſay moſt certainly, As ſure as the clothes on his back. Dr Fuller.

They may caſt their caps at him.

When two or more run together, and one gets ground, he that is caſt and deſpairs to overtake commonly caſts his hat after the foremoſt, and gives over the race. So that to caſt their caps at one is to deſpair of catching or overtaking him.

He carries fire in one hand and water in the other.

‘Alterâ manu ſert aquam, alterâ ignem.’ ‘ [...], &c. Plutarch.’ ‘Il porte le feu & l'eau, Gall.’ ‘Alterâ manu ſert lapidem, alterâ panem oſtentat. Plaut.’

To ſet a ſpoke in ones cart.

To ſet the cart before the horſe.

‘Currus bovem trahit.’ ‘Metter il carro inanzi aibuoi. Ital.’ ‘La charrue va devant les boeufs. Gall.’

The cat's in the cream-pot.

This is uſed when People hear a great noiſe and hubbub [Page] amongſt the good wives of the town, and know not what it means; but ſuppoſe that ſome ſad accident is happened; as that the cat is faln into the cream-pot, or the like.

Before the cat can lick her ear.

You ſhall have that the cat left ith' malt-heap.

They are not catercouſins.

He hath good cellarage.

That char is char'd (as the good wife ſaid when ſhe had hang'd her husband.)

A char in the Northern dialect is any particular buſineſs, affair or charge, that I commit to or entruſt another to doe. I take it to be the ſame with charge ‘ [...].’

To go cheek by jowl with one.

To chew the cud upon a thing.

i. e. To conſider of a thing, to revolve it in ones mind: to ruminate, which is the name of this action, is uſed in the ſame ſenſe both in Latine and Engliſh.

The child hath a red tongue like its father.

Children to bed, and the gooſe to the fire.

I cannot conceive what might be the occaſion, nor what is the meaning of this ſaying. I take it to be ſenſeleſs and nugatory.

A chip of the old block.

‘Patris eſt ſilius.’ He is his fathers own ſon; taken always in an ill ſenſe.

Like a chip in a pottage-pot, doth neither good nor harm.

[Page] It goes down like chop't hay.

I'll make him know churning days.

To clip ones wings.

‘Pennas incidere alicui.’

He hath a cloak for his knavery.

He is in the cloth-market, i. e. in bed.

To carry coals to Newcaſtle.

‘Soli lumen mutuari; coelo ſtellas; ranae aquam. Crocum in Ciliciam, ubi ſc. maximè abundat: Noctuas Athenas.’ ‘Porter de fueilles au bois. Gall.’ To carry leaves to the wood. ‘Alcinoo poma dare.’

To ſet cook on hoop.

This is ſpoken of a Prodigal, one that takes out the ſpigget and lays it upon the top of the barrel, drawing out the whole veſſel without any intermiſſion.

His cockloft is unfurniſhed.

i. e. He wants brains. Tall men are commonly like high houſes, in which the uppermoſt room is worſt furniſhed.

To have a colis tooth in his head.

It is uſually ſpoken of an old man that's wanton and petulant.

To cut ones comb.

As is uſually done to cocks when gelded; to cool ones courage.

They'll come again, as Goodyers pigs did, i. e. never.

[Page] Come and wellcome, go by and no quarrel.

Command your man and do't your ſelf.

Ask my companion if I be a thief.

In the North they ſay, Ask my mother if my father be a thief. ‘Demanda al hoſto s' egl'ha buon vino. Ital.’ Ask your hoſt if he have good wine.

To complain of eaſe.

To outrun the Conſtable.

To ſpend more then ones allowance or income.

You might be a Constable for your wit.

Cook-ruffian, able to ſcald the devil in's feathers.

To cool ones courage.

He's corn-fed.

A friend in a corner.

To take counſell of ones pillow.

‘La nuict donne conſeil. Gall.’ ‘Noctu urgenda conſilia. Inde nox’ ‘ [...] dicitur, [...].’ ‘La notte e madre di penſieri. Ital.’ The night is the mother of thoughts.

Counſel's as good for him as a ſhoulder of mutton for a ſick horſe.

What is got in the County is loſt in the hundred.

What is got in the whole ſum is loſt in particular reckonings; or in generall, what is got one way is loſt another.

Court holy-water.

‘Eau beniſte de la cour. Gall.’ Fair words and nothing elſe.

[Page] One of the Court but none of the Counſell.

All the craft is in the catching.

To ſpeak as though he would creep into ones mouth.

He hath never a croſs to bleſs himſelf withall.

i. e. No money which hath uſually a croſs on the averſe ſide.

To have crotchets in ones crown.

You look as if you were crow-trodden.

You look as if you would make the crow a pudding, i. e. die.

I have a crow to pluck with you.

You need not be ſo cruſty, you are not ſo hard baked.

Here's a great cry and but a little wooll (as the fellow ſaid when he ſhear'd his hogs.)

‘Aſſai romor & poca lana. Ital.’ ‘A ſinum tondes. Parturiunt montes, &c.’

You cry before you're hurt.

Let her cry, ſhe'll piſs the leſs.

To lay down the cudgels.

His belly cries cupboard.

To curſe with bell, book and candle.

To be beſide the cuſhion.

‘Aberrari a janua.’

To ſtand for a cypher.

D.

TO take a dagger and drown ones ſelf.

To be at daggers drawing.

To look as if he had ſuckt his dam through a hurdle.

To dance to every mans pipe or whiſtle.

To burn daylight.

Dead in the neſt.

To deal fools dole.

To deal all to others and leave nothing to himſelf.

Good to ſend on a dead bodies errand.

To work for a dead horſe or gooſe.

To work out an old debt or without hope of future reward. ‘Argent receu le bras rompu. Gall.’ The wages had the arm is broken. ‘Chi paga inanzi è ſervito indietro. Ital.’ He that pays beforehand is ſerved behindhand. ‘Chi paga inanzi tratto Trova il lavor mal fatto. Ital.’

If thou hadſt the rent of Dee-mills thou would'ſt ſpend it. Cheſh.

Dee is the name of the river on which the city Cheſter ſtands: the mills thereon yield a great annual rent, the biggeſt of any houſes about that city.

As demure as if butter would not melt in's mouth.

Some add, And yet cheeſe will not choke him.

[Page] To get by a thing as Dickson did by his diſtreſs.

That is, over the ſhoulders, as the vulgar uſually ſay. There is a coincidence in the firſt letters of Dickſon and diſtreſs: otherwiſe who this Dickſon was I know not.

Hold the diſh while I ſhed my pottage.

To lay a thing in ones diſh.

He claps his diſh at a wrong mans door.

To play the Devil i'th' bulmong, i. e. corn mingled of peaſe, tares and oats.

If the Devil be a vicar thou wilt be his clerk,

Do and undoe, the day is long enough.

To play the dog in the manger, not eat your ſelf nor let any body elſe.

‘ [...]. Lucian.’ ‘Canis in praeſcpi.’ ‘E come il cane del ortolano, che non mangia de cauoli egli & non ne laſcia mangiar altri. Ital.’ Like the gardners dog who cannot eat the coleworts himſelf, nor will ſuffer others.

Dogs run away with whole ſhoulders.

Not of mutton, but their own; ſpoken in deriſion of a miſers houſe.

We dogs worried the hare.

To ſerve one a dog-trick.

It would make a dog doff his doublet. Cheſh.

A dogs life, hunger and eaſe.

To dote more on't then a fool on's bable.

He'll not put off his doublet before he goes to bed,

i. e. part with his eſtate before he die.

[Page] You need not doubt you are no Doctour.

A drachm o'th' bottle.

This is the Seamens phraſe for a draught of brandy wine or ſtrong waters.

To dream of a dry ſummer.

One had as good be nibled to death by ducks, or pecked to death by a hen.

To take things in dudgeon, or to wear a dudgeon-dagger by his ſide.

To dine with Duke Humphrey.

That is, to faſt, to go without ones dinner. This Duke Humphrey was uncle to K. Henry the ſixth, and his Protectour during his minority, Duke of Gloceſter, renowned for hoſpitality and good houſe-keeping. Thoſe were ſaid to dine with Duke Humphrey, who walked out dinner time in the body of S. Pauls Church; becauſe it was believed the Duke was buried there. But (ſaith Dr Fuller) that ſaying is as far from truth as they from dinner, even twenty miles off: ſeeing this Duke was buried in the Church of St Albans, to which he was a great benefactour.

She's paſt dying of her firſt child, i. e. ſhe hath had a baſtard.

E.

HE dares not for his ears.

To fall together by the ears.

In at one ear and out at the other.

‘Dentro da un orecchia & fuora dal altra. Ital.’

[Page] To eat ones words.

You had as good eat your nails.

He could eat my heart with garlick.

That is, he hates me mortally. So we know ſome of the Americans feaſt upon the dead carcaſes of their enemies.

There's as much hold of his word as of a wet cel by the tail.

‘ [...].’

I have eggs o'th' ſpit.

I am very buſie. Egges if they be well roaſted require much turning.

Neither good egg nor bird.

You come with your five eggs a penny, and four of them be rotten.

Set a fool to roaſt eggs; and a wiſe man to eat them.

An egg and to bed.

Give him the other half egg and burſt him.

To ſmell of elbow-greaſe.

‘Lucernam olere.’

She hath broken her elbow.

That is, ſhe hath had a baſtard; another meaning of this phraſe ſee in the letter B, at the word broken.

Elden hole needs filling. Darbyſh.

Spoken of a lier. Elden hole is a deep pit in the Peak [Page] of Darbyſhire near Caſtleton, fathomleſs the bottom, as they would perſwade us. It is without water, and if you caſt a ſtone into it you may for a conſiderable time hear it ſtrike againſt the ſides to and again as it deſcends, each ſtroke giving a great report.

To make both ends meet.

To bring buckle and thong together.

To have the better end of the ſtaff.

He'll have enough one day when his mouth is full of moulds.

A ſleeveleſs errand.

Find you without an excuſe and find a hare without a muſe.

‘Vias novit quibus effugit Eucrates.’ This Eucrates was a miller in Athens who getting ſhare in the Government was very cunning in finding out ſhifts and pretences to excuſe himſelf from doing his duty.

I was by, (quoth Pedley) when my eye was put out.

This Pedley was a natural fool of whom go many ſtories.

To cry with one eye, and laugh with the other.

F.

TO ſet a good face on a thing.

‘Faire bonne mine. Gall.’

[Page] I think his face is made of a fiddle, every one that looks on him loves him.

To come a day after the fair.

‘ [...].’ ‘Poſt feſtum veniſti. Plat. in Gorg.’

It will be fair weather when the ſhrews have dined.

He pins his faith on another mans ſleeve.

To fall away from a horſe-load to a cart-load.

Fall back, fall edge.

Farewell and be hang'd, friends muſt part.

Farewell froſt, Nothing got nor nothing loſt.

He thinks his fart as ſweet as musk.

He farts frankincenſe.

This is an ancient Greek Proverb, ‘ [...].’ Self-love makes even a mans vices, infirmities and imperfections to pleaſe him. ‘Suus cui (que) crepitus bene [...].’

He makes a very fart a thunderclap.

All the fat's i'th' fire.

To feather ones neſt well.

To go to heaven in a featherbed.

‘Non eſt è terris mollis ad aſtra via.’

Better fed then taught.

All fellows at foot-ball.

If Gentlemen and Perſons ingeniouſly educated will mingle themſelves with ruſticks in their rude ſports, they muſt look for uſage like to or rather courſer then others.

[Page] Go fiddle for ſhives among old wives.

Fight dog, fight bear.

Nè depugnes in alleno negotio.

To fight with ones own ſhadow.

‘ [...].’ To fight with ſhadows, to be afraid of his own fancies; imagining danger where there is none.

To fill the mouth with empty ſpoons.

To have a finger i'th' pie.

He had a finger i'th' pie when he burnt his nail off.

He hath more wit in's little finger then thou in thy whole body.

To put ones finger i'th' fire.

‘Prudens in flammam nè manum injicito. Hieron.’ Put not your finger needleſly into the fire. Meddle not with a quarrel voluntarily wherein you need not be concern'd. Prov. 26. 17.

To foul ones fingers with.

To have a thing at his fingers ends.

‘Scire tanquam ungues digitóſque.’

His fingers are lime-twigs, ſpoken of a thieviſh perſon.

All fire and tough.

To come to fetch fire.

To go through fire and water to ſerve or do one good.

Probably from the two ſorts of Ordeall by fire and water

[Page] To add fewell to the fire.

‘Oleum camino addere.’

All is fiſh that comes to net.

You fiſh fair and catch a frog.

Neither fiſh, nor fleſh, nor good red herring.

I have other fiſh to fry.

By fits and ſtarts, as the hog piſſeth.

To give one a flap with the foxes tail, i. e. to cozen or defraud one.

He would flay a flint, or flay a groat, ſpoken of a covetous perſon.

To ſend one away with a flea in his ear.

‘Lo gli ho meſſo un pulce nel orecchio. Ital.’ It's not eaſie to conceive by them who have not experienced it, what a buzzing and noiſe a flea will make there.

It's the faireſt flower in his crown or garden.

To fly at all game.

More fool then fidler.

The vicar of fools is his ghoſtly father.

To ſet the beſt foot forward.

He hath a fair forehead to graft on.

Better loſt then found.

Too free to be fat.

He's free of Fumblers hall. Spoken of a man that cannot get his wife with child.

He may e'en go write to his friends.

We ſay it of a man when all his hopes are gone.

To fry in his own greaſe.

[Page] Out of the frying-pan into the fire.

‘Cader dalla padella nelle bragie. Ital.’ ‘Saulter de la poile & ſe jetter dans les braiſes. Gall.’ ‘De fume in flammam’ (which Ammianus Marcellinus cites as an ancient Proverb) hath the ſame ſenſe, ‘Evitatâ Charybdi in Scyllam incidere. Nè cinerem vitans in prunas incidas.’ ‘ [...]. Lucian.’

You are never well full nor faſting.

G.

THe gallows groans for you.

To gape for a benefice.

He may go hang himſelf in's own garters.

All your geeſe are ſwans.

‘Suum cui (que) pulchrum.’ ‘Ill ſuo ſoldo val tredeci danari. Ital.’ His ſhilling's worth 13 pence.

You're a man among the geeſe when the gander is away.

What he gets he gets out of the fire.

To get over the ſhoulders.

All that you get you may put in your eye and ſee never the worſe.

He beſtows his gifts as broom doth honey.

Broom is ſo far from ſweet that it's very bitter.

I thought I would give him one and lend him another, i, e. I would be quit with him.

[Page] Give a loaf and beg a ſhive.

There's a glimmer i'th' touch-box.

Out of Gods bleſſing into the warm ſun.

‘Ab equis ad aſinos.’

Go in Gods name, ſo ride no witches.

Go forward and fall, go backward and marr all.

‘A fronte praecipitium, à tergo lupi.’

I'll go twenty miles on your errand firſt.

To give one as good as he brings, or his own.

‘Qui quae vult dicit quae non vult audiet. Terent.’ ‘ut ſalutaris ita reſalutaberis.’

One Yate for another, good fellow. v. in O.

I am a fool, I love any thing that is good.

To come from little good to ſtark naught.

‘Ab equis ad aſinos. Mandrabuli in morem.’ Mandrabulus finding gold mines in Samos, at firſt offered and gave to Juno a golden ram, afterward a ſilver one, then a ſmall one of braſs, and at laſt nothing at all.

Some good ſome bad, as ſheep come to the fold.

‘Sunt bona, ſunt quaedam mediocria, ſunt mala plura Quae legis, &c. Mart.’

I'll do my good will, as he ſaid that threſht in's cloak.

This was ſome Scotchman, for I have been told, that they are wont to do ſo: my ſelf have ſeen them hold plough in their cloaks.

[Page] He did me as much good as if he had piſt in my pottage.

To brag of many goodmorrows.

A gooſe cannot graze after him.

He hopes to eat of the gooſe ſhall graze on your grave.

Steal my gooſe and ſtick me down a feather.

He cannot ſay ſhooh to a gooſe.

You're a pretty fellow to ride a gooſe a gallop through a dirty lane.

You find fault with a fat gooſe.

You'll be good when the gooſe piſſeth.

All is not Goſpel comes out of his mouth.

He muſt have his grains of allowance.

A knave or a rogue in grain.

That is of a ſcarlet dye, The Alkermes berry where-with they dye ſcarlet is called in Greek, [...]. that is granum in Latine, and in Engliſh grain.

It goeth againſt the grain.

The grain, Pecten ligni, longways the wood, as the fibres run. To go tranſverſly to theſe fibres is to go againſt the grain.

Teach your grandame to grope her ducks.

Teach your grandameto ſup ſowre milk.

‘Aquilam volare, Delphinum natare doce.’ ‘Il ne faut apprendre aux poiſſons à nager. Gall.’ You muſt not teach fiſh to ſwim. Teach me to do that I know how to do much better then your ſelf. Teach your father to beget children. ‘Sus Minervam.’

[Page] He's gray before he is good.

To greaſe a fat ſow on the A—

‘On ne doit pas à gras porceau le cul oindre. Gall.’

To greaſe a man i'th' fiſt.

That is to put money into his hand; to fee or bribe him.

I'll either grind or find.

All brings griſt to your mill.

To grow like a cows tail, i. e. downwards.

He has no guts in's brains.

The anfractus of the brain, look'd upon when the Dura mater is taken oft, do much reſemble guts.

He has more guts then brains.

Out of gunſhot.

H.

TO be hail fellow well met with one.

It goes againſt the hair.

The hair of moſt animals lies one way, and if you ſtroke them down that way the hair lies, your hand ſlides ſmoothly down; but if you ſtroke the contrary way, the hair riſes up and reſiſts the motion of your hand.

To take a hair of the ſame dog.

i. e. To be drunk again the next day.

To cut the hair.

[Page] i. e. To divide ſo exactly as that neither part have advantage.

You halt before you're lame.

To make a hand of a thing.

To live from hand to mouth.

‘In diem vivere,’ or as ‘Perſius, Ex tempore vivere.’

Hand over head, as men took the Covenant.

Two hands in a diſh and one in a purſe.

To have his hands full.

‘I' ay aſſez á faire environ les mains. Gall.’

I'll lay my hand on my halfpenny e're I part with it.

To hang ones ears.

‘Demitto auriculas ut iniquae mentis aſcllus. Horat.’

They hang together like burs, or like pebbles in a halter.

To catch a hare with a tabret.

‘On ne prend le lievre au tabourin. Gall.’ One cannot catch a hare with a tabret. ‘Bove venari leporem.’

You muſt kiſs the hares foot, or the cook.

Spoken to one that comes ſo late that he hath loſt his dinner or ſupper. Why the hares foot muſt be kiſt I know not; why the cook ſhould be kiſt there is ſome reaſon, to get ſome victuals of her.

Set the hares head againſt the gooſe giblets.

[Page] i. e. Ballance things, ſet one againſt another.

It's either a hare or a brake-buſh.

‘ [...].’ ‘Aut navis, aut galerus.’ Something if you knew what.

To be out of harms way.

‘Ego ero poſt principia. Terent.’

To harp upon the ſame ſtring.

‘Eandem cantilenam recinere; & eâdem chordâ aberrare. Horat.’

He is drinking at the harrow when he ſhould be following the plow.

To make a long harveſt of a little corn.

To hear as hogs do in harveſt, or with your harveſt ears.

He is none of the Haſtings.

Spoken of a ſlow perſon. There is an aequivoque in the word Haſtings which is the name of a great family in Leiceſterſhire, which were Earls of Huntington. They had a fair houſe at Aſhby de la zouch, now much ruined.

Too haſty to be a pariſh Clerk.

He knows not a hawk from a hand-ſaw.

To be as good eat hay with a horſe.

To have his head under ones girdle.

He cannot hear on that ear.

He may be heard where he is not ſeen.

His heart fell down to his hoſe or heels. Animus in pedes decidit.

[Page] He is heart of oak.

Hell is broken looſe with them.

Harrow [or rake] hell, and ſcum the devil.

To help at a dead lift.

To throw the helve after the hatchet.

To be in deſpair. ‘Ad perditam ſecurim manubrium adjicere.’

To fiſh for a herring, and catch a ſprat.

To be high in the inſtep.

To hit the nail o'th' head.

‘Toucher au blanc. Gall.’ To hit the white.

To hit the bird o'th' eye.

Hobſons choice.

A man is ſaid to have Hobſons choice, when he muſt either take what is left him, or choſe whether he will have any part or no. This Hobſon was a noted Carrier in Cambridge in K. James his time, who partly by carrying, partly by grazing raiſed himſelf to a great eſtate, and did much good in the Town; relieving the Poor, and building a publick Conduit in the Market-place.

To make a hog or a dog of a thing.

To bring ones hogs to a fair market.

To hold with the hare and run with the hound.

Not much unlike hereto is that Latine one, ‘Duabus ſellis ſedere,’ i. e. ‘incertarum eſſe partium, & ancipiti fide ambabus ſervire velle, v. Eraſm.’ Liberius Mimus choſen into the Senate by Caeſar, coming to ſit down by Cicero, he refuſing him, ſaid, I would take you in did we not ſit ſo cloſe ‘[niſi anguſtè ſederemus]’ reflecting upon Caeſar, who choſe ſo many into the Senate that there was ſcarce room for [Page] them to ſit. Liberius replied, but you were wont to ſit upon two ſtools ‘[duabus ſellis ſedere]’ meaning to be on both ſides.

He'll find ſome hole to creep out at.

He's all honey or all t—

As honeſt a man as ever brake bread.

As honeſt a man as ever trode on ſhooe leather.

An honeſt man and a good bowler.

By hook or by crook.

‘Quo jure, quâ (que) injuriâ. Terent.’ ‘Soit à droit ou à tort. Gall.’

You'll ride on a horſe that was foal'd of an acorn.

That is the gallows.

They cannot ſet their horſes together.

He hath good skill in horſe-fleſh to buy a gooſe to ride on.

See how we apples ſwim quoth the horſe-t—

To throw the houſe out of the windows.

‘ [...].’

He is ſo hungry he could eat a horſe behind the ſaddle.

I.

TO be Iack on both ſides.

‘ [...].’ A turn-coat, a weathercock.

[Page] To play the Iack with one.

To break the ice.

‘Romper il giaccio. Ital.’ ‘Scindere glaciem.’ To begin any hazardous or difficult thing.

Sick o'th' idles.

Sick o'th' idle crick, and the belly-wark i'th' heel.

Belly-wark, i. e. belly-ake. It is uſed when People complain of ſickneſs for a pretence to be idle upon no apparent cauſe.

You'll ſoon learn to ſhape idle a coat.

Give him an inch and he'll take an ell.

He hath no ink in's pen, i. e. no money in his purſe, or no wit in his head.

K.

TO lay the key under the threſhold.

To kill with kindneſs.

So the Ape is ſaid to ſtrangle her young ones by embracing and hugging them. And ſo may many be ſaid to do, who are ſtill urging their ſick friends to eat this and that and t'other thing, thereby clogging their ſtomacks and adding fewel to their diſeaſes. fondly imagining that if they eat not a while they'll preſently die.

Kim kam.

It comes by kind, it coſts him nothing.

[Page] A man of a ſtrange kidney.

Whoſoever is king thou'lt be his man.

I'll make one, quoth Kirkham, when he danc't in his clogs.

You'ld kiſs my a—before my breeches are down.

She had rather kiſs then ſpin.

Kit after kind.

A chip of the old block. ‘Qui naiſt de geline il aime à grater. Gall.’ He that was born of a hen loves to be ſcraping.

Kit careleſs, your a—hangs by trumps.

As very a knave as ever piſt.

Knit my dog a pair of breeches and my cat a codpiece.

He hath tied a knot with his tongue that he cannot untie with all his teeth. Meaning matrimony.

It's a good knife; it will cut butter when 'tis melted.

A good knife, it was made fives miles beyond Cutwell.

You ſay true, will you ſwallow my knife?

It does me Knights ſervice.

He got a knock in the cradle.

To know one from a black ſheep.

To know one as well as the begger knows his diſh.

To know one no more then he does the Pope of Rome.

Better known then truſted.

L.

To have nothing but ones labour for ones pains.

‘Avoir l'aller pour le venir. Gall.’ To have ones going for ones coming.

You'll go up the ladder to bed, i. e. be hang'd. At latter Lammas.

‘Ad Graecas calendas,’ i. e. never. ‘ [...]’. ‘Cùm muli pariunt. Herodot.’

Help the lame dog over the ſtile.

He was lap't in his mothers ſmock.

The lapwing cries moſt furtheſt from her neſt.

To laugh in ones face and cut his throat.

As bottled Ale is ſaid to do. ‘Da una banda m' onge, da l'altra me ponge. Ital.’

He can laugh and cry both in a wind.

To laugh in ones ſleeve.

More like the devil then S. Laurence.

He'll goe to Law for the wagging of a ſtraw.

To have the Law in ones own hand.

She doth not leap an inch from a ſhrew.

To leap over the hedge before you come at the ſtile.

She hath broken her leg above the knee, i. e. had a baſtard.

[Page] He's on his laſt legs.

To have the length of ones foot.

To lick ones ſelf whole again.

To lick honey through a cleft ſtick.

To lie as faſt as a dog can lick a diſh.

That's a lie with a latchet, All the dogs i'th' town cannot match it.

To tell a man a lie, and give him a reaſon for it.

To ſtand in ones own light.

Like me, God bleſs the example.

If the Lions skin cannot the Foxes ſhall.

‘Si leonina pellis non ſatis eſt, aſſuenda vulpina.’ ‘Coudre le peau de regnard à celle du lion. Gall.’ To attempt or compaſs that by craft which we cannot obtain or effect by force. ‘Dolus an virtus quis in hoſte requirit.’

If he were as long as he is lither, he might thatch a houſe without a ladder. Cheſh.

To ſend by Tom Long the carrier.

He looks as if he had neither won nor loſt.

He ſtands as if he were mop't, in a brown ſtudy, unconcern'd.

To loſe ones longing.

He'll not loſe the droppings of his noſe.

He'll not loſe the paring of's nails.

‘Egli ſcortarebbe un pedocchio per haverne la pelle. Ital.’ He would flay a louſe to get the skin. ‘Aquam plorat cùm lavat fundere. Plaut.’

Ware skins, quoth Grubber when he flung [Page] the louſe into the fire.

There's love in a budget.

To love at the door and leave at the hatch.

See for your love, and buy for your money.

I could not get any neither for love nor money.

To leave one i'th' lurch.

M.

MAdge good cow gives a good pail of milk, & then kicks it down with her foot.

To correct or mend the Magnificat.

i. e. To correct that which is without any fault or errour. Magnificat is the Virgin Mary's hymn Luke 1. So called from the firſt word of it, which is Magnificat. As the other hymns are called Benedictus, Nunc dimittis, Te Deum, &c. For the ſame reaſon. Nodum in ſcirpo quaerere.

She's a good maid but for thought, word and deed.

There are never the fewer maids for her.

Spoken of a woman that hath maiden children.

For my peck of mault ſet the kiln on fire.

This is uſed in Cheſhire and the neighbour Countries. They mean by it, I am little concerned in the thing mentioned: I care not much come on it what will.

One Lordſhip is worth all his manners.

[Page] There is an aequivoque in the word manners, which if written with an e ſignifies mores, if with an o manneria; howbeit in the pronunciation they are not diſtinguiſhed; and perhaps in writing too they ought not.

You know good manners, but you uſe but a few.

To miſs his mark.

‘Aberrare a ſcopo, non attingere ſcopum,’ or ‘extra ſcopum jaculare.’

She hath a mark after her mother.

That is, ſhe is her mothers own daughter. ‘Patris eſt filius.’

The gray mare is the better horſe.

i. e. The woman is maſter, or as we ſay wears the breeches.

I'll not go before my mare to the market.

I'll do nothing prepoſterouſly: I'll drive my mare before me.

All is well, and the man hath his mare again.

Much matter of a wooden platter.

‘ [...].’ ‘Mira de len [...]e.’ A great ſtir about a thing of nothing.

One may know your meaning by your gaping.

You meaſure every ones corn by your own buſhel.

‘Tu miſuri gli altri col tuo paſſetto. Ital.’

[Page] To meaſure his cloth by anothers yard.

To bring meat in its mouth.

Meddle with your old ſhoes.

I'll neither meddle nor make, ſaid Bill Heaps when he ſpil'd the butter-milk.

To mend as ſowre ale does in ſummer.

I cry you mercy, I took you for a joyn'd ſtool.

To ſpend his Michaelmas rent in Midſummer moon.

You'd marry a midd [...]n for muck.

Either by might or by ſleight.

I can ſee as far into a milſtone as another man.

A Scotch miſt, that will wet an Engliſh man to th' skin.

Mock not (quoth Montford) when his wife called him cuckold.

To have a moneths mind to a thing.

In ancient wills we find often mention of a moneths mind and alſo of a years mind and a weeks mind: they were leſſer funerall ſolemnities appointed by the deceaſed at thoſe times, for the remembrance of him.

Tell me the moon's made of a green cheeſe.

‘Quid ſi coelum ruat?’

You may as ſoon ſhape a coat for the moon.

To make a mountain of a molehill.

‘Areem ex cloaca ſacere, ex elephanto muſeam.’

To ſpeak like a mouſe in a cheeſe.

Your mouth hath beguil'd your hands.

[Page] You'ſt have his muck for his meat. Yorkſh.

He hath a good muckhill at's door, i. e. he is rich.

N.

HE had as good eat his nails.

You had not your name for nothing. [...].

I took him napping, as Moſs took his mare.

Who this Moſs was is not very materiall to knew: I ſuppoſe ſome ſuch man might find his mare dead, and taking her to be only aſleep might ſay, have I taken you napping?

I'll firſt ſee thy neck as long as my arm.

To ſeek a needle in a bottle of hay.

I may ſee him need, but I'll not ſee him bleed.

Parents will uſually ſay this of prodigal or undutifull children; meaning I will be content to ſee them ſuffer a little hardſhip, but not any great miſery or calamity.

As much need on't as he hath of the pip, or of a cough.

Tell me news.

More nice then wiſe.

Nichils in nine pokes or nooks. Cheſh. i. e. nothing at all.

To bring a noble to ninepence, and ninepence to nothing.

[Page] ‘Il fait de ſon teſton ſix ſols. Gall.’ To bring an Abby to a Grange.

He hath a good noſe to make a poor mans ſow.

‘Il ſeroit bon truy à pauvre homme. Gall.’

To hold ones noſe to the grindſtone.

To follow ones noſe.

To lead one by the noſe.

‘Menar uno per il naſo, Ital.’ ‘ [...].’ This is an ancient Greek Proverb. Fraſmus ſaith the metaphor is taken from Buffles, who are led and guided by a ring put in one of their noſtrills, as I have often ſeen in Italy: ſo we in England are wont to lead Bears.

To put ones noſe out of joint.

You make his noſe warp.

It will be a noſegay to him as long as he lives.

It will ſtink in his noſtrils, ſpoken of any bad matter a man hath been engaged in.

O.

TO cut down an Oak and ſet up a Strawberry.

‘Cavar un chiodo & piantar una cavicchia. Ital.’ To dig up a nail and plant a pin.

To have an oar in every mans boat.

Be good in your office, you'll keep the longer on.

[Page] To give one a caſt of his office.

He hath a good office, he muſt needs thrive.

To bring an old houſe on ones head.

To rip up old ſores.

To caſt up old ſcores.

Once at a Coronation.

Never but once at a Wedding.

Once and uſe it not.

One yate for another, Good fellow.

They father the originall of this upon a paſſage between one of the Earls of Rutland and a Countrey-fellow. The Earl riding by himſelf one day overtook a Countrey-man, who very civily open [...]d him the firſt gate they came to, not knowing who the Earl was. When they came to the next gate the Earl expecting he ſhould have done the ſame again, Nay ſoft, ſaith the Countrey-man, One yate for another, Good fellow.

A man need not look in your mouth to know how old you are.

‘Facies tua computat annos.’

To make orts of good hay.

Over ſhoes over boots.

This hath almoſt the ſame ſenſe with that, ‘Ad perditam ſecurim manubrium adjicore.’

A ſhive of my own loaf.

A pig of my own ſow.

To outſhoot a man in his own bow.

The black ox never trode on his foot.

i. e. He never knew what ſorrow or adverſity meant.

P.

MAke a page of your own age.

That is▪ Do it your ſelf.

To ſtand upon ones pantofles.

To paſs the pikes.

He is pattring the Devils Pater noſter.

When one is grumbling to himſelf and it may be curſing thoſe that have angred or diſpleaſed him.

To pay one in his own coyn.

He is going into the peaſe-field, i. e. falling aſleep.

To be in a peck of troubles.

To take one a peg lower.

Penny-wiſe and pound fooliſh.

‘ [...],’ i. e. ‘Ad menſuram aquam bibunt, ſinc menſura offam comedentes.’ He ſpares at the ſpiggot and lets it out at the bung-hole.

He thinks his penny good ſilver.

To take pepper in the noſe.

To take phyſick before one be ſick.

To pick a hole in a mans coat.

He knows not a pig from a dog.

Pigs play on the Organs.

A man ſo called at Hogs Norton in Leiceſterſhire, or Hocks Norton.

[Page] Pigs fly in the air with their tails forward.

To ſhoot at a pigeon and kill a crow.

Not to high for the pie, nor to low for the crow.

If there be no remedy then wellcome Pillvall.

To be in a merry pin.

Probably this might come from drinking at pins. The Dutch, and Engliſh in imitation of them, were wont to drink out of a cup marked with certain pins, and he accounted the man that could nick the pin; whereas to go above or beneath it was a forſeiture. Dr Fuller Eccleſ. Hiſt. lib 3. p. 17.

As ſurly as if he had piſt on a nettle.

To piſs in the ſame quill.

To ſtay a piſſing-while.

He'll play at ſmall game rather then ſtand out.

‘Auloedus ſit qui citharoedus eſſe non poteſt.’

Let the plough ſtand to catch a mouſe.

To be toſt from Poſt to Pillory.

To go to pot.

I know him not ſhould I meet him in my pottage diſh.

To prate like a Parrot.

To ſay his prayers backward.

To be in the ſame Predicament.

To have his head full of proclamations.

Provender pricks him.

To come in pudding time.

Her pulſe beats matrimony.

To no more purpoſe then to beat your heels [Page] againſt the ground or wind.

To as much purpoſe as the geeſe ſlurr on the ice. Cheſh.

To as much purpoſe as to give a gooſe hay. Cheſh.

Q.

TO be in a quandary.

To pick a quarrel.

Ha'll be Quartermaſter where e're he comes.

To touch the quick, or to the quick.

R.

TO lie at rack and manger.

If it ſhould rain pottage he would want his diſh.

He is better with a rake then a fork, & vice versâ.

Moſt men are better with a rake then a fork, more apt to pull in and ſcrape up then to give out and communicate.

No remedy but patience.

Set your heart at reſt.

You ride as if you went to fetch the midwiſe,

You ſhall ride an inch behind the tail.

He'll neither do right nor ſuffer wrong.

[Page] Give me roaſtmeat, and beat me with the ſpit or run it in my belly.

You are in your roaſtmeat when others are in their ſod.

‘Priuſquam mactaris excorias.’

To rob the ſpittle.

To rob Peter to pay Paul.

‘Il oſte à S. Pierre pour donner à S. Pol. Gall.’

He makes Robin Hoods pennyworths.

This may be uſed in a double ſenſe; either he ſells things for half their worth: Robin Hood afforded rich pennyworths of his plunder'd goods; or he buyes things at what price he pleaſes: The owners were glad to get any thing of Robin Hood, who otherwiſe would have taken their goods for nothing.

To have rods in piſs for one.

You gather a rod for your own breech.

‘Tel porte le baſton dont à ſon regret le bat on. Gall.’ ‘ [...]. Heſiod.’ ‘ [...].’ ‘In tuum ipſius caput lunam deducis.’

Right Roger, your ſow is good mutton.

To twiſt a rope of ſand.

‘ [...].’

A rope and butter, if one ſlip the other may hold.

I thought I had given her rope enough, ſaid Pedley when he hang'd his mare.

[Page] He roſe on his right ſide.

To give one a Rowland for an Oliver.

That is Quid pro quo, to be even with one. ‘Je lui bailleray Guy contre Robert. Gall.’

To run through thick and thin.

His ſhooes are made of running leather.

To run the wild gooſe chaſe.

To row one way and look another.

As skullers do, ‘ [...]. Ariſtoph. apud Suidam.’ ‘Altera manu fert lapidem, panem oſtentat alterâ. Plaut.’

S.

MOre ſacks to the mill.

To come ſailing in a ſows ear.

To ſcape a ſcowring.

You make me ſcratch where it doth not itch.

The ſea complains it wants water.

That would I fain ſee ſaid blind George of Hollowee.

To ſet up ones ſtaff.

i. e. To reſolve to abide in a place.

To ſet up his ſail to every wind.

‘Faire voile à tout vent. Gall.’ ‘Evannare ad omnem auram. Nazianzen.’

[Page] Share and ſhare like, ſome all, ſome never a whit.

Leonina Societas.

To caſt a ſheeps eye at one.

To caſt an old ſhooe after one.

Not worth ſhooe-buckles.

To make a fair ſhow in a Countrey Church.

Good to fetch a ſick man ſorrow and a dead man woe. Cheſh.

To pour water into a ſieve.

‘Cribro aquam haurire.’

To ſing the ſame ſong.

‘Cantilenam candem canere. Terent.’ ‘Phorm. Crambe bis cocta.’ Nothing more troubleſome and ungratefull then the ſame thing over and over.

Thou ſingeſt like a bird call'd a ſwine.

Sink or ſwim.

To call one Sir and ſomething elſe, i. e. Sirrah.

To ſet all at ſix and ſeven.

To ſit upon ones skirts.

To ſlander one with a matter of truth.

To ſleep dogs ſleep.

Slow and ſure. This might have been put among the Sentences.

I ſmell a rat.

To drive ſnails: A ſnails gallop.

‘Teſtudineus gradus. Plaut.’ ‘Viciſtis cochleam tarditate. Idem.’

[Page] Tell me it ſnows.

To take a thing in ſnuff.

To have a ſoft place in's head.

Fair and ſoftly, as Lawyers goe to Heaven.

As ſoftly as foot can fall.

‘Suſpenſos pedes ponere. Quintil.’ ‘Suſpenſo gradu ire. Terent.’

To take a wrong ſow by the ear.

A ſow to a fiddle.

‘ [...].’ ‘Aſinus ad lyram.’

To ſow his wild oats.

As they ſow ſo let them reap.

‘Ut ſementem ſeceris ita metes.’

To be tied to the ſowre apple-tree. i. e. To be married to an ill husband.

To call a ſpade a ſpade.

You never ſpeak but your mouth opens.

Spick and ſpan new.

From ſpica an ear of corn, and the ſpawn of fiſhes, ſaith Mr Howel: but rather as I am informed by a better authour; Spike is a ſort of nail, and ſpawn is a chip of a boat; ſo that it is all one as to ſay, Every chip and nail is new.

Spare at the ſpigget and let it out at the bunghole.

‘E tien ſu dalla ſpina & ſpande dal coccone. Ital.’

[Page] He hath ſpit his venome.

Spit in your hand and take better hold.

You would ſpy faults if your eyes were out.

To make one a ſtalking horſe.

What ſtarve in a cooks ſhop?

‘Endurer la ſoif aupres d'une fontaine. Gall.’ ‘Mourir de faim aupres de meſtier. Gall.’ This may be made a ſentence by putting it imperatively. Never ſtarve, &c.

To go through ſtich with a buſineſs.

To ſtick by the ribs.

He hath ſwallowed a ſtake, he cannot ſtoop.

The more you ſtir the worſe you ſtink.

‘ [...].’ ‘Plus foetent ſtercora mota.’ ‘Quanto piu ſi ruga tanto piu puzza il ſtronzo. Ital.’ The more you ſtir a t—&c.

To ſtrain at a gnat, and ſwallow a camel.

To ſtumble at a ſtraw, and leap over a block.

Theſe two Proverbs have the ſame ſenſe: the former is uſed by our Saviour. Matth. 23. 24.

When two Sundays meet, i. e. never. Ad Graecas Calendas.

To ſwallow an ox, and be choak't with the tail.

It hath the ſame ſenſe with the two laſt ſave one.

He'll ſwear through an inch board.

He'll ſwear dagger out of ſheath.

He'll ſwearthe devil out of hell.

T.

TO thruſt his feet under another mans' table.

‘Alienâ vivere quadrâ.’

To take from ones right ſide, to give to ones left.

To take one up before he is down.

Tell you a tale, and find you ears.

A tale of a tub.

To tell tales out of ſchool.

To talk like an Apothecary.

Tenterden ſteeple's the cauſe of Goodwins ſands.

This Proverb is uſed when an abſurd and ridiculous reaſon is given of any thing in queſtion: an account of the original whereof I find in one of Biſhop Latimers ſermons in theſe words. Mr Moore was once ſent with commiſſion into Kent, to try out, if it might be, what was the cauſe of Goodwins ſands, and the ſhelf which ſtopped up Sandwich haven. Thither cometh Mr Moore, and calleth all the Countrey before him, ſuch as were thought to be men of experience, and men that could of likelihood beſt ſatisfie him of the matter concerning the ſtopping of Sandwich haven. Among the reſt came in before him an old man with a white head, and one that was thought to be little leſs then an hundred years old. When Mr Moore ſaw this aged man, he thought it expedient to hear him ſay his mind in this matter (for being ſo old a man, it was likely that he knew moſt in that preſence, or company) So Mr Moore called this old aged man unto him and ſaid, Father (ſaid he) tell me if you can, what is the cauſe of the great ariſing of the ſands and ſhelves here [Page] about this haven, which ſtop it up, ſo that no ſhips can arrive here. You are the oldeſt man I can eſpie in all this company, ſo that if any man can tell any cauſe of it, you of all likelyhood can ſay moſt to it, or at leaſtwiſe more then any man here aſſembled. Yea forſooth, good Mr Moore, quoth this old man, for I am well nigh an hundred years old, and no man here in this company any thing near my age. Well then (quoth Mr Moore) how ſay you to this matter? What think you to be the cauſe of theſe ſhelves and ſands, which ſtop up Sandwich haven? Forſooth ſir (quoth he) I am an old man, I think that Tenterton-ſteeple is the cauſe of Goodwin's ſands. For I am an old man ſir (quoth he) I may remember the building of Tenterton-ſteeple, and I may remember when there was no ſteeple at all there. And before that Tenterton-ſteeple was in building, there was no manner of talking of any flats, or ſands that ſtop't up the haven; and therefore, I think that Tenterton-ſteeple is the cauſe of the decay and deſtroying of Sandwich haven. Thus far the Biſhop.

I'll thank you for the next, for this I am ſure of.

There's a thing in't (quoth the fellow) when he drank the diſh-clout.

I'll not pull the thorn out of your foot and put it into my own.

To ſtand upon thorns.

Thrift and he are at a fray.

When thrift's in the field, he's in town.

He ſtrook at Tib, but down fell Tom.

His tongue's no ſlander.

Your tongue runs before your wit.

This is an ancient form of ſpeech; I find it in ‘Iſocrates his oration to Demonicus, [...].’

[Page] His tongue runs on wheels [or at random.]

To have a thing at ones tongues end, or at the tip of ones tongue.

Tooth and nail.

‘Manibus pedibúſque. Remis veliſque.’

To have an aking tooth at one.

From top to toe.

Topſie turvie.

I'de not touch him with a pair of tongs.

To it again, no body comes.

‘Nemo nos infequitur aut impellit, Eraſmus è Platone’; who tells us that this Proverb continues to this day in common uſe (among the Dutch I ſuppoſe) to ſignifie that it is free for us to ſtay upon any buſineſs [immorari in re aliqua.]

To drive a ſubtill trade.

To put one to his trumps.

I'll truſt him no further then I can fling him, or, then I can throw a millſtone.

You may truſt him with untold gold.

To turn with the wind, or tide.

To turn over a new leaf.

To turn cat in pan.

In the twinkling of an eye.

To ſtop two gaps with on buſh.

To ſtop two mouths with one morſel.

‘Duas linit parietes eâdem ſideliâ. Unicâſiliâ duos parare generos:’ This is a modern Proverb, but deſerves (ſaith Eraſmus) to be numbred amongſt the ancient ones. I find it among the French, ‘D'une fille deux gendres.’ To get himſelf two ſons in law with one daughter.

[Page] To kill two flies with one flap.

To kill two birds with one ſhaft [or ſtone.]

‘D'une pierre faire deux coups, Gall.’ ‘Di un'dono far duoi amici, Ital.’ To make two friends with one gift. ‘Pigliar due colombe con una fava, Ital.’ To take two pigeons with one bean.

To carry two faces under one hood.

‘Il a une face à deux viſages, Gall.’ ‘Due viſi ſotto una beretta, Ital.’

To have two ſtrings to ones bow.

‘Il fait bien avoir deux chordes en ſon are, Gall.’ This may be made a ſentence by adding to it, It is good, or ſuch like words. ‘Duabus ancoris fultus.’

Two hands in a diſh, and one in a purſe.

To have thwitten a mill-poſt to a pudding prick.

She's cured of a tympany with two heels.

U.

TO nouriſh a viper in ones boſom.

‘Tu ti allevi la biſcia in ſeno, Ital.’ ‘ [...], Theocr. in hodoep.’ ‘Colubrum in ſinu fovere.’ Eſt apud Aeſopum Apologus de ruſtico quodam in hanc rem.

Nothing but up and ride?

To be up the Queen apple-tree.

No ſooner up, but the head in the Aumbrey, and noſe in the cup.

W.

A warrant ſeal'd with butter.

To look to ones water.

To caſt water into the Thames.

‘Lumen ſoli mutuari, &c.’

You cant't ſee green cheeſe, but your teeth muſt water.

I'll not wear the wooden daggar, i. e. loſe my winnings.

Wear a horn, and blow it not.

To come home by weeping croſs.

This weeping croſs which gave occaſion to this phraſe, is about two miles diſtant from the town of Stafford.

You may make as good muſick on a wheelbarrow.

Without welt or guard.

All ſhall be well, and Jack ſhall have Jyll.

With a wet finger.

‘Levi brachio & molli trachio.’

But when, quoth Kettle to his mare? Cheſh.

Whiſt whiſt, I ſmell a birds neſt.

You'll make an end of your whiſtle though the cart overthrow.

Whiſt and catch a mouſe.

To let leap a whiting.

i. e. To let ſlip an opportunity.

[Page] Shee's neither wife, widow nor maid.

Your windmill dwindles into a nut-crack.

All this wind ſhakes no corn.

Either win the horſe or loſe the ſaddle.

‘Aut ter ſex aut tres teſſerae.’ ‘ [...]’. The ancients uſed to play with three dice, ſo that thrice ſix muſt needs be the beſt, and three aces the worſt chance. They called three aces ſimply three dice, becauſe they made no more then the number of the dice. The ace ſide was left empty without any ſpot at all, becauſe to count them was no more then to count the dice. Hereupon this chance was called, Jactus inanis, the empty chance.

Wind and weather doe thy worſt.

To goe down the wind.

Win it and wear it.

To have one in the wind.

To have windmills in's head.

Keep your wind, &c. v breath.

You may wink and chuſe.

‘ [...]’. ‘Thrax ad Thracem compoſitus▪’

He ſhews all his wit at once.

God ſend you more wit, and me more money.

You were born when wit was ſcant.

Your wits are on wooll gathering.

You have wit enough to drown ſhips in.

You give the wolf the weather to keep.

‘Ha dato la pecora in guardia al lupo, Ital.’ ‘Ovem lupo commiſiſti.’

[Page] To have a wolf by the ears.

This is alſo a Latine Proverb, ‘Lupum auribus tenere.’ When a man hath a doubtful buſineſs in hand, which it is equally hazardous to purſue or give over; as it is to hold or let go a wolf which one hath by the ears.

To be in a wood.

You cannot ſee wood for trees.

‘In mari aquam quaeris.’

To make woof or warp of any buſineſs.

A word and a blow.

When he ſhould work, every finger is a thumb.

If any thing ſtay let work ſtay.

The world is well amended with him.

To have the world in a ſtring.

He has a worm in's brain.

Not worthy to carry his books after him.

Not worthy to be named the ſame day.

Not worthy to wipe his ſhooes.

Indignus qui illi matellam porrigat.

Diſpeream ſi tu Pyladi praeſtare matellam

Dignus es, aut porcos paſcere Pirithoi.

Martial.

Not worthy to carry guts after a Bear.

Proverbial Similies, in which the quality and ſubject begin with the ſame letter.

[Page]

AS bare as a birds arſe, or as the back of my hand.

As blind as a beetle or bat.

Talpâ caecior, As blind as a mole, though indeed a mole be not abſolutely blind; but hath perfect eyes, and thoſe not covered with a membrane, as ſome have reported; but open and to be ſound without ſide the head, if one ſearch diligently, otherwiſe they may eaſily eſcape one, being very ſmall and lying hid in the furr. So that it muſt be granted, that a mole ſees but obſcurely, yet ſo much as is ſufficient for her manner of living, being moſt part under ground. Hypſaea caecior. This Hypſaea was a woman famous for her blindneſs. Tireſia caecior, The fable of Tircſias, and how he came to be blind, is well known. Leberide caecior. Eſt autem Leberis exuviae ſive ſpolium ſerpentis, in quo apparent effigies duntaxat oculorum, ac membranula quaedam tenuiſſima quâ ſerpentum oculi praeteguntur. A Beetle is thought to be blind, becauſe in the evening it will fly with its full force againſt a mans face or any thing elſe which happens to be in its way; which other inſects as Bees, hornets, &c. will not doe.

[Page] To bluſh like a black dog.

As bold as blind bayard.

As bold as Beauchamp.

Of this ſirname there were many Earls of Warwick, amongſt whom (ſaith Doctour Fuller) I conceive Thomas the firſt of that name, gave chief occaſion to this Proverb; who in the year 1346, with one Squire and ſix archers, fought in hoſtile manner with an hundred armed men at Hogges in Normandy and overthrew them, ſlaying ſixty Normans, and giving the whole fleet means to land.

As brisk as a body louſe.

As buſie as a bee.

As clear as cryſtal.

As cold as charity.

As common as Coleman hedge.

As coy as Crokers mare.

As cunning as Craddock, &c.

As dead as a door nail.

As dull as dun in the mire.

To feed like a farmer; or freeholder▪

As fine as five pence.

As fit as a fiddle.

As flat as a flounder.

As grave as an old gate-poſt.

As hard as horn.

As high as three horſe loaves

As high as a hog all but the briſtles.

Spoken of a dwarf in deriſion.

As hungry as a hawk, or horſe.

As kind as a kite, all you cannot eat you'll hide.

[Page] As lazy as Ludlams dog, that lean't his head againſt a wall to bark.

As mad as a March hare.

‘Foenum habet in cornu.’

As merry as the maids.

As nice as a nuns hen.

As pert as a Pearmongers mare.

As plain as a packſaddle, or a pike ſtaff.

As plump as a Partridge.

As proud as a peacock.

As ſeaſonable as ſnow in ſummer.

As ſoft as ſilk.

As true as a turtle to her mate.

As warm as wooll.

As wiſe as Walthams calf, that ran nine miles to ſuck a bull.

As wiſe as a wiſp, or woodcock.

As welcome as water into a ſhip, or, into ones ſhooes.

As weak as water.

Others.

AS angry as a waſp.

As bald as a coot.

As bare as the back of my hand.

As bitter as gall. Ipſa bile amariora.

As black as a coal; as a crow or raven; as the Divell; as jet; as ink; as ſoot.

[Page] As buſie as a hen with one chicken.

As buſie as a good wife at oven; and neither meal nor dough.

He's like a cat; fling him which way you will he'll light on's legs.

She's like a cat; ſhe'll play with her own tail.

He claws it as Clayton claw'd the pudding, when he eat bag and all.

As clear as a bell.

Spoken principally of a voice or ſound without any jarring or harſhneſs.

As clear as the Sun.

As comfortable as matrimony.

It becomes him as well as a ſow doth a cartſaddle.

As crowſe as a new waſhen louſe.

This is a Scotch and Northern Proverb. Crowſe ſignifies brisk lively.

As dark as pitch.

Blackneſs is the colour of darkneſs.

As dead as a herring.

A Herring is ſaid to die immediately after it is taken out of its element the water; that it dies very ſuddainly my ſelf can witneſs: ſo likewiſe doe Pilchards, Shads, and the reſt of that tribe.

As dear as two eggs a penny.

[Page] As like a dock to a daiſy.

That is very unlike.

As dizzy as a gooſe.

As drunk as a begger.

This Proverb begins now to be diſuſed, and in ſtead of it people are ready to ſay, As drunk as a Lord: ſo much hath that vice (the more is the pity) prevail'd among the Nobility & Gentry of late years.

As dry as a bone.

As dull as a beetle.

As dun as a mouſe.

As eaſie as piſſing a bed; as to lick a diſh.

As falſe as a Scot.

I hope that nation generally deſerves not ſuch an imputation; and could wiſh that we Engliſh men, were leſs partial to our ſelves, and cenſorious of our neighbours.

As fair as Lady Done. Cheſh.

The Dones were a great family in Cheſhire, living at Utkinton by the foreſt ſide: Nurſes uſe there to call their children ſo if girls, if boyes Earls of Derby.

As faſt as hops.

As fat as butter; as a Fool; as a hen ith' forehead.

To feed like a freeholder of Macklesfield, who hath neither corn nor hay at Michaelmas. Cheſh.

This Macklesfield or Maxfield is a ſmall market town and borough in Cheſhire.

[Page] As fierce as a gooſe.

As fine [or proud] as a Lords baſtard.

As fit as a pudding for a Friers mouth.

As fit as a ſhoulder of mutton for a ſick horſe.

As flattering or fawning as a ſpaniel.

As fond of it as an Ape of a whip and a bell.

To follow one like a St. Anthonies pig.

It is applicable to ſuch as have ſervile ſaleable ſouls, who for a ſmall reward will lacquay it many miles, being more officious and aſſiduous in their attendance then their patrons deſire. St. Anthony is notoriouſly known to be the patron of Hogs, having a pig for his page in all pictures, I am not ſo well read in his legend as to give the reaſon of it; but I dare ſay, there is no good one.

As freely as S. Robert gave his cow.

This Robert was a Knareburgh Saint, & the old women there can ſtill tell you the legend of the cow.

As hollow as a gun; as a kex.

A Kex is a dried ſtalk of Hemlock or of wild Cicely.

As free as a blind man is of his eye.

As free as an ape is of his tail.

As free as a dead horſe is of farts.

As freſh as a roſe in Iune.

As full as an egg is of meat.

‘E pieno quanto un novo. Ital.’

As full as a pipers bag; as a tick.

As full as a toad is of poiſon.

[Page] As full as a Jade, quoth the Bride.

As gant as a greyhound.

As glad as a fowl of a fair day.

To go like a cat upon a hot bake ſtone.

To go out like a candle in a ſnuff.

As good as George of Green.

This George of Green was that famous Pinder of Wakefield who fought with Robin Hood & little John both together, and got the better of them, as the old ballade tells us.

As good as gooſe-skins that never man had enough of. Cheſh.

As good as ever flew in the air.

As good as ever went endways.

As good as ever the ground went upon.

As good as ever water wet.

As good as ever twang'd.

As good as any between Bagſhot and Baw-waw,

There's but the breadth of a ſtreet between theſe two.

As greedy as a dog.

As green as graſs; as a leek.

As hail as a roch, Fiſh whole.

‘E ſano come un peſce. Ital.’

As hard-hearted as a Scot of Scotland.

As haſty as a ſheep, ſo ſoon as the tail is up the t—is out.

To hold up his head like a ſteed of ten pounds.

[Page] As hot as a toſt.

To hug one as the Divell hugs a witch.

As hungry as a Church-mouſe.

As innocent as a Devill of two years old.

A conſcience as large as a ſhipmans hoſe.

As lawleſs as a Town-bull.

As lazy as the tinker who laid down his budget to fart.

As lean as a rake.

To leap like a cock at a black-berry.

Spoken of one that deſires and endeavours to doe harm but cannot.

As lecherous as a he-goat.

As light as a fly.

To lick it up like Lim hay. Cheſh.

Lim is a village on the river Merſey that parts Cheſhire and Lancaſhire, where the beſt hay is gotten.

As like his nown father as e're he can look.

As like one as if he had been ſpit out of his mouth.

As like as an apple to an oyſter.

As like as four pence to a groat.

As like as nine pence to nothing.

No more like then chalk and cheeſe.

To look like the picture of ill luck.

To look like a ſtrain'd hair in a can. Cheſh.

To look like a droun'd mouſe.

To look like a dog that hath loſt his tail.

To look as if he had eaten his bedſtraw.

[Page] To look on one as the Devill looks over Lincoln.

Some referre this to Lincoln-minſter, over which when firſt finiſhed the Devill is ſuppoſed to have looked with a torve and tetrick countenance, as envying mens coſtly devotion, ſaith Dr Fuller, but more probable it is that it took its rice from a ſmall image of the Devill ſtanding on the top of Lincoln Colledge in Oxford.

As loud as a horn.

To love it as a cat loves muſtard.

To love it as the Devill loves holy water.

To love it as a dog loves a whip.

As good luck as had the cow, that ſtuck her ſelf with her own horn.

As good luck as the lowſy calf, that liv'd all winter and died in the ſummer.

As melancholy as a gib'd cat.

As merry as cup and can.

As merry as a cricket.

As mild [or gentle] as a lamb.

As natural to him as milk to a calf.

As neceſſary as a ſow among young children.

As nimble as an Eel.

As nimble as a cow in a cage.

As nimble as a new gelt dog.

As old as Charing-Croſs.

As plain as the noſe on a mans face.

As poor as Iob.

This ſimilitude runs through moſt Languages. In the Univerſity of Cambridge the young Scholars are wont to call chiding Jobing,

[Page] As proud as a cock on's own dunghill.

As proud as an Apothecary.

To quake like an Aſpen leaf.

To quake like an oven.

He's like a Rabbet, fat and lean in 24 hours.

As red as a cherry; as a petticoat.

As rich as a new ſhorn ſheep.

As right as a rams horn; as my leg.

As rotten as a t—

As rough as a tinkers budget.

As ſafe as a mouſe in a cheeſe; in a malt-heap.

As ſafe as a crow in a gutter.

As ſafe as a thief in a mill.

As ſcab'd as a cuckow.

To ſcold like a cut-purſe; like a wych-waller. Cheſh.

That is a boiler of Salt: Wych houſes are Salt-houſes, and walling is boyling.

To ſcorn a thing as a dog ſcorns a tripe.

As ſharp as a thorn; as a raſour; as vinegar. Aceto acrius.

As much ſib'd as ſieve and ridder, that grew in the ſame wood together.

Sib'd that is a kin: In Suffolk the banes of matrimony are called Sibberidge.

As ſick as a cuſhion.

She ſimpers like a bride on her wedding day.

She ſimpers like a riven diſh.

[Page] She ſimpers like a furmity kettle.

To ſit like a frog on a chopping block.

As ſlender in the middle as a cow in the waſt.

As ſlippery as an Eel.

As ſmooth as a carpet: Spoken of good way.

As ſoftly as foot can fall.

As ſound as a trout.

As ſour as verjuice.

As ſpruce as an onyon.

To ſtink like a poll-cat.

As ſtreight as an arrow.

As ſtreight as the back-bone of a herring.

Thou'lt ſtrip it as Slack ſtript the cat, when he pull'd her out of the churn.

As ſtrong as muſtard.

To ſtrut like a crow in a gutter.

As ſure as a gun [or as death.]

As ſure as check or Exchequer pay.

This was a Proverb in Q. Elizabeths time; the credit of the Exchequer beginning in and determining with her reign, ſaith Dr Fuller.

As ſure [or as round] as a Juglers box.

As ſure as a louſe in boſome. Cheſh.

As ſure as a louſe in Pomfret. Yorkſh.

As ſure as the coat's on ones back.

As ſurly as a Butchers dog.

As ſweet as honey, or as a nut.

As tall as a May-pole.

As tender as a chicken.

As tender as a parſons leman, i. e. whore.

As tender as Parnell that broke her finger in a poſſet-curd.

[Page] As teſty as an old cook.

As tough as whitleather.

As true as God is in heaven.

As true as ſteel.

As warm as a mouſe in a churn.

As wanton as a calf with two dams.

As wellcome as Hopkin, that came to jayl over night, and was hang'd the next morning.

As white as the driven ſnow.

As wild as a buck.

As wily as a fox.

As much wit as three folks, two fools and a madman. Cheſh.

As well worth it as a thief is worth a rope.

Like Goodyers pig, never well but when he is doing miſchief. Cheſh.

He ſtands like Mumphazard, who was hang'd for ſaying nothing. Cheſh.

Like the parſon of Saddleworth, who could read in no book but his own. Cheſh.

To come home like the parſons cow with a calf at her foot. Cheſh.

To uſe one like a Jew.

This poor nation was into lerably abuſed by the Engliſh, while they lived in this land, eſpecially at London on Shrove-tueſday. Thus it came to paſs, which God frequently foretold, that they ſhould become a by-word and a reproach among all nations. Dr Fuller.

He's like a ſwine, he'll ne're doe good while he lives.

[Page] Undone as a man would undoe an oyſter.

He feeds like a boar in a frank.

He's like a bagpipe, he never talks till his belly be full.

Like Hunts dog, that will neither goe to Church nor ſtay at home.

She goes as if ſhe crack't nuts with her tail.

As willfull as a pig, he'll neither lead nor drive.

As honeſt a man as any is in the cards when all the kings are out.

As good as ever drave top over til'd houſe.

You been like Smithwick, either clem'd or borſten. Cheſh.

Proverbial Rhythmes and old ſaws.

[Page]

THe crab of the wood is ſawce very good

For the crab of the ſea.

But the wood of the crab is ſawce for a drab,

That will not her husband obey.

Snow is white and lies in the dike.

And every man lets it lie:

Pepper is black and hath a good ſmack,

And every man doth it buy.

‘Alba liguſtra cadunt, vaccinia nigra leguntur. Virg.’

My horſe piſſeth whey, my man piſſeth amber,

My horſe is for my way, my man is for my chamber.

The higher the plum-tree the riper the plum.

The richer the cobler, the blacker his thumb.

When Adam delv'd and Eve ſpan,

Where was then the gentleman:

[Page] Upſtart a churl and gathered good,

And thence did ſpring our gentle bloud.

‘Le robbe fanno il primo ſangue. Ital.’

With a red man reade thy read;

With a brown man break thy bread:

At a pale man draw thy knife;

From a black man keep thy wife.

Bounce buckram, velvet's dear,

Chriſtmas comes but once a year;

And when it comes it brings good chear,

But when it's gone it's never the near.

He that buys land buys many ſtones;

He that buys fleſh buys many bones:

He that buys eggs buys many ſhells,

But he that buys good Ale buys nothing elſe.

Jack Sprat he loved no fat, and his wife ſhe lov'd no lean:

And yet betwixt them both, they lick't the platters clean.

He that hath it and will not keep it,

He that wants it and will not ſeek it,

He that drinks and is not dry,

Shall want money as well as I.

[Page]

The third of November the D. of Vendoſme paſt the water,

The fourth of November the Queen had a daughter,

The fifth of November we ſcap't a great ſlaughter,

And the ſixth of November was the next day after.

A man of words and not of deeds,

Is like a garden full of weeds.

Fridays hair and Sundays horn

Goes to the D'ule on munday morn.

Our fathers which were wondrous wiſe,

Did waſh their throats, before they waſh't their eyes.

When thou doſt hear a toll or knell,

Then think upon thy paſting bell.

If Fortune favour I may have her, for I go about her;

If Fortune fail you may kiſs her tail, and go without her.

A red beard and a black head,

Catch him with a good trick and take him dead.

He that hath plenty of good ſhall have more;

He that hath but little he ſhall have leſs;

And he that hath right nought, right nought ſhall poſſeſs.

[Page]

Cardinal Wolſey.

A whip for a fool, and a rod for a ſchool,

Is always in good ſeaſon.

Will. Summers.

A halter and a rope for him that will be Pope,

Without all right or reaſon.

The ſhape of a good greyhound.

A head like a ſnake, a neck like a drake,

A back like a beam, a belly like a bream,

A foot like a cat, a tail like a rat.

Punch Cole, cut candle, ſet brand on end,

Neither good houſewife, nor good houſewives friend.

Alum ſi ſit ſtalum non eſt malum.

Beerum ſi ſit eleerum eſt ſyncerum.

If one knew how good it were,

To eat a hen in Janivere;

Had he twenty in the flock,

He'd leave but one to go with the cock.

Children pick up words as pigeons peaſe,

And utter them again as God ſhall pleaſe.

Deux ace non poſſunt & ſix cinque ſolvere nolunt

Omnibus eſt notum quater trois ſolvere totum.

[Page]

As a man lives ſo ſhall he die,

As a tree falls ſo ſhall it lie.

Aegrotat Daemon monaechus tunc eſſe volebat:

Daemon convaluit Daemon ut ante fuit.

The Devill was ſick, the Devill a monk would be,

The Devill was well the devill a monk was he.

Thither as I would goe I can go late,

Thither as I would not goe I know not the gate.

No more morter no more brick,

A cunning knave has a cunning trick.

Tobacco hic If a man be well it will make him ſick.

Tobacco hic Will make a man well if he be ſick.

‘Per ander ſalvo per ill mondo biſogna havere occhio di Falcone, orecchie di Aſino, viſo di Scimia, parole di Mercante, ſpalle di camelo, bocca di Porco, gambe di cervo. Ital.’

To travell ſafely through the world a man muſt have a Falcons eye, an Aſſes eares, an Apes face, a Merchants words, a camells back, a hogs mouth, and a Harts legs.

It would make a man ſcratch where it doth not itch,

To ſee a man live poor to die rich.

Eſt furor haud dubius ſimul & manifeſta phreneſts,

Ut locuples moriar is egenti vivere fato. Juvenal.

Out of Doctour Fullers Worthies of England, ſuch as are not entred already in the Catalogues.

[Page]

Barkſhire.

THe Vicar of Bray, will be Vicar of Bray ſtill.

Bray is a village well known in Bark-ſhire, the vivacious Vicar whereof living under King Henry the eighth, King Edward the ſixth, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth: was firſt a Papiſt, then a Proteſtant, then a Papiſt, then a Proteſtant again. This Vicar being tax't by one for being a turncoat, not ſo (ſaid he) for I always kept my Principle; which is this, to live and die Vicar of Bray.

Bedfordſhire.

AS plain as Dunſtable road.

It is applied to things plain and ſimple, without either welt or guard to adorn them; as alſo to matters eaſie and obvious to be found out without any difficulty or direction. [Page] Such this road being broad and beaten, as the confluence of many leading to London from the North and North-weſt-parts of this land. I conceive beſides this, there is an alluſion to the firſt ſyllable of this name Dunſtable, for there are other roads in England as broad, plain and well beaten as this.

As crooked as Crawley brook.

This is a nameleſs brook ariſing about Wobourn, running by Crawley and falling immediately into the Ouſe, a river more crooked and Maeandrous then it, running above eighty miles, in eighteen by land.

The Bayliff of Bedford is coming.

The Ouſe or Bedford river is ſo called in Cambridgeſhire, becauſe when ſwoln with rain, &c. in the winter time it arreſts the Iſle of Ely with an inundation, bringing down ſuddenly abundance of water.

Buckinghamſhire.

BUckinghamſhire bread and beef.

The former as fine, the latter as fat in this, as in any other County.

Here if you beat a buſh, it's ods you'll ſtart a thief.

No doubt there was juſt occaſion for this Proverb at the original thereof, which then contained a Satyrical truth, proportioned to the place before it was reformed: whereof thus our great Antiquary. It was altogether unpaſſable in times paſt by reaſon of trees, until Leofſtane Abbot of St. Albans did cut them down, becauſe they yielded a place of refuge for thieves. [Page] But this Proverb is now antiquated as to the truth thereof; Buckinghamſhire affording as many maiden Aſſizes as any County of equal populouſneſs.

Cambridgeſhire.

CAntabridgia petit aequales or aequalia.

That is (as Doctour Fuller expounds it) either in reſpect of their Commons; all of the ſame meſs have equal ſhare: or in reſpect of extraordinaries, they are all [...], club alike: or in reſpect of Degree, all of the ſame degree are fellows well met. The ſame degree levels, although of different age.

Cambridgeſhire. camels.

I look upon this as a nickname groundleſly faſtned on this countrey men, perhaps becauſe the three firſt letters are the ſame in Cambridge and camel. I doubt whether it had any reſpect to the Fen men ſtalking upon their ſtilts, who then in the apparent length of their legs do ſomething reſemble that beaſt.

An Henry-ſophiſter.

So they are called, who after four years ſtanding in the Univerſity, ſtay themſelves from commencing batchelours of Arts, to render them in ſome Colleges more capable of preferment.

That tradition is ſenſeleſs (and inconſiſtent with his Princely magnificence) of ſuch who fancy that King Henry the eighth coming to Cambridge, ſtayed all the Sophiſters a year, who expected that a year of grace ſhould have been given to them. More probable it is, that becauſe [Page] that King is commonly conceived of great ſtrength and ſtature, that theſe Sophiſtae Henriciani were elder and bigger then others. The truth is this, in the reign of King Henry the eighth, after the deſtruction of Monaſteries, learning was at a loſs; and the Univerſity (thanks be unto God more ſcared then hurt) ſtood at a gaze what would become of her. Hereupon many ſtudents ſtaid themſelves two, three, ſome four years; as who would ſee, how their degrees (before they took them) would be rewarded and maintained.

Twittle twattle, drink up your poſſet-drink.

This proverb had its original in Cambridge, and is ſcarce known elſewhere.

Cheſhire.

CHeſhire chief of men.

It ſeems the Ceſtrians have formerly been renowned for their valour. v. Fuller.

She hath given Lawton gate a clap.

Spoken of one got with child and going to London to conceal it. Lawton is in the way to London from ſeveral parts of Cheſhire.

Better wed over the Mixon then over the Moor.

That is hard by or at home, the Mixon being that heap of compoſt which lies in the yards of good husbands, then far off or from London. The road from Cheſter leading to London over ſome part of the Moor-lands in Staffordſhire. The meaning is, the gentry in Cheſhire find it more profitable to match within their own County, then to bring a bride [Page] out of other ſhires. 1. Becauſe better acquainted with her birth and breeding. 2. Becauſe though her portion may chance to be leſs, the expence will be leſs to maintain her. Such intermarriages in this County have been obſerved both a prolonger of worſhipful families, and the preſerver of amity between them.

Every man cannot be vicar of Bowden.

Bowden, it ſeems, is one of the greateſt livings near Cheſter, otherwiſe doubtleſs there are many greater Churchpreferments in Cheſhire.

The Maior of Altringham lies in bed while his breeches are mending.

The Maior of Altringham and the Maior of Over. The one is a that cher the other a dauber.

Theſe are two petty Corporations whoſe poverty makes them ridiculous to their neighbours.

Stopford law, no ſtake no draw.

Neither in Cheſhire nor Chawbent

That is, nither in Kent nor Chriſtendome. Chawbent is a town in Lancaſhire.

The Conſtable of Oppenſhaw ſets beggers in Stocks at Mancheſter.

He feeds like, a Freeholder of Maxfield [or Macklesfield,] who hath neither corn nor hay at Michaelmas.

Maxfield is a market town and burrough of good account in this County, where they drive a great trade of [Page] making and ſelling buttons. When this came to be a Proverb, it ſhould ſeem the inhabitants were poorer or worſe husbands then now they are.

Maxfield meaſure heap and thrutch, i. e. thruſt.

Cornwall.

BY Tre, Pol, and Pen,

You ſhall know the Corniſh men.

Theſe three words are the Dictionary of ſuch ſirnames as are originally Corniſh; and though Nouns in ſenſe, I may fitly term them Prepoſitions.

1. Tre ſignifieth a Town, hence Tre-fry, Tre-lawney, Tre-vanion, &c.

2. Pol ſignifieth an head hence Pol-wheel.

3. Pen ſignifieth a Top.hence Pentire, Pen-roſe, Pen-kevil, &c.

To give one a Corniſh Hug.

The Corniſh are maſters of the Art of wreſtling. Their hug is a cunning cloſe with their fellow combatants, the fruit whereof is his fair fall or ſoil at the leaſt. It is figuratively appliable to the deceitful dealing of ſuch, who ſecretly deſign their overthrow whom they openly embrace.

Hengſten down well ywrought,

Is worth London town dear ybought.

In reſpect of the great quantity of tin to be found there under ground. Though the gainful plenty of metal this place formerly afforded, is now fallen to a ſcant-ſaving-ſcarcity. [Page] As for the Diamonds which Doctour Fuller fancieth may be found there, I believe they would be little worth.

He is to be ſummoned before the Major of Halgaver.

This is a joculary and imaginary court, wherewith men make merriment to themſelves, preſenting ſuch perſons who go ſlovenly in their attire: where judgement in formal terms is given againſt them, and executed more to the ſcorn then hurt of the perſons.

When Dudman and Ram-head meet.

Theſe are two forelands, well known to ſailers, nigh twenty miles aſunder, and the Proverb paſſeth for the Periphraſis of an impoſſibility.

He doth ſail into Cornwall without a bark.

This is an Italian Proverb, where it paſſeth for a deſcription (or deriſion rather) of ſuch a man as is wronged by his wives diſloyalty. The wit of it conſiſts in the alluſion to the word horn.

Cumberland.

IF Skiddaw hath a cap,

Scruffell wots full well of that.

Theſe are two neighbour hills, the one in this County, the other in Anandalc in Scotland: if the former be cap't with clouds and foggy miſts, it will not be long e're rain falls on the other. It is ſpoken of ſuch who muſt expect to ſympathize in their ſufferings by reaſon of the vicinity of their habitations.

[Page]

Skiddaw, Lauvellin and Caſticand.

Are the higheſt hills in all England.

I know not how to reconcile this rhythme with another mention'd by the ſame Author, Camden. Britan. in Lancaſhire.

Ingleborough, Pendle and Penigent,

Are the Higheſt hills between Scotland and Trent.

Unleſs it be, that the later ternary are higheſt in Yorkſhire mens account; the former in Cumberland mens account: every County being given to magnifie (not to ſay altifie) their own things.

Devonſhire.

TO Devonſhire or Denſhire land.

That is, to pare off the ſurface or top-turf thereof, and to lay it upon heaps and burn it; which aſhes are a marvelous improvement to battle barren land, by reaſon of the fixt ſalt which they contain. This courſe they take with their barren ſpungy heathy land in many Counties of England, and call it Denſhiring. Land ſo uſed will bear two or three good crops of corn, and then muſt be thrown down again.

A Plymouth cloak.

That is, a cane or ſtaff; whereof this the occaſion. Many a man of good extraction coming home from far voyages, may chance to land here, and being out of ſorts, is unable for the preſent time and place to recruit himſelf with clothes. Here, (if not friendly provided) they make the next wood [Page] their Drapers ſhop, where a ſtaff cut out, ſerves them for a covering. For we uſe when we walk in cuerpo to carry a ſtaff in our hands, but none when in a cloak.

He may remove Mort-ſtone.

There is a bay in this County called Morts-bay, but the harbour in the entrance thereof is ſtopt with a huge rock, called Mort-ſtone, and the people merrily ſay, none can remove it but ſuch as are maſters of their wives.

Firſt hang and draw;

Then hear the cauſe by Lidford law.

Lidſord is a little and poor (but ancient) Corporation in this County with very large priviledges, where a Court of Stanneries was formerly kept. This libellous Proverb would ſuggeſt unto us, as if the Townſ-men thereof (generally mean perſons) were unable to manage their own liberties with neceſſary diſcretion, adminiſtring prepoſterous and preproperous juſtice.

Dorſetſhire.

AS much a kin as Lenſon-hill to Pilſen pen.

That is no kin at all. It is ſpoken of ſuch who have vicinity of habitation or neighbourhood, without the leaſt degree of conſanguinity or affinity betwixt them. For theſe are two high hills, the firſt wholly, the other partly in the Pariſh of Broad Windſor. Yet the ſea-men make the neareſt relation between them, calling the one the cow, the other the calf, in which forms it ſeems they appear firſt to their fancies, being eminent ſea-marks.

[Page] Stab'd with a Byrdport dagger.

That is hang'd. The beſt if not the moſt hemp (for the quantity of ground) growing about Byrdport, a market-town in this County. And hence it is that there is an ancient ſtatute (though now difuſed and neglected) that the cable ropes for the Navy-royal were to be made thereabouts.

Dorſetſhire dorſers.

Dorſers are peds or paniers carried on the backs of horſes, on which Higlers uſe to ride and carry their commodities. It ſeems this homely but moſt uſeful inſtrument was either firſt ſound out, or is moſt generally uſed in this County; where fiſh-jobbers bring up their fiſh in ſuch contrivances, above an hundred miles from Lime to London.

Eſſex.

ESſex ſtiles.

See the catalogue of Sentences.

Eſſex calves.

This County produceth calves of the fatteſt, faireſt and fineſt fleſh in England, and conſequenly in all Europe. Sure it is that a Cumberland cow may be bought for the price of an Eſſex calf at the beginning of the year. Let me add that it argues the goodneſs of fleſh in this County, and that great gain was got formerly by the ſale thereof, becauſe that ſo many ſtately Monuments were erected therein anciently for Butchers inſcribed Carnifices in their Epitaphs in Cogſhall, Chelmsford and elſe where, made with marble, inlaid with braſs, befitting (ſaith my Authour) a more eminent man: whereby it appears, that thoſe of that trade have in that County been richer (or at leaſt prouder) then in other places.

[Page]

As valiant as an Eſſex lion, i. e. a calf.

The Weavers beef of Colcheſter.

That is ſprats, caught hereabouts, and brought hither in incredible abundance, whereon the poor Weavers (numerous in this Town) make much of their repaſt, cutting [...]ands, rumps, Surloyns, chines, &c. out of them, as he goes on.

Jeering Cogſhall.

This is no Proverb: but an ignominious Epitheté faſtned on this place by their neighbours, which as I hope they do not glory in; ſo I believe they are not guilty of. Other towns in this Countrey have had the like abuſive Epithetes. I remember a rhyme which was in common uſe formerly of ſome towns, not far diſtant the one from the other.

Braintree for the pure, and Bocking for the poor,

Cogſhall for the jeering Town, and Kelvedon for the whore.

Glouceſterſhire.

AS ſure as God's in Glouceſterſhire.

This is a fooliſh and profane Proverb, unfit to be uſed. However ſome ſeek to qualifie it, making God eminently in his, though not excluſively of other Counties; where ſuch he former fruitfulneſs thereof, that it is (by William of Malmesbury, in his book of Biſhops) ſaid to return the ſeed with the increaſe of an hundred fold: others find a ſuperſtitious ſenſe therein, ſuppoſing God by his gracious preſence more peculiarly fix't in this Countrey, wherein there were more [Page] and richer mitred Abbeys, then in any two ſhires of England beſides.

You are a man of Dureſley.

It is taken for one that breaks his word, and fails in performance of his promiſe; parallel to Fides Graca or Punica. Dureſley is a market and clothing Town in this County, the inhabitants whereof will endeavour to confute and diſprove this Proverb, to make it falſe now, whatſoever it was at the firſt original thereof.

It's as long in coming as Cotſwald barely.

It's applied to ſuch things as are ſlow, but ſure. The corn in this cold Country on the Wowlds, expoſed to the winds bleak and ſhelterleſs, is very backward at the firſt, but afterward overtake, the forwardeſt in the County, if not in the barn in the buſhel, both for the quantity and goodneſs thereof.

He looks as if he had liv'd on Tewksbury muſtard.

Tewksbury is a fair Market-town in this County, noted for the muſtard-balls made there, and ſent into other parts. This is ſpoken partly of ſuch, who always have a ſad, ſevere and tetrick countenance. Si ecaſtor hic homo ſinapi victite [...] non conſeam tam triſtem eſſe poſſe. Plaut. in Trucul. Partly of ſuch as are ſnappiſh, captious, and prone to take exceptions.

The Traceys have always the wind in their faces.

This is ſounded on a fond and falſe tradition, which reporteth, that ever ſince Sr William Tracy, was moſt acti [...] [Page] among the four Knights, which killed Thomas Becket, it is impoſed on the Tracies for miraculous penance, that whether they go by land or by water, the wind is ever in their faces. If this were ſo (ſaith the Doctour) it was a favour in an hot ſummer to the females of that family, and would ſpare them the uſe of a Fan, &c.

As fierce as a lion of Cotſwald.

i. e. A ſheep.

Hampſhire.

MAnners make a man,

Quoth William of Wickham.

William of Wickham was a perſon well known. He was Biſhop of Wincheſter, founded New Colledge in Oxford, and Wincheſter Colledge in this County. This generally was his Motto, inſcribed frequently on the places of his founding. So that it hath ſince acquired a Proverbial reputation.

Canterbury is the higher Rack but Wincheſter is the better Manger.

W. Edington Biſhop of Wincheſter was the Authour of this expreſſion, rendring this the reaſon of his refuſal to be removed to Canterbury, though choſen thereunto. Indeed though Canterbury be graced with an higher honour; the revenues of Wincheſter are greater. It is appliable to ſuch, who preferre a wealthy privacy before a leſs profitable dignity.

The Iſle of Wight ath no Monks, Lawyers nor Foxes.

This ſpeech hath more mirth then truth in it. (Speeds [Page] Catal. of religious houſes.) That they had Monks I know, Black ones at Caris-brook, White ones at Quarter in this Iſland. That they have Lawyers they know when they pay them their fees: and that they have Foxes their Lambs know. But of all theſe, perchance fewer then in other places of equal extent.

Hartfordſhire.

HArtfordſhire clubs and clouted ſhoon.

Some will wonder how this ſhire lying ſo near to London, the ſtaple of Engliſh civility, ſhould be guilty of ſo much ruſticalneſs. But the fineſt cloth muſt have a liſt, and the pure Peſants are of as courſe a thread in this, as in any other place. Yet though ſome may ſmile at their clowniſhneſs, let none laugh at their induſtry; the rather, becauſe the high-ſhoon of the tenant, payes for the Spaniſh leatherboots of the Landlord.

Hartfordſhire hedgehogs.

Plenty of hedgehogs are found in this high woodland Countrey, reported to ſuck the kine, though the Dairy-maids conne them ſmall thanks for ſparing their pains in milking them. Whether this Proverb may have any further reflection on the people of this County, as therein taxed for covetouſneſs and conſtant nudling on the earth, I think not worth the enquiry; theſe nicknames being impoſed on ſeveral Counties groundleſly, as to any moral ſignificancy.

Ware and Wades-mill are worth all London.

This I aſſure you is a maſter-piece of the vulgar wits in this County, wherewith they endeavour to amuſe travellers, as if Ware a through-fare market, and Wades-mill part of a [Page] village lying two miles North thereof were ſo prodigiouſly rich, as to countervail the wealth of London. The ſallacy lieth in the homonymy of Ware, here not taken for that Town ſo named, but appellatively for all vendible commodities. It is rather a riddle then a Proverb.

Hartfordſhire kindneſs.

It is, when one drinks back again to the party, who immediately before drank to him: and although it may ſignifie as much, as, Manus manum fricat, & par eſt de merente be ne mereri, yet it is commonly uſed onely by way of deriſion of thoſe, who through forgetfulneſs or miſtake, drink to them again whom they pledged immediately.

Herefordſhire.

BLeſſed is the eye,

That is between Severn and Wye.

Not onely becauſe of the pleaſant proſpect; but it ſeems this is a prophetical promiſe of ſafety, to ſuch as live ſecured within thoſe great rivers, as if priviledged from Martial impreſſions.

Sutton wall and Kencheſter hill

Are able to buy London were it to ſell.

Theſe are two fruitfull places in this Countrey, ſaith Mr Howell.

Lemſter Bread and Weabley Ale.

Both theſe the beſt in their kinds, underſtand it of this County. Otherwiſe there is Wheat in England that will [Page] vie with that of Lemſter for pureneſs: for example that of (Nordens Middleſex. Camden. Brit.) Heſton near Harrow on the hill in Middleſex, of which for a long time the manchet for the Kings of England was made: and for Ale Derby town, and Northdown in the Iſle of Thanet, Hull in Yorkſhire, and Sambich in Cheſhire will ſcarce give place to Webley.

Every one cannot dwell at Rotheras.

A delicate ſeat of the Bodmans in this County.

Huntingtonſhire.

AN Huntington Sturgeon.

This is the way to Beggers-buſh.

It is ſpoken of ſuch, who uſe diſſolute and improvident courſes, which tend to poverty. Beggers-buſh being a tree notoriouſly known, on the left hand of London road from Huntington to Caxton.

Nay ſtay quoth Stringer when his neck was in the halter.

Ramſey the rich.

This was the Croeſus of all our Engliſh Abbeys, for having but ſixty Monks to maintain therein, the revenues thereof according to the ſtandard of thoſe times amounted unto ſeven thouſand pounds per annum; which in proportion was an hundred pounds for every Monk, and a thouſand pounds for their Abbot; yet at the diſſolution of Monaſteries, the income of this Abbey was reckoned at but one thouſand nine hundred eighty three pound a year; whereby it [Page] plainly appears how much the Revenues were under-rated in thoſe valuations.

Kent.

NEither in Kent nor Chriſtendom.

That is, ſaith Dr Fuller, our Engliſh Chriſtendom, of which Kent was firſt converted to the Chriſtian ſaith, as much as to ſay as Rome and all Italy, or the firſt cut and all the loaf beſides: not by way of oppoſition, as if Kent were no part of Chriſtendom, as ſome have underſtood it. I rather think that it is to be underſtood by way of oppoſition, and that it had its original upon occaſion of Kent being given by the ancient Britains to the Saxons, who were then Pagans. So that Kent might well be oppoſed to all the reſt of England in this reſpect, it being Pagan when all the reſt was Chriſtian.

A Knight of Cales, a Gentleman of Wales, and a Laird of the North-countree,

A Yeoman of Kent with his yearly rent, will buy them out all three.

Cales Knights were made in that voyage by Robert Earl of Eſſex, to the number of ſixty; whereof (though many of great birth) ſome were of low fortunes; and therefore Queen Elizabeth was half offended with the Earl, for making Knighthood ſo common.

Of the numerouſneſs of Welch Gentlemen nothing need be ſaid, the Welch generally pretending to Gentility. Northern Lairds are ſuch, who in Scotland hold lands in chief of the King, whereof ſome have no great Revenue. So that a Kentiſh Yeoman (by the help of an Hyperbole) may countervail, &c.

Yeomen contracted for Gemen-mein from Gemein ſignifying [Page] common in old Dutch, ſo that a Yeoman is a Commoner, one undignified with any title of Gentility: a condition of people almoſt peculiar to England, and which is in effect the baſis of all the Nation.

Kentiſh long-tails.

Thoſe are miſtaken who found this Proverb on a miracle of Auſtin the Monk; who preaching in an Engliſh village, and being himſelf and his aſſociates beat and abuſed by the Pagans there, who opprobriouſly tied Fiſh-tails to their back-ſides; in revenge thereof ſuch appendants grew to the hind-parts of all that generation. For the ſcence of this lying wonder was not laid in any part of Kent, but pretended many miles off, nigh Cerne in Dorſetſhire. I conceive it firſt of outlandiſh extraction, and caſt by forreigners as a note of diſgrace on all Engliſh men, though it chanceth to ſtick onely on the Kentiſh at this day. What the original or occaſion of it at firſt was is hard to ſay; whether from wearing a pouch or bag to carry their baggage in behind their backs; whilſt probably the proud Monſieurs had their Lacquies for that purpoſe; or whether from the mention'd ſtory of Auſtin. I am ſure there are ſome at this day in forreign parts, who can hardly be perſwaded but that Engliſh men have tails.

Why this nickname (cut off from the reſt of England) continues ſtill entail'd on Kent, the reaſon may be (as the Doctour conjectures) becauſe that County lies neareſt to France, and the French are beheld as the firſt founders of this aſperſion.

Dover-court all ſpeakers and no hearers.

The Doctour underſtands this Proverb of ſome tumultuous Court kept at Dover, the confluence of many bluſtering ſea-men, who are not eaſily ordered into any awful attention. It is appliable to ſuch irregular conferences, where the people are all tongue and no ears.

[Page] A jack of Dover.

I find the firſt mention of this Proverb in our Engliſh Ennius, Chaucer in his Proeme to the Cook.

And many a jack of Dover he had ſold,

Which had been two times hot, and two times cold.

This he makes parallel to Crambe his cocta; and appliable to ſuch as grate the eares of their Auditours with ungrateful tautologies, of what is worthleſs in it ſelf, tolerable as once uttered in the notion of novelty, but abominable if repeated.

Some part of Kent hath health and no wealth, viz. Eaſt Kent. Some wealth and no health, viz. The weald of Kent. Some both health and wealth, viz. the middle of the Countrey and parts near London.

Lancaſhire.

LAncaſhire fair women.

Whether the women of this County be indeed fairer then their neighbours I know not; but that the inhabitants of ſome Countreys may be and are generally fairer then thoſe of others, is moſt certain. The reaſon whereof is to be attributed partly to the temperature of the air, partly to the condition of the ſoil, and partly to their manner of food. The hotter the climate, generally the blacker the inhabitants, and the colder the fairer: the colder I ſay to a certain degree, for in extreme cold countreys the inhabitants are of dusky complexions. But in the ſame climate that in ſome places the inhabitants ſhould be fairer then in others, proceeds from the diverſity of the ſituation (either high or low, [Page] maritime or far from ſea) or of the ſoil and manner of living, which we ſee have ſo much influence upon beaſts, as to alter them in bigneſs, ſhape and colour, and why it may not have the like on men, I ſee not.

It is written upon a wall in Rome,

Ribcheſter was as rich as any town in Chriſtendome.

Some monumental wall, whereon the names of principal places were inſcribed then ſubject to the Roman Empire. And probably this Ribcheſter was anciently ſome eminent colony (as by pieces of coins and columns there daily dig'd out doth appear) However at this day it is not ſo much as a market-town, but whether decayed by age, or deſtroyed by accident is uncertain. It is called Ribcheſter becauſe ſituate on the river Ribble.

As old as Pendle hill.

If Riving pike do wear a hood,

Be ſure that day will ne're be good.

A miſt on the top of that hill is a ſign of foul weather.

He that would take a Lancaſhire man at any time or tide,

Muſt bait his hook with a good egge-pie or an apple with a red ſide.

Leiceſterſhire.

BEan-belly Leiceſterſhire.

So called from the great plenty of that grain growing therein. Yea thoſe of the neighbouring countreys uſe to ſay merrily, Shake a Leiceſterſhire man by the collar, and you ſhall hear the beans rattle in his belly. But thoſe Yeomen [Page] ſmile at what is ſaid to rattle in their bellies, whilſt they▪ know good ſilver ringeth in their pockets.

If Bever hath a cap,

You churls of the vale look to that.

That is when the clouds hang over the towers of Bevercaſtle, it is a prognoſtick of much rain and moiſture, to the much endamaging that fruitful vale, lying in the three Counties of Leiceſter, Lincoln and Notingham.

Bread for Borrough-men,

At Great Gleu there are more great dogs then honest men. Carleton wharlers.

I'll throw you into Harborough field. A threat for children, Harborough having no field.

Put up your pipes, and goe to Lockington wake.

The laſt man that he kill'd keeps hogs in Hinckley field.

Spoken of a coward that never durſt fight.

He has gone over Asfordby bridge backwards.

Spoken of on that is paſt learning.

Like the Maior of Hartle pool, you cannot doe that.

Then I'll thatch Groby pool with pancakes.

For his death there is many a wet cye in Groby pool.

In and out like Billeſdon I wote.

A Leiceſterſhire plover, i. e. a Bag-pudding.

Bedworth beggers.

The ſame again, quoth Mark of Bellgrave.

What have I to doe with Bradſhaws wind-mill, i. e. What have I to doe with another mans buſineſs?

Lincolnſhire.

LIncolnſhire, where hogs ſhite ſope and cows ſhite fire.

The inhabitants of the poorer ſort waſhing their clothes with hogs dung, and burning dried cow-dung for want of better fuel.

[Page] Lincolnſhire bagpipes.

Whether becauſe the people here do more delight in the bagpipes then others, or whether they are more cunning in playing upon them, indeed the former of theſe will inferre the latter.

As loud as Tom of Lincoln.

This Tom of Lincoln is an extraordinary great bell hanging in one of the towers of Lincoln Minſter; how it got the name I know not, unleſs it were impoſed on it, when baptized by the Papiſts. Howbeit this preſent Tom was caſt in King James his time, Anno 1610.

All the carts that come to Crowland are ſhod with ſilver.

Crowland is ſituate in ſo mooriſh rotten ground in the Fens, that ſcarce a horſe, much leſs a cart can come to it. Since the draining, in ſummer time carts may go thither.

As mad as the baiting bull of Stamford.

Take the original hereof. (R. Butcher in his Survey of Stamford p. 40.) William Earl Warren Lord of this Town in the time of King John, ſtanding upon the Caſtle walls of Stamford, ſaw two bulls fighting for a cow in the meadow, till all the butchers dogs great and ſmall purſued one of the bulls (being madded with noiſe and multitude) clean through the town. This ſight ſo pleaſed the ſaid Earl, that he gave all thoſe meadows (called the caſtle meadows) where firſt the Bull duell begin, for a common to the butchers of the Town (after the firſt graſs was eaten) on condition they find a mad Bull, the day ſix weeks before Chriſtmas day, for the continuance of that ſport every year.

[Page] He was born at little Wittham.

Little Wittham is a village in this County. It is applied to ſuch as are not overſtock't with acuteneſs, being a nominal alluſion; of the like whereto we have many current among the vulgar.

Grantham gruel, nine grits, and a gallon of water.

It is appliable to thoſe who in their ſpeeches or actions, multiply what is ſuperfluous, or at beſt leſs neceſſary, either wholly omitting or leſs regarding the eſſentials thereof.

They hold together as the men of Marham, when they loſt their common.

Some underſtand it ironically, that is, they are divided with ſeveral factions, which ruines any cauſe. Others uſe it onely as an expreſſion of ill ſucceſs, when men ſtrive and plot together to no purpoſe.

Middleſex.

MIddleſex clowns.

Becauſe Gentry and Nobility are reſpectively obſerved according to their degree, by people far diſtant from London, leſs regarded by theſe Middleſexians (frequency breeds familiarity) becauſe abounding there abouts. It is generally true where the common people are richer, there are they more ſurly and uncivil: as alſo where they have leſs dependence on the Gentry, as in places of great trade.

He that is at a low ebb at Newgate, may ſoon be aflote at Tiburn.

[Page] Mr Bedwell deſcript. of Tottenham, Chap. 3.

When Tottenham wood is all on fire,

Then Tottenham ſtreet is nought but mire.

That is, when Tottenham wood ſtanding on an high hill at the weſt end of the Pariſh, hath a foggy miſt hanging over it in manner of a ſmoke, then generally foul weather followeth.

Idem ibid.

Tottenham is turned French.

It ſeems about the beginning of the reign of King Henry the eighth, French mechanicks ſwarmed in England, to the great prejudice of Engliſh artiſans, which cauſed the inſurrection in London on ill May-day, A. D. 1517. Nor was the City onely but the Countrey villages for four miles about filled with French faſhions and infections. The Proverb is applied to ſuch, who contemning the cuſtomes of their own Countrey, make themſelves more ridiculous by affecting forreign humours and habits.

London.

A London Jury, hang half and ſave half.

Some affirm this of an Eſſex, others of a Middleſex Jury: and my charity believes it equally true, that is equally untrue of all three. It would fain ſuggeſt to credulous people, as if Londoners frequently impannel'd on Juries, and loaded [Page] with multiplicity of matters, aim more at diſpatch then juſtice, and to make quick riddance, (though no haſt to hang true men) acquit half and condemn half. Thus they divide themſelves in aquilibrio between juſtice and mercy, though it were meet the latter ſhould have the more advantage, &c.

The falſeneſs of this ſuggeſtion will appear to ſuch, who by peruſing hiſtory, do diſcover the London Jurors moſt conſcientious in proceeding ſecundùm allegata & probata, always inclining to the merciful ſide in ſaving life, when they can find any cauſe or colour for the ſame.

London lick-penny.

The countrey man coming up hither, by his own experience will eaſily expound the meaning thereof.

London bridge was made for wiſe men to goe over, and fools to goe under.

A London Cockney.

This nickname is more then four hundred years old. For when Hugh Bigot added artificial fortifications to his naturally ſtrong Caſtle of Bungey in Suffolk, he gave out this rhythme, therein, vaunting it for impregnable,

Were I in my caſtle of Bungey,

Upon the river of Waveney,

I would ne care for the King of Cockney.

Meaning thereby King Henry the ſecond, then quierly poſſeſſed of London, whilſt ſome other places did reſiſt him: though afterwards he ſo humbled this Hugh, that he was [Page] fain with large ſums of money, and pledges for his loyalty to redeem this his Caſtle from being raſed to the ground. I meet with a double ſence of this word Cockney. 1. One coaks'd and cocquer'd, made a wanton or Neſtle-cock, delicately bred and brought up, ſo as when grown up to be able to endure no hardſhip. 2. One utterly ignorant of countrey affairs, of husbandry and houſewivery as there practiſed. The original thereof, and the tale of the citizens ſon, who knew not the language of a Cock, but called it neighing is commonly known.

Billings-gate language.

Billings was formerly a gate, and (as ſome would make us believe) ſo called from Belinus the brother of Brennus: it is now rather portus a haven, then porta. Billings-gate language is ſuch as the fiſhwives and other rude people which flock thither uſe frequently one to another, when they fall out.

Kirbes caſtle and Megſes glory,

Spinola's pleaſure and Fiſhers folly.

Theſe were four houſes about the City, built by citizens, large and ſumptuous above their eſtates. He that would know any thing more of the builders of theſe houſes, let him conſult the Authour.

He was born within the ſound of Bow-bell.

This is the Periphraſis of a Londoner at large. This is called Bow-bell becauſe hanging in the ſteeple of Bow Church, and Bow Church, becauſe built on bows or arches (ſaith my Author) But I have been told that it was called from the croſs ſtone arches, or bows on the top of the ſteeple.

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St Peters in the poor,

Where no Tavern, Alehouſe, or ſign at the door.

Under correction I concelve it called in the Poor, becauſe the Auguſtinian friers profeſſing willful poverty for ſome hundreds of years, poſſeſſed more then a moiety thereof. Otherwiſe this was one of the richeſt Pariſhes in London, and therefore might ſay, Malo pauper vocari quàm eſſe. How ancient the uſe of ſigns in this city on private houſes is to me unknown; ſure I am it was generally uſed in the reign of King Edward the fourth.

Good manners to except my Lord Major of London.

This is a corrective for ſuch, whoſe expreſſions are of the largeſt ſize; and too general in their extent.

I have dined as well as my Lord Major of London.

That is, though not ſo dubiouſly or daintily on variety of coſtly diſhes, yet as comfortably, as contentedly, according to the Rule, Satis eſt quod ſufficit, Enough is as good as a feaſt, and better then a ſurfet.

As old as Pauls, or as Pauls ſteeple.

Different are the dates of the age thereof, becauſe it had two births or beginnings, one when it was originally cofounded by King Ethelbert, with the body of the Church, Anno 610. another when burnt with lightning, and afterwards rebuilt by the Biſhops of London, 1087.

He is onely fit for Ruffians-hall.

Weſt Smithfield (now the houſe-market) was formerly [Page] called (continuer of Stows annals.) Ruffians-hall, where Ruffians met caſually, and otherwiſe to try maſteries with ſword and buckler.

A loyal heart may be landed under Traitors bridge.

This is a bridge under which is an entrance into the Tower, over againſt Pink-gate, formerly fatal to thoſe who landed there; there being a muttering that ſuch never came forth alive, as dying, to ſay no worſe therein, without any legal trial. The Proverb importeth that paſſive innocence overpower'd with adverſaries, may be accuſed without cauſe, and diſpoſed at the pleaſure of others.

To caſt water into the Thames.

That is, to give to them who had plenty before; which notwithſtanding is the Dole general of the world.

He muſt take a houſe in Turn-again Lane.

This in old Records is called Wind-again Lane, and lieth in the Pariſh of St Sepulchres, going down to Fleetdike, having no exit at one end. It is ſpoken of, and to thoſe who take prodigal or other vicious and deſtructive courſes.

He may whet his knife on the threſhold of the Fleet.

The Fleet is a place notoriouſly known for a priſon, ſo called from Fleet-brook running by it, to which many are committed for their contempts, more for their debts. The Proverb is appliable to ſuch who never owed ought; or having run into debt have crept out of it, ſo that now, they may triumphare in hoſtico, defie danger and arreſts, &c.

[Page] All goeth down Gutter-lane.

Guttur-lane (the right ſpelling whereof is Guthurn-lane, from him the once owner thereof) is a ſmall Lane (inhabited anciently by gold-beaters) leading out of Cheap-ſide, Eaſt of Foſter-lane. The Proverb is applied to thoſe, who ſpend all in drunkenneſs and gluttony, meer belly gods: Guttur being Latine for the throat.

As lame as St Giles Cripple-gate.

St Giles was by birth an Athenian, of noble extraction but quitted all for a ſolitary life. He was viſited with a lameneſs, (whether natural or caſual I know not) but the tradition goes, that he deſired not to be healed thereof, for his greater mortification. Cripplegate was ſo called before the Conqueſt, from cripples begging of paſſengers therein.

This Proverb may ſeem guilty of falſe heraldry, lameneſs on lameneſs; and in common diſcourſe is ſpoken rather merrily then mournfully of ſuch, who for ſome ſleight hurt lag behind; and ſometimes is applied to thoſe who out of lazineſs counterfeit infirmity.

You are all for the Hoiſtings or Huſtings.

It is ſpoken of thoſe, who by pride or paſſion, are elated or mounted to a pitch above the due proportion of their birth, quality or eſtate. It cometh from Huſtings the principal and higheſt Court in London (as alſo in Wincheſter, Lincoln, York, &c.) ſo called from the French word haulſer to raiſe or lift up.

They agree like the clocks of London.

I find this among both the French and Italian Proverbs for an inſtance of diſagreement.

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Who goes to Weſtminſter for a wife, to Pauls for a man, and to Smithfield for a horſe, may meet with a whore, a knave and a jade.

Grayes Inne for walks, Lincolns Inne for a wall,

The Inner Temple for a garden, and the Middle for a hall.

Weſtminſter.

THere is no redemption from Hell.

There is a place partly under, partly by the Exchequer chamber, commonly called Hell, (I could wiſh it had another name, ſeeing it is ill jeſting with edg'd tools) formerly appointed a priſon for the Kings debtors, who never were freed from thence, until they had paid their utmoſt due.

As long as Megg of Weſtminſter.

This is applied to perſons very tall, eſpecially if they have hop-pole height, wanting breadth proportionable. That there ever was ſuch a Gyant-woman cannot be proved by any good witneſs, I paſs not for a late lying Pamphlet, &c. vide ſis. He thinks it might relate to a great gun lying in the Tower called long Megg, in trouble ſome times brought to Weſtminſter, where for ſome time it continued.

Norfolk.

Norfolk dumplings.

This referres no [...] to the ſtature of their bodies; but to the fare they commonly feed on and much delight in.

A Yarmouth Capon.

That is a red herring: more herrings being taken then capons bred here. So the Italian Friers (when diſpoſed to eat fleſh on Fridays) call a capon piſcem è corte, a fiſh out of the coop.

He is arreſted by the Bayliff of Merſhland.

That is, clapt on the back by an ague, which is incident to ſtrangers at firſt coming into this low, fenny and unwholeſome Countrey.

Gimmingham, Trimmingham, Knapton and Trunch,

North Repps and South Repps are all of a bunch.

Theſe are names of Pariſhes lying cloſe together.

There never was a Paſton poor, a Heyden a coward, nor a Cornwallis a fool.

Northamptonſhire.

THe Major of Northampton opens oiſters with his dagger.

To keep them at a ſufficient diſtance from his noſe. For this Town being eighty miles from the ſea, fiſh may well be preſumed ſtale therein. Yet have I heard (ſaith the Doctour) that oiſters put up with care, and carried in the cool, were weekly brought freſh and good to Althrop, the houſe of the Lord Spencer at equal diſtance: and it is no wonder, for I my ſelf have eaten in Warwickſhire, above eighty miles from London, oiſters ſent from that city, freſh and good; and they muſt have been carried ſome miles before they came there.

He that would eat a butter'd faggot, let him go to Northampton.

I have heard that king James ſhould ſpeak this of Newmarket; but I am ſure it may better be applied to this Town, the deareſt in England for fuel, where no coals can come by water, and little wood doth grow on land.

One Proverb there is of this County, which I wonder how Doctour Fuller being native thereof could miſs, unleſs perchance he did ſtudiouſly omit, as reflecting diſgrace on a Market town therein.

Brackley breed, better to hang then feed.

Brackley is a decayed Market town and borough in [Page] Northamptonſhire, not farre from Banbury, which abounding with poor, and troubling the countrey about with beggers, came into diſgrace with its neighbours. I hear that now this place is grown induſtrious and thriving, and endeavours to wipe off this ſcandal.

Like Banbury tinkers that in mending one hole make three.

Northumberland.

From Barwick to Dover, three hundred miles over.

That is from one end of the land to the other, parallel to that Scripture expreſſion, From Dan to Beer-ſheba.

To take Hectors cloak.

That is to deceive a friend, who confideth in his faithfulneſs. When Thomas Percy Earl of Northumberland, Anno 1569. was routed in the rebellion he had raiſed againſt Queen Elizabeth, he hid himſelf in the houſe of one Hector Armſtrong of Harlaw in this County, having confidence he would be true to him, who notwithſtanding, for money betrayed him to the Regent of Scotland. It was obſervable that Hector being before a rich man fell poor of a ſudden, and ſo hated generally that he never durſt go abroad. Inſomuch that the Proverb to take Hectors cloak is continued to this day among them, in the ſence above mentioned.

[Page] We will not loſe a Scot.

That is, any thing how inconſiderable ſoever that we can ſave or recover. During the enmity between the two nations, they had little eſteem of, and leſs affection for a Scotchman in the Engliſh border.

A Scottiſh man and a Newcaſtle grindſtone, travel all the world over.

The Scots are great travellers into forreign parts, moſt for maintenance, many for accompliſhment. And Newcaſtle grindſtones, being the beſt in their kind, muſt needs be carried far and near.

If they come they come not.
and,
If they come not they come.

The cattel of people living hereabout, turn'd into the common paſture, did by cuſtome uſe to return to their home at night, unleſs intercepted by the Free booters and borderers. If therefore thoſe Borderers came, their cattel came not: if they came not, their cattel ſurely returned.

Notinghamſhire.

As wiſe as a man of Gotham.

It paſſeth for the Periphraſis of a fool, and an hundred ſopperies are feigned and fathered on the Towns folk of Gotham, a village in this County. Here two things may be obſerved.

1. Men in all ages have made themſelves merry with [Page] ſingling out ſome place, and fixing the ſtaple of ſtupidity and ſtolidity therein. So the Phrygians in Aſia, the Abderita in Thrace, and the Boeotians in Greece were notorious for dulmen and block heads.

2. Theſe places thus ſleighted and ſcoffed at, afforded ſome as witty and wiſe perſons as the world produced. So Democritus was an Abderite, Plutarch a Boeotian, &c. Hence Juvenal well concludes,

Summos poſſe viros & magna exempla daturos,

Vervecum in patria craſsóque ſub aëre naſci.

As for Gotham it doth breed as wiſe people as any, which cauſleſly laugh at their ſimplicity. Sure I am, Mr William de Gotham, fifth maſter of Michael-houſe in Cambridge 1336, and twice Chancellour of the Univerſity, was as grave a governour as that age did afford. Sapientum octavus. Hor.

The little ſmith of Notingham,

Who doth the work that no man can.

Who this little ſmith and great Workman was, and when he lived I know not, and have cauſe to ſuſpect, that this of Notingham is a Periphraſis of Nemo, [...] or a perſon who never was. By way of Sarcaſme it is applied to ſuch, who being conceited of their own skill, pretend to the atchieving of impoſſibilities.

Oxfordſhire.

You were born at Hogs Norton.

This is a village properly called Hoch Norton, whoſe inhabitants (it ſeems formerly) were ſo ruſtical in their behaviour, that boariſh and clowniſh people are ſaid to be born there. But whatever the people were, the name was enough to occaſion ſuch a Proverb.

[Page] To take a Burford bait.

This it ſeems is a bait not to ſtay the ſtomack, but to loſe the wit thereby, as reſolved at laſt into drunkenneſs.

Banbury veal, cheeſe and cakes.

In the Engliſh edition of Camdens Brit. it was through the correctours miſtake, printed Banbury zeal, &c. vide Autorem.

Oxford knives, and London wives.

Teſtons are gone to Oxford to ſtudy in Brazennoſe.

This began about the end of the reign of King Henry the eighth, at ſuch time as he debaſed the coin, allaying of it with copper, (which common people conſound with braſs) It continued till about the middle of Queen Elizabeth, who by degrees called in all that adulterate coin. Teſtone and our Engliſh teſter come from the Italian teſta ſignifying a head, becauſe that money was ſtamped with a head on one ſide. Copſtick in high Dutch hath the ſame ſence, i. e. Nummus capitatus, money with a head upon it.

Send Verdingales to Broad-gates in Oxford.

For they were ſo great, that the wearers could not enter (except going ſidelong) at any ordinary door. Though they have been long diſuſed in England, yet the faſhion of them is ſtill well enough known. They are uſed ſtill by the Spaniſh women, and the Italian living under the Spaniſh dominion, and they call them by a name ſignifying cover-infant; becauſe they were firſt brought into uſe to hide great bellies. Of the name Verdingal I have not met with a good, that is, true Etymology.

Rutlandſhire. Draitons Polyolbion.

RUtland Raddleman.

That is perchance Reddleman, a Trade and that a poor one onely in this County, whence men bring on their backs a pack of red ſtones or oker, which they ſell to their neighbouring Countries for the marking of ſheep.

Stretton i'th' ſtreet, where ſhrews meet.

An Uppingham trencher.

Shropſhire.

HE that fetcheth a wife from Shrewsbury, muſt carry her into Staffordſhire, or elſe he ſhall live in Cumberland.

The ſtaple wit of this vulgar Proverb, conſiſting ſolely in ſimilitude of ſound is ſcarce worth the inſerting.

Somerſetſhire.

'CH was bore at Taunton Dean, where ſhould I be bore elſe.

This is a parcel of ground round about Taunton very [Page] pleaſant and populous (containing many Pariſhes) and ſo fruitful, to uſe their own phraſe, with the Zun and Zoil alone, that it needs no manuring at all. The peſantry therein are as rude as rich, and ſo highly conceited of their own Countrey, that they conceive it a diſparagement to be born in any other place.

The beggers of Bath.

Many in that place; ſome natives there, others repairing thither from all parts of the land, the poor for alms, the pained for eaſe.

Briſtol milk.

That is Sherry-ſack, which is the entertainment of courſe, which the courteous Briſtolians preſent to ſtrangers, when firſt viſiting their city.

Staffordſhire. Camdens Britan. in this County.

IN April Doves flood.

Is worth a Kings good.

Dove is a river parting this and Derbyſhire, which when it overflows its banks in April is the Nilus of Staffordſhire, much battling the meddows thereof.

Idem ibidem.

Wotton under Weaver,

Where God came never.

This profane Proverb it ſeems, took its wicked original [Page] from the ſituation of Wotton, covered with hills from the light of the Sun, a diſmal place, as report repreſents it.

The Devill run through thee booted and ſpurred, with a ſithe on his back.

This is Sedgeley curſe. Mr Howel.

Suffolk.

SUffolk milk.

This was one of the ſtaple commodities of the land of Canaan, and certainly moſt wholeſome for mans body, becauſe of Gods own chooſing for his own people. No County in England affords better and ſweeter of this kind, lying oppoſite to Holland in the Netherlands, where is the beſt dairy in Chriſtendom.

Suffolk fair maids.

It ſeems the God of Nature hath been bountiful in giving them beautiful complexions; which I am willing to believe, ſo far forth as it ſixeth not a comparative diſparagement on the ſame ſex in other places.

You are in the high-way to Needham.

Needham is a market-town in this County; according to the wit of the vulgar, they are ſaid to be in the high-way thither, which do haſten to poverty.

Beckles for a puritan, Bungey for the poor,

Hallſworth for a drunkard, and Bliborouh for a whore.

[Page] Between Cowhithe and merry Caſſingland, The Devil ſh—Benacre, look where it ſtands.

It ſeems this place is infamous for its bad ſituation.

Surrey.

THe vale of Holms-dale Was never won, ne ever ſhall.

This Proverbial rhythme hath one part of Hiſtory, the other of prophecy. As the firſt is certainly untrue, ſo the ſecond is frivolous, and not to be heeded by ſober perſons, as neither any other of the like nature.

Suſſex.

A Chicheſter lobſter, A Selfey cockle, an Arundel mullet, a Pulborough eel, an Amberley trout, a Rie herring; a Bourn wheat-ear,

Are the beſt in their kind, underſtand it of thoſe that are taken in this Countrey.

Weſtmorland.

LEt Uter Pendragon do what he can,

The river Eden will run as it ran.

Parallel to that Latine verſe,

[Page] Naturam expellas fured licet uſque recurret.

Tradition reporteth, that Uter Pendragon had a deſign to fortifie the caſtle of Pendragon in this County. In order whereto with much art and induſtry, he invited and tempted the river Eden to forſake his old channel, but all to no purpoſe.

As crafty as a Kendale fox.

Wiltſhire.

IT is done ſecundùm uſum Sarum.

This Proverb coming out of the Church hath ſince enlarged it ſelf into a civil uſe, ſignifying things done with exactneſs, according to rule and precedent. Oſmund Biſhop of Sarum about the year 1090, made that Ordinal or Office, which was generally received all over the land, ſo that Churches thence forward eaſily underſtood one another, ſpeaking the ſame words in their Liturgy.

Salisbury plain is ſeldom without a thief or twain.

Yorkſhire.

FRom Hell, Hull and Halifax—deliver us.

This is a part of the beggers and vagrants Letany. Of theſe three frightful things unto them, it is to be feared, that they leaſt fear the firſt, conceiting it the furtheſt from them. Hull is terrible to them as a town of good government, [Page] where beggers meet with punitive charity, and it is to be feared are oftener corrected then amended. Halifax is formidable to them for the Law thereof, whereby thieves taken [...] in the very act of ſtealing cloth, are inſtantly beheaded with an engine; without any further legal proceedings. Doubtleſs the coincidence of the initial letters of theſe three words, help't much the ſetting on foot this Proverb.

A Scarborough warning.

That is none at all but a ſudden ſurpriſe, when a miſchief is felt before it is ſuſpected. This Proverb is but of an hundred and four years ſtanding, taking its original from Thomas Stafford, who in the reign of Queen Mary, Anno 1557 with a ſmall company ſeized on Scarborough caſtle (utterly deſtitute of proviſion for reſiſtance) before the Townſmen had the leaſt notice of his approach. However within ſix days by the induſtry of the Earl of Weſtmoreland he was taken, brought to London and beheaded, &c. vide.

As true ſteel as Rippon rowels.

It is ſaid of truſty perſons, men of metal, faithful in their employments. Rippon in this County is a Town famous for the beſt ſpurs of England, whoſe rowels may be enforced to ſtrike through a ſhilling, and will break ſooner then bow.

A Yorkſhire way-bit.

That is an overplus not accounted in the reckoning, which ſometimes proves as much as all the reſt. Ask a countreyman, How many miles it is to ſuch a Town, and he will return commonly ſo many miles and a way-bit. Which way-bit is enough to make the weary Traveller ſurfet of the length thereof. But it is not way-bit though generally ſo pronounced, but wee-bit, a pure Yorkſhiriſm, which is a ſmall bit in the Northern language.

[Page] Merry Wakefield.

What peculiar cauſe of mirth this Town hath above others, I do not know and dare not too curiouſly enquire. Sure it is ſeated in a fruitful ſoil and cheap countrey: and where good chear and company are the premiſſes, mirth (in common conſequence) will be the concluſion.

Pendle, Ingleborough and Penigent.

Are the three higheſt hills between Scotland and Trent.

And which is more common in the mouths of the vulgar,

Pendle, Penigent and Ingleborough,

Are the three higheſt hills all England thorow.

Theſe three hills are in ſight of each other, Pendle on the edge of Lancaſhire, Penigent and Ingleborough near Settle in Yorkſhire, and not far from Weſtmorland. Theſe three are indeed the higheſt hills in England not comprehending Wales. But in Wales I think Snowdon, Caderidris and Plimllimmon are higher.

If Brayton bargh, and Hambleton hough, and Burton bream,

Were all in thy belly 't would never be team.

It is ſpoken of a covetous and unſatiable perſon, whom nothing will content. Brayton and Hambleton and Burton are places between Cawood and Pontefraict in this County. Brayton Bargh is a ſmall hill in a plain Countrey covered with wood. Bargh in the Northern dialect is properly a horſe-way up a ſteep hill, though here it be taken for the hill it ſelf.

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When Dighton is pull'd down.

Hull ſhall become a great Town.

This is rather a prophecy then a Proverb. Dighton is a ſmall Town not a mile diſtant from Hull, and was in the time of the late warrs for the moſt part pull'd down. Let Hull make the beſt they can of it.

Cleveland in the clay,

Bring in two ſoles and carry one away.

Cleveland is that part of Yorkſhire, which borders upon the Biſhoprick of Durham, where the ways in winter time are very foul and deep.

When Sheffield Park is plowed and ſown,

Then little England hold thine own.

It hath been plow'd and ſown theſe ſix or ſeven years.

You have eaten ſome Hull cheeſe.

i. e. Are drunk, Hull is famous for ſtrong Ale.

When all the world ſhall be aloft,

Then Hallam-ſhire ſhall be Gods croft.

Winkabank and Temple brough,

Will buy all England through and through.

Winkabank is a wood upon a hill near Sheffield where there are ſome remainders of an old Camp. Temple brough ſtands between the Rother and the Don, about a quarter of a mile from the place where theſe two rivers meet. It is a ſquare plat of ground encompaſſed by two trenches. [Page] Selden often enquired for the ruines of a temple of the god Thor, which he ſaid was near Rotherham: This probably might be it, if we allow the name for any argument: beſides there is a Pool not far from it called Jordon-dam, which name ſeems to be compounded of Jor one of the names of the god Thor and Don the name of the river.

Miſcellaneous locall Proverbs.

Dunmow bacon and Doncaſter daggers,

Monmouth caps and Lemſter wooll,

Derby ale and London beer.

There is a currant ſtory, that the Prior and convent of Dunmow were obliged by their Charter, to give a Flitch of Bacon to any man, who coming with his wife, ſhould depoſe both of them that they had been married a twelve moneth, and neither of them had at any time repented.

You may ſip up the Severn and ſwallow Mavern as ſoon.

Little England beyond Wales, i. e. Pembrokeſhire.

Little London beyond Wales; i. e. Beaumaris in the Iſle of Angleſey: both ſo called becauſe the inhabitants ſpeak good Engliſh: indeed in Pembrokeſhire many of the people can ſpeak no Welſh.

There's great doings i'th' North when they barre their doors with tailours.

There's great ſtirring in the North when old wives ride ſcout.

Three great evils come out of the North,

A cold wind, a cunning knave, and a ſhrinking cloth.

Proverbs communicated by Mr Andrew Paſchall of Chedſey in Somerſetſhire, which came not to hand till the copy of this ſecond Edition was delivered to the Bookſeller, and ſo could not be referred to their proper places.

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STeal the horſe, & carry home the bridle.

What are you good for? to ſtop bottles?

I'll not pin my faith on your ſleeve.

A fine new nothing.

What wine blew you hither?

As nimble as a cow in a cage.

Set a cow to catch a ſhare.

Is the wind in that corner?

I'll watch your water.

One's too few, three too many.

He put a fine feather in my cap.

i. e. Honour without profit.

All Ilcheſter is Gaol, ſay priſoners there.

i. e. The people hard-hearted, Somerſ.

[Page] The Bird that can ſing and will not ſing muſt be made to ſing.

After a lank comes a bank;

Said of breeding women.

There or thereabouts, as Parſon Smith ſayes. Proverbial about Dunmow in Eſſex.

I wip't his noſe on't.

Tomorrow come never.

Choak up, the Church-yard's nigh.

Sow or ſet beans in Candlemas waddle.

i. e. Wane of the Moon. Somerſet.

You are right for the firſt—miles.

Eat thy meat and drink thy drink, and ſtand thy ground old Harry. Somerſet.

Blow out the marrow and throw the bone to the dogs.

A taunt to ſuch as are troubleſome by blowing their noſe.

'Twere well for your little belly if your guts were out.

Murder will out.

This is remarkably true of murder however ſecretly acted, but it is applied alſo to the diſcovery of any fault.

To put out the millers eye.

Spoken by good-houſewives when they have wet their meal for bread or paſte too much.

[Page] As your wedding-ring wears your cares will wear away. Somerſet.

She ſtamps like an Ewe upon yeaning. Somerſ.

Pinch on the Parſons ſide.

A old as Glaſton-bury torre. Somerſet.

This torre, i. e. tower, ſo called from the Latine Turris, ſtands upon a round hill in the midſt of a levell, and may be ſeen ſar off. It ſeemed to me to have been the ſteeple of a Church that had formerly ſtood upon that hill, though now ſcarce any footſteps of it remain.

On Candlemas day throw candle and candleſtick away.

Share & ſhare-like, ſome all, ſome n'ere a white.

To help at a dead lift.

To water a ſtake.

As welcome as water into ones ſhooes.

March birds are beſt.

I will not want when I have & when I han't too. Somerſet.

So many froſts in March ſo many in May.

'Tis year'd. Spoken of a deſperate debt.

The Snite need not the woodcock betwite. Som.

You ſhall have the Whetſtone.

Spoken to him that tells a lie.

You have no more ſheep to ſhear. Somerſet.

That's a dog-trick.

You ſhall have the basket. Taunton.

Said to the journeyman that is envied for pleaſing his maſter.

[Page] You are as fine as if you had a whiting hanging at your ſide, or girdle.

April cling good for nothing. Somerſet.

You muſt goe into the countrey to hear what news at London.

'Twill not be why for thy. Somerſet.

Of a bad bargain or great loſs for little profit.

The lamentation of a bad market.

The chicken crammes the capon. Somerſet.

I have victualled my camp: (filled my belly.)

Parſley fried will bring a man to his ſaddle, and a woman to her grave.

I know not the reaſon of this Proverb. Parſley was wont to be eſteemed a very wholeſome herb, however prepared, onely by the Ancients it was forbidden them that had the falling ſickneſs, and modern experience hath found it to be bad for the eyes.

I'll make you know your driver. Somerſet.

I'll veaſe the. (i. e. hunt, drive thee.) Somerſet.

Better untaught then ill taught.

Snapping ſo ſhort makes you look ſo lean.

Wondring makes you look ſo lean.

T'is long of your eyes, the crows might have helped it when you were young.

Quick and nimble, 'twill be your own another day.

In ſome places they ſay in drollery, Quick and nimble, more like a bear then a ſquirrel.

[Page] Upon S. Davids day put oats and barley in the clay.

With us it is accounted a little too early to ſow barley (which is a tender grain) in the beginning of March.

Be patient and you ſhall have patient children.

Too hot to hold. Moderata durant.

Talk is but talk, but 'tis money buys lands.

You cry before you are hurt.

Cradle-ſtraws are ſcarce out of his Br.

God ſend me a friend that may tell me my faults;

if not, an enemy, and to be ſure he will.

He is a fool that is not melancholy once a day.

He frets like gum'd taſfaty.

You ſpeak in cluſters, you were begot in nutting.

Hee'll turn rather then burn.

I never ſee't but once and that was at a wedding.

Hang him that hath no ſhift, and him that hath one too many.

How doth your whither goe you? (your wife.)

Farewell and be hang'd, friends muſt part.

What ſhe wants in up and down ſhe hath in round about.

He's ſteel to the back.

A man every inch of him.

Cut off the head and tail, and throw the reſt away.

To play faſt and looſe.

You are mope-ey'd by living ſo long a maid.

Your horns hang in your light.

What do you come or ſend.

[Page] Look to the Cow, and the Sow, & the Wheatmow, and all will be well enow. Somerſet.

Better have it then hear on't.

Heer's to our friends, and hang up the reſt of our kindred.

Doe, jeer poor folks, and ſee how 'twill thrive.

You love to make much of naught. (your ſelf.)

In the ſhooe-makers ſtocks.

Neck or nothing.

They two are hand and glove. Somerſet.

They love like chick. Somerſet.

To give one the goe-by.

I'll not play with you for ſhooe-buckles.

God make you an honeſter man then your father.

One may wink and chooſe.

Want goes by ſuch an ones door. Somerſet.

Maids want nothing but husbands, and when they have them they want every thing. Som.

Often to the water often to the tatter. (of linnen.)

Beware of him whom God hath marked.

Moſt take all.

A Somerton ending. Somerſ.

i. e. When the difference between two is divided.

Truth fears no colours.

Never good that mind their belly ſo much.

Old head and young hands. Somerſet.

Lend and loſe, ſo play fools.

Caſt not thy cradle over thy head.

The dunder clo gally [affright] the beans.

Somerſ. Beans ſhoot up faſt after thunder-ſtorms.

[Page] Wheat will not have two praiſes. (Summer and Winter.)

If ſize cinque will not, and deuce ace cannot, then quatre trey muſt.

The middle ſort bear publick burthens Taxes, &c. moſt.

‘Deux ace non poſſunt & ſize cinque ſolvere nolunt:’

‘Eſt igitur notum quatre trey ſolvere totum.’

Take all and pay the baker.

Never ſigh but ſend.

My ſon, buy no ſtocks. Good counſel at Gleek.

There's never a why but there's a wherefore.

Spend not where you may ſave; ſpare not where you muſt ſpend.

Liſtners ſeldome hear good of themſelves.

Where there is whiſpering there is lying.

Happy is the bride the Sun ſhines on, and the corſe the Rain rains on.

By fits and girds, as an ague takes a gooſe.

Will you ſnap [or bite] off my noſe?

You will tell another tale when you are tryed.

You eat above the tongue like a calf.

Recipe ſcribe, ſcribe ſolve.

A good rule for ſtewards.

He needs a bird that gives a groat for an owl.

You goe as if nine men held you.

Under the furze is hunger and cold;

Under the broom is ſilver and gold.

Nine tailours make but one man.

[Page] I am loath to change my mill. Somerſet.

i. e. Eat of another diſh.

Your horſe caſt a ſhooe.

To hit over the thumbs.

Win at firſt and looſe at laſt.

Hee'll bear it away, if it be not too hot or too heavy. Spoken of a pilferer.

Hickledy pickledy, one among another.

We have in our language many the like conceited, rhyming words or reduplications to ſignifie any confuſion or mixture, as hurly burly, hodge podge, minlge mangle, arſy verſy, kim kam, hub bub, crawly mauly, hab nab.

Londoner-like ask as much more as you will take.

So got ſo gone.

Oyſters are not good in a moneth that hath not an R. in it.

I love thee like pudding, if thou wert pie I'de eat thee.

Heer's nor rhythm, nor reaſon.

This brings to mind a ſtory of Sr Tho. More, who being by the Author askt his judgment of an impertinent book, wiſh't him by all meanes to put it into verſe, and bring it him again, which done, Sr Tho. looking upon it ſaith, yea now it is ſomewhat like, now it is rhythm, before it was neither rhythm nor reaſon.

Take all and pay all.

A penny ſaved is a penny got.

A liſping laſs is good to kiſs.

[Page] When the ſhoulder of mutton is going 'tis good to take a ſlice.

Make the vine poor and it will make you rich. (prune off its branches.)

Not a word of Penſants.

You may if you liſt, but doe if you dare.

Set trees poor and they will grow rich, ſet them rich and they will grow poor. Remove them always out of a more barren into a fatter ſoil.

No cut to unkindneſs.

A good ſaver is a good ſerver. Somerſet.

To ſlip ones neck out of the collar.

I will keep no more cats then will catch mice (i. e. no more in family then will earn their living) Somerſet.

Blind-mans holy-day.

If you would a good hedge have, carry the leafes to the grave.

As yellow as the golden noble.

As good be hang'd for an old ſheep as a young lamb. Somerſet.

She loves the poor well, but cannot abide beggers. Somerſet. (of pretenders to charity.)

You put it together with an hot needle and burnt thread.

Like a loaders horſe that lives among theeves. (the countrey man near a town.) Som.

Apples, pears, hawthorn-quick, oak, ſet them at All-hollontide and command them to proſper, [Page] ſet them at Candlemas and intreat them to grow.

'Tis good ſheltring under an old hedge.

Let not a child ſleep upon bones. Somerſet.

i. e. The nurſes lap.

The more Moors the better victory.

No man hath a worſe friend then he brings from home.

Defend me and ſpend me. (ſaith the Iriſh churle.)

To fear the loſs of the bell more then the loſs of the ſteeple.

Nab me, I'll nab thee.

He hath a conſcience like a Cheverels skin.

(That will ſtretch) A Cheverel is a wild goat. Somerſ.

If you touch pot you muſt touch penny. Somerſ.

(Pay for what you have.)

He hath a ſpring at his elbow. (ſpoken of a Gameſter.)

Pull not out your teeth but with a leaden inſtrument.

When Tom pitcher's broken I ſhall have the ſheards.

(i. e. Kindneſs after others have done with it; or refuſe.)

A childs bird and a boys wife are well uſed. Som.

Be it weal or be it wo,

Beans blow before May doth goe.

[Page] Little mead little need. Somerſet.

(A mild winter hoped for after a bad ſummer.)

A good tither a good thriver. Somerſet.

Who marries between the ſickle and the ſithe will never thrive.

Shee will aſſoon part with the crock as the porridge. Somerſet.

You ſhall have the red cap. Somerſet.

(Said to a marriage-maker.)

Let them buckle for it. Somerſet.

She is as crouſty as that is hard bak'd. Somerſet.

(One that is ſurly and loath to doe any thing.)

Money is wiſe, it knowes its way. Somerſet.

Sayes the poor man that muſt pay as ſoon as he receives.

After Lammas corn ripens as much by night as by day.

If you will have a good cheeſe and have'n old, you muſt turn'n ſeven times before he is cold. Som.

He is able to bury an Abbey. (a ſpendthrift.)

When elder's white brew and bake a peck;

When elder's black brew and bake a ſack. Som.

More malice then matter. Somerſet.

He builds cages for oxen to bring up birds in. (Diſproportionable.)

Where there is ſtore of oatmeal you may put enough in the crock [pot.] Somerſet.

[Page] He that hath more ſmocks then ſhirts in a bucking, had need be a man of good fore-looking. Chaueer.

You never ſpeak but your mouth opens.

The charitable gives out at door and God puts in at the window.

All the leavers you can lay will not doe it. Som.

Hampſhire ground requires every day of the week a ſhower of rain, & on Sunday twain.

As cunning as captain Drake.

Let him hang by the heels. Som.

(Of a man that dies in debt: His wife leaving all at his death, crying his goods in three markets and three Pariſh Churches is ſo free of all his debts.)

He is ready to leap over nine hedges.

She look't on me as a cow on a baſtard calf. Som.

I will waſh my hands and wait upon you.

The death of wives and the life of ſheep make men rich.

April fools. (People ſent on idle errands.)

After a famine in the ſtall,

Comes a famine in the hall. Somerſet.

Wellington round-heads.

Proverbial in Taunton for a violent fanatick.

None ſo old that he hopes not for a year of life.

The young are not always with their bow bent.

i. e. Under rule.

To catch two pigeons with one bean.

[Page] Every honeſt miller hath a golden thumb.

They reply, None but a cuckold can ſee it. Somerſet.

In wiving and thriving a man ſhould take counſel of all the world.

'Tis good grafting on a good ſtock.

The eye is a ſhrew.

To meaſure the meat by the man.

(i. e. The meſſage by the meſſenger.)

He ſuckt evil from the dug.

They are ſo like that they are the worſe for it.

Out of door out of debt. Somerſet.

Of one that payes not when once gone.

Words may paſs, but blows fall heavy. Som.

Poverty breeds ſtrife. Somerſet.

Every gap hath its buſh.

A dead woman will have four to carry her forth.

K. Harry rob'd the church, and died a beggar.

To take the birds by its feet.

The hogs to the honey-pots.

Their milk ſod over.

He hath good cards to ſhew.

'Tis beſt to take half in hand and the reſt by and by.

(The trades-man that is for ready money.)

To heave and theave. Somerſ.

(The labouring husbandman.)

[Page] Here is Gerards Bailiff, work or you muſt die with cold. Somerſ.

Come every one heave a pound. Som.

As fond as an Ape of a whip. Som.

You make the better ſide the worſe. Som.

Northern Proverbs communicated by Mr Fr. Brokesby of Rowley, in Yorkſhire.

AS blake [i. e. yellow] as a paigle.

Hee'll never dow [i. e. be good] egg nor bird.

As flat as a flaun, i. e. a cuſtard.

I'll foreheet [i. e. predetermine] nothing but building Churches and louping over them.

Meeterly [indifferently] as maids are in fairneſs.

Weal and women cannot pan, i. e. cloſe together.

But woe and women can.

SCOTTISH PROVERBS.

[Page]

A.

ALl things hath a beginning (God excepted)

A good beginning makes a good ending.

A ſlothful man is a beggers brother.

A vaunter and a liar is both one thing.

All is not tint that is in peril.

All is not in hand that helps.

A toom purſe makes a bleat merchant.

As long runs the fox as he feet hath.

A haſty man never wanted wo.

A wight man wanted never a weapon.

A fools bolt is ſoon ſhot.

A given horſe ſhould not be lookt in the teeth.

A good asker ſhould have a good nayſay.

A dear ſhip ſtands long in the haven.

An oleit mother makes a ſweir daughter.

[Page] A carleſs huſſie makes mony thieves.

A liar ſhould have a good memory.

A black ſhooe makes a blithe heart.

A hungry man ſees far.

A ſilly bairn is eith to lear.

A half-penny cat may look to the King.

A greedy man God hates.

A proud heart in a poor breaſt, hes meikle dollour to dree.

A ſcald mans head is ſoon broken.

A skabbit ſheep fyles all the flock.

A burnt bairne, fire dreads.

Auld men are twice bairnes.

A tratler is worſe then a thief.

A borrowed len ſhould come laughing hame.

A blithe heart makes a blomand viſage.

A year a nuriſh, ſeven years a daw.

An unhappy mans cairt is eith to tumble.

An old hound bites fair.

A fair bride is ſoon buskt, and a ſhort horſe ſoon wiſpt.

As good haud as draw.

A man that is warned, is half armed.

An ill win penny will caſt down a pound.

All the corn in the countrey, is not ſhorn by pratlers.

Ane begger is wae that another be the gate gae.

A travelled man hath leave to lie.

Ane ill word meets another, and it were at the bridg of London.

A hungry louſe bites fair.

[Page] A gentle horſe would not be over fair ſpurred.

A friends dinner is ſoon dight.

An ill cook wald have a good claver.

A good fellow tint never, but at an ill fellows hand.

At open doors, dogs comes in.

A word before, is worth two behind.

A ſtill ſow eats all the draff.

A dumb man holds all.

All fails that fools thinks.

A wooll ſeller kens a wooll buyer.

All fellows, Jock and the Laird.

As the ſow fills, the draff ſoures.

A full heart lied never.

As good merchant tynes as wins.

All the ſpeid is in the ſpurs.

As fair greits the bairne that is dung afternoon, as he that is dung before noon.

An ill life, an ill end.

Anes wood, never wiſe, ay the worſe.

Anes pay it never cravit.

A good rufer, was never a good rider.

All the keys in the countrey hangs not at ane belt.

A dumb man wan never land.

As ſoon comes the lambs skin to the market, as the old ſheeps.

As many heads, as many wits.

A blind man ſhould not judge of colours.

As the old cock craws, the young cock leares.

A skabbed horſe is good enough for a skald ſquire.

A mirk mirrour is a mans mind.

As meikle up with, as meikle down with.

[Page] An ill ſhearer gat never a good book.

A tarrowing bairn was never fat.

A good cow may have an ill calſ.

A cock is crouſe in his own midding.

A new biſſome ſoupes clean.

As fair fights wranes as cranes.

A yelt ſow was never good to gryſes.

As the carle riches he wretches.

A fool when he hes ſpoken hes all done.

An old ſeck eraves meikle clouting.

An old ſeck is ay skailing.

A fair fire makes a room flet.

An old knave is na bairne.

A good yeaman makes a good woman.

A man hath no more good then he hath good of.

A fool may give a wiſe man a counſel.

A man may ſpeir the gate to Rome.

As long lives the merry man as the wretch for all the craft he can.

All wald have all, all wald forgive.

Ane may lead a horſe to the water, put four and twenty cannot gar him drink.

A bleat cat makes a proud mouſe.

An ill willy kow ſhould have ſhort horns.

A good piece ſteil is worth a penny.

A ſhored tree ſtands lang.

A gloved cat was never a good hunter.

A gangand foot is ay getting, an it were but a thorn.

All is not gold that glitters.

A ſwallow makes not ſummer or ſpring-time.

A man may ſpit on his hand and do full ill.

[Page] An ill ſervant will never be a good maiſter.

An hyred horſe tyred never.

All the winning is in the firſt buying.

Anuch [enough] is a feaſt (of bread and cheiſe.)

A horſe may ſtumble on four feet.

All thing wytes that well not faires.

All things thrives but thrice.

Abſence is a ſhroe.

Auld ſin new ſhame.

A man cannot thrive except his wife let him.

A bairne mon creep or he gang.

As long as ye ſerve the tod, ye man bear up his tail.

All overs are ill, but over the water.

A man may wooe where he will, but he will wed where he is weard.

A mean pot [where ſeveral ſhare in it] plaid never evin.

Among twenty four fools not ane wiſe man.

Ane mans meat, is another mans poiſon.

A fool will not give his bable for the tower of Lon.

A foul foot makes a full weamb.

A man is a lion in his own cauſe.

A hearty hand to give a hungry meltith.

A cumberſome cur in company, is hated for his miſcarriage.

A poor man is fain of little.

An anſwer in a word.

A beltleſs bairn cannot lie.

A yule feaſt may be quat at Paſche.

A good dog never barket bout a bone.

A full-ſeek will take a clout on the ſide.

An ill hound comes halting home.

[Page] All things help (quod the Wran) when ſhe piſhed in the ſea.

All cracks, all beares.

A houndleſs man comes to the beſt hunting.

All things hes an end, and a pudding hes twa.

All is well that ends well.

As good hads the ſtirrep, as he that loups on.

A begun work is half ended.

A Scottiſh man is ay wiſe behind the hand.

A new ſound, [per onomatop.] in an old horn.

As broken a ſhip hes come to land.

As the fool thinks, ay the bell clinks.

A man may ſee his friend need, but he will not ſee him bleed.

A friend is not known but in need.

A friend in court, is better nor a penny in the purſe.

All things is good unſeyed.

A good gooſe indeed, but ſhe hes an ill gander.

All are not maidens that wears bair hair.

A mache and a horſe-ſhoe are both alike.

Airlie crooks the tree, that good cammok ſhould be.

An ounce of mothers wit is worth a pound of Clergy.

An inch of a nag is worth the ſpan of an aver.

B.

BEtter ſit idle then work for nought.

Better learn by your neighbours skaith nor by your own.

Better half egg nor an empty ſhell.

Better apple given nor eaten.

Better a dog fan nor bark on you.

Bodin [offered] geir ſtinks.

Bourd [jeſt] neither with me, nor with my honour.

Buy when I bid you.

Better late thrive then never.

Better hand louſe nor bound to an ill baikine.

Better lang little nor ſoon right nought.

Better give nor take.

Better bide the cookes nor the mediciners.

Better ſaucht with little aucht, nor care with many kow.

Bring a kow to the hall, and ſhe will to the byre again.

Bear wealth, poverty will bear it ſelf.

Better good ſale nor good ale.

Better wooe over midding nor over moſs.

Blaw the wind never ſo faſt it will lower at the laſt.

Bind faſt, find faſt.

Better auld debts nor auld ſaires.

Better a fowl in hand nor two flying.

Better ſpaire at the breird nor at the bottom.

Bind the ſeck before it be full.

[Page] Better be well loved nor ill won geir.

Better finger off nor ay warking.

Better rew ſit, nor rew flit.

Bourd not with bawty, fear leſt he bite you.

Better ſay, Here it is, nor here it was.

Better plays a full weamb, nor a new coat.

Better be happy nor wiſe.

Better happy to court, nor good ſervice.

Better a wit bought, nor twa for nought.

Better bow nor break.

Better two ſeils, nor ane ſorrow.

Better bairnes greit nor bearded men.

Betwixt twa ſtools, the arſe falls down.

Better na ring nor the ring of a ruſh.

Better hold out nor put out.

Better ſit ſtill, nor riſe and get a fall.

Better leave nor want.

Better unborn nor untaught.

Better be envied nor pitied.

Better a little fire that warms, nor a meikle that burns.

Be the ſame thing that thou wald be cald.

Black will be no other hew.

Beauty but bounty avails nought.

Beware of had I wiſt.

Better be alone, nor in ill company.

Better a thigging mother, nor a ryding father.

Before I wein and now I wat.

Bonie ſilver is ſoon ſpendit.

Better never begun nor never endit.

Biting and ſcratching is Scotsfolks woing.

[Page] Breads houſe skiald never.

Bairns mother burſt never.

Bannoks [a tharfecake oat bread] is better nor na kin bread.

Better a laying hen nor a lyin crown.

Better be dead as out of the faſhion.

Better buy as borrow.

Better have a mouſe in the pot as no fleſh.

C.

COurt to the town, and whore to the window.

Cadgers [meal-men] ſpeaks of packſaddles

Changing of words is lighting of hearts.

Charge your friend or you need.

Cats eats that huſſies ſpares.

Caſt not forth the old water while the new come in.

Crabbit was, and cauſe had.

Compariſons are odious.

Come not to the counſel uncalled.

Condition makes, and condition breaks.

Cut duelles in every town.

Cold cools the love that kindles over hot.

Ceaſe your ſnowballs caſting.

Come it aire, come it late, in May comes the cow-quake.

Courteſie is cumberſom to them that kens it not.

Chalke is na ſheares.

D.

DO in hill as ye wald do in hall.

Do as ye wald be done to.

Do weill and have weill.

Dame deem warily.

Dead and marriage makes tearm-day.

Draff is good enough for ſwine.

Do the liklieſt, and God will do the beſt.

Drive out the inch as thou haſt done the ſpan.

Dead men bites not.

Daffling [jeſting] good for nothing.

Dogs will red ſwine.

Dirt parts company.

Drink and drouth comes ſindle together.

Daft talk dow not.

Do well and doubt na man, and do weill and doubt all men.

Dead at the one door, and heirſhip at the other.

Dummie [a dumb man] cannot lie.

E.

EArly maiſter, lang knave.

Eaten meat is good to pay.

Eild [old age] wald have honour.

Evening orts is good morning fodder.

[Page] Every land hes the lauch, and every corn hes the caffe.

Every man wiſhes the water to his own mylne.

Every many can rule an ill wife but he that hes her.

Eat meaſurelie and defie the mediciners.

Every man for himſelf (quoth the Merteine)

Every man flames the fat ſows arſe.

Experience may teach a fool.

Every man wates beſt where his own ſhoe binds him.

Efter lang mint, never dint.

Efter word comes weird.

Efter delay comes a lette.

F.

FAir fowles hes fair feathers.

Fair hights makes fools fain.

Fools are fain of flitting.

Falſhood made never a fair hinder end.

Freedom is a fair thing.

For a loſt thing care not.

Fool haſte is no ſpeed.

Fools let for truſt.

For love of the nurſe, mony kiſſes the bairne.

Folly is a bonny dog.

Fair words break never bone; foul words breaks many ane.

Foul water ſlokens fire.

[Page] Far fought, and dear bought, is good for Ladies.

For fault of wiſe men, fools ſit on binks.

Fools makes feaſts, and wiſe men eats them.

Fools are fain of right nought.

Forbid a thing, and that we will do.

Follow love and it will flee thee, flee love and it will follow thee.

Fegges after peace.

Fools ſhould have no chappin ſticks.

Frindſhip ſtands not in one ſide.

Few words ſufficeth to a wiſe-man.

Fire is good for the farcie.

Fidlers dogs and flies comes to feaſts uncalled.

Fill fow and had fow makes a ſtark man.

G.

GRace is beſt for the man.

Giff gaff [one gift for another] makes good friends.

Good wine needs not a wiſpe.

Good cheir and good cheap garres many haunt the houſe.

God ſends men cold as they have clothes to.

Gods help is neirer nor the fair evin.

Give never the wolf the wether to keep.

Good will ſhould be tane in part of payment.

God ſends never the mouth but the meat with it.

Girn when ye tie, and laugh when ye louſe.

Go to the Devil and biſhop you.

[Page] Go ſhoe the geeſe.

God ſends meat, and the Devil ſends cooks.

H.

HUnger is good kitchine meat.

He that is far from his geir, is neir his skaith.

Had I fiſh, was never good with garlick.

He mon have leave to ſpeak that cannot had his tongue.

He that lippens to lent plows, his land will ly ley.

He rides ſicker that fell never.

He that will not hear motherhead, ſhall hear ſtepmotherhead.

He that crabs without cauſe, ſhould meaſe without mends.

He that may not as he would, mon do as he may.

He that ſpares to ſpeak, ſpares to ſpeed.

He is weil eaſit that hes ought of his own, when others goes to the meat.

He that is welcome, faires weil.

He that does ill hates the light.

He that ſpeaks the thing he ſhould not, hears the things he would not.

He that is evil deemd is half hanged.

Help thy ſelf, and God will help thee.

He that ſpends his geir on a whore, hes both ſhame and skaith.

[Page] He that forſakes miſſour, miſſour forſakes him.

Half a tale is enough to a wiſe man.

He that hewes over hie, the ſpail will fall into his eye.

He that eats while he laſts, will be the war while he die.

He is a weak horſe that may not bear the ſaidle.

He that borrows and bigs, makes feaſts and thigs, drinks and is not dry, theſe three are not thrifty.

He is a proud Tod that will not ſcrape his own hole.

He is wiſe when he is well, can had him ſa.

He is is poor that God hates.

He is wiſe that is ware in time.

He is wiſe that can make a friend of a foe.

Hair and hair, makes the cairles head baire:

Hear all parties.

He that is redd for windleſtraws, ſhould not ſleep in lees.

He riſes over early that is hangit or noon.

He is not the fool that the fool is, but he that with the fool deals.

He that tholes overcomes.

He loves me for little, that hates me for nought.

He that hes twa herds, is able to get the third.

He is a ſairie begger that may not gae by ane mans door.

Hall binks are ſliddery.

He is not the beſt wright that hewes the manieſt ſpeals.

He that evil does, never good weines.

Hooredome and grace, can never bide in one place.

[Page] He that compts all coſtes, will never put plough in the earth.

He that ſlays, ſhall be ſlain.

He that is ill of his harberie, is good of his way kenning.

He that will not when he may, ſhall not when he wald.

Hanging ganges be hap.

He is a fool that forgets himſelf.

Happy man, happy cavil.

He that comes uncalld, ſits unſervd.

He that comes firſt to the hill, may ſit where he will.

He that ſhames, ſhall be ſhent.

He gangs early to ſteal, that cannot ſay na.

He ſhould have a long ſhafted ſpoon that ſups kail with the Devil.

He ſits above that deals aikers.

He that ought the cow, goes neareſt her tail.

He is worth na weill that may not byde na wae.

He ſhould have a hail pow, that calls his neighbour nik [...]ienow.

He that hes gold may buy land.

He that counts without his hoſte, counts twiſe.

He that looks not or he loup, will fall or he wit of himſelf.

Haſte makes waſte.

Hulie [ſoftly] and fair, men rides far journeys.

He that marries a daw [ſlut] eats meikle dirt.

He that marries or he be wiſe, will die or he thrive.

[Page] Hunting, hawking, and paramours, for ane joy, a hundred diſpleaſures.

Hald in geir, helps well.

He is twiſe fain, that ſits on a ſtean.

He that does his turn in time, ſits half idle.

He plaints early, that plaints on his kail.

He is good that faild never.

Half anuch, is half fill.

He is a ſairie cook that may not lick his own finger.

Hunger is hard in a heal maw.

He ſhould wear iron ſhone that bydes his neighbours deed.

Hame, is hamelie.

He that is hated of his ſubjects, cannot be counted a king.

Hap and a half-penny, is warlds geir enough.

He cals me skabbed, becauſe I will not call him skade.

He is blind that eats his marrow, but far blinder that lets him.

Have God, and have all.

Honeſty is na pride.

He that fiſhes afore the net, lang or he fiſh get.

He tint never a cow, that grat for a needle.

He that hes na geir to loſe, hes ſhins to pine.

He that takes all his geir fra himſelf, and gives to his bairns, it were weill ward to take a mallet and knock our his brains.

He ſits full ſtill that hes a riven breech.

He that does bidding, deſerves na dinging.

[Page] He that blaws beſt bears away the horn.

He is weill ſtaikit within, that will neither borrow nor len.

Hea will gar a deaf man hear.

He is faireſt dung when his awn wand dings him.

He hes wit at will, that with angry heart can hold him ſtill.

Proverbial ſpeeches of perſons given to ſuch vices or vertues as follows.

Of greedy perſons it is ſaid,

HE can hide his meat and ſeek more.

He will ſee day at a little hole.

He comes for drink, though drafft be his errand.

Of well skilled perſons.

He was born in Auguſt.

He ſees an inch before his noſe.

Of willful perſons.

He is at his wits end.

He hears not at that ear.

He wald fain be forwart if he wiſt how.

He will not give an inch of his will, for a ſpan of his thrift.

Of vouſters or new upſtarts.

His wind ſhakes no corn.

He thinks himſelf na payes peir.

He counts himſelf worthy meikle myce dirt.

Henry Cheike never ſlew a man until he came to him.

Of fleyit perſons.

His heart is in his hoſe.

He is war frighted nor he is hurt.

He looks as the wood were full of thieves.

He looks like the laird of pity.

He looks like a Lochwhaber axe,

Of falſe perſons.

He will get credit of a houſe full of unbored millſtones.

He looks up with the one eye, and down with the other.

He can lie as weill as a dog can lick a diſh.

He lies never but when the holen is green.

He bydes as faſt as a cat bound with a ſacer.

He wald gar a man trow that the moon is made of green cheis, or the cat took the heron.

Of miſnortured perſons.

He hes a braſen face.

He knows not the door be the door bar.

He ſpits on his own blanket.

Of unprofitable fooliſh perſons.

He harpes ay on ane ſtring.

He robs Peter to pay Paul.

He rives the kirk to thatch the quier.

He wags a wand in the water.

He that rides or he be ready, wants ſome of his geir.

Of weillie perſons.

He can hald the cat to the ſun.

He kens his oatmeal among other folks kail.

He changes for the better.

He is not ſo daft as he pretends him.

Of angry perſons.

He hes piſht on a nettle.

He hes not gotten the firſt ſeat of the midding the day.

He takes pepper in the noſe.

Of unconſtant perſons.

He is like a widder cock.

He hes changed his tippet, or his cloak on the other ſhoulder.

He is like a dog on a cat.

His evening ſong and morning ſong are not both alike.

He is an Aberdeens man, taking his word again.

Of perſons ſpeaking pertinently.

He hes hit the nail on the head.

He hes touched him in the quick.

Of weaſters and divers.

He hes not a heal nail to claw him with.

He hes not a penny to buy his dog a leaf.

He is as poor as Job.

He is as bair as the birch at Zule evin.

He begs at them that borrowit at him.

He hes brought his pack to a fit ſpead.

He is on the ground.

His hair grows through his hood.

He hes cryed himſelf diver.

Of proud perſons.

He counts his half-penny good ſilver.

He makes meikle of his painted ſheits.

He goes away with lifted up head.

He anſwers unſpoken to.

He hes not that bachell to ſwear by.

Of untymous perſons:

He is as welcome as water in a rivin ſhip.

He is as welcome as ſnaw in harveſt.

Of raſh perſons:

He ſets all on ſex or ſevin.

He ſtumbles at a ſtrea and loupes at a bank.

Of ignorant perſons.

He does as the blind man when he caſts his ſtaff.

He brings a ſtaff to his own head.

He gars his awn wand ding him.

He takes after the goat that caſts all down at evin.

He hes good skill of roſted wooll, when it ſtinks it is enough.

Of effeminate perſons:

He is John Thomſones man, coutching carle.

He wears ſhort hoſe.

Of drankards.

His head is full of bees.

He may write to his friends.

His hand is in the panyer.

He is better fed nor nortured.

He needs not a cake of bread at all his kin.

Of hypocrites.

He hes meikle prayer, but little devotion.

He runs with the hound and holds with the hair.

He hes a face to God, and another to the Devil.

He is a wolf in a lambs skin.

He breaks my head, and ſince puts on my hood.

He can ſay, my joy, and think it not.

He ſleeps as dogs does, when wives ſifts meal.

He will go to hell for the houſe profit.

I.

IT is a ſairie brewing, that is not good in the newing.

It is tint that is done to child and auld men.

Ill weids waxes weill.

[Page] In ſome mens aught mon the auld horſe die.

It is a ſooth bourd that men ſees wakin.

In ſpace comes grace.

It is ill to bring out of the fleſh that is bred in the bane.

Ill win, ill warit.

It is a ſilly flock where the yowe bears the bell.

It is a ſin to lie on the Devil.

It is eith till, that the awn ſelf will.

It is good mowes that fills the womb.

It is na time to ſtoup when the head is aſf.

It is fair in hall, where beards wags all.

It will come in an hour that will not come in a year.

If thou do na ill, do na ill like.

If thou ſteal not my kail, break not my dyke.

If ye may ſpend meikle, put the more to the fire.

If I can get his cairt at a wolter, I ſhall lend it a put.

If I may not keep geeſe, I ſhall keep geſline.

It is kindly that the poke ſavour of the herring.

It is eith to cry zu [...]o on another mans coſt.

like [each] a man as he loves, let him ſend to the cooks.

It is eith to ſwim where the head is holden up.

It is well warit they have ſorrow that buyes it with their ſilver.

If ane will not, another will.

It is ill to take breeches off a bare arſe.

It is dear bought honey that is lickt off a thorn.

If God be with us, wha will be againſt us.

It is weill warit that waſters want geir.

[Page] It is ill to bring up the thing that is not therein.

It that lyes not in your gate, breaks not your ſhins.

It is na play where ane greits, and another laughs.

If a man knew what wald be dear, he wald be but merchant for a year.

It is true that all men ſays.

I have a good bow, but it is in the caſtle.

It is hard to fling at the brod [a ſtick that children uſe, when they play at penny prick] or kick at the prick.

Ilk man mend ane, and all will be mendit.

It is a fairie collope that is tain off a Capone.

Ill bairnes are beſt heard at home.

It is ill to wakin ſleeping dogs.

Ill herds makes fat wolffs.

It is hard to wife, and thrive in a year.

It is good ſleeping in a heal skin.

It is not tint that is done to friends.

It is ill to draw a ſtrea before an auld cat.

It is a paine both to pay and pray.

It is good fiſhing in drumbling waters.

It is little of Gods might, to make a poor man a knight.

It is good baking without meal.

It is a good gooſe that drops ay.

It is not the habite that makes the monk.

It is not good to want and to have.

It hes neither arſe nor elbow.

I ſhall ſit on his skirt.

It is a bair moore that he goes over and gets not a cow.

I ſhall hold his noſe on the grindſtone.

It goes as meikle in his heart as in his heel.

[Page] It goes in at the one ear, and out at the other.

It is na mair pittie to ſee a woman greit, nor to ſee a gooſe go bare fit.

It is weill ſaid, but wha will bell the cat.

It is ſhort while ſeen the louſe boore the langelt.

I have a ſliddrie eill by the tail.

It is as meit as a ſow to bear a ſaddle.

It is as meit as a thief for the widdie.

I wald I had as meikle pepper as he compts himſelf worthy myſe dirt.

It will be an ill web to bleitch.

I cannot find you baith tales and ears.

It is ill to make a blown horn of a tods tail.

If ever ye make a lucky pudding I ſhall eat the prick.

It that God will give, the Devil cannot reave.

In a good time I ſay it, in a better I leave it.

It's a ſilly pack that may not pay the cuſtome.

I have ſeen as light green.

It's a cold coal to blow at.

It's a ſair field where all are dung down.

It's a ſair dung bairn that dare not greit.

I wat where my awn ſhoe bindes me.

If ye wanted me and your meat, ye wald want ane good friend.

K.

KAme ſingle, kame ſair.

Kindneſs comes of will.

Kindneſs will creep where it may not gang.

Kindneſs cannot be bought for geir.

[Page] Kail ſpaires bread.

Kameſters are ay greaſie.

Knowledge is eith born about.

Kings are out of play.

Kings and Bares oft worries their keepers.

Kings hes long ears.

Kings caff is worth other mens corn.

Kindneſs lies not ay in ane ſide of the houſe.

L.

LIttle intermeddling makes good friends.

Long tarrying takes all the thank away.

Little good is ſoon ſpendit.

Lang lean makes hameald cattel.

Little wit makes meikle travel.

Learn young, learn fair.

Like draws to like, and a skabbed horſe to an ald dyke.

Laith to the bed, laith out of the bed.

Little may an ald horſe do, if he may not nye.

Let them that are cold blow at the coal.

Lang ſtanding, and little offering makes a poor priſe

Love hes na lack.

Leave the court, before the court leave thee.

Light ſupper makes long life.

Lykit geir is half bought.

Lordſhips changes manners.

Light winning makes a heavy purſe.

Live and let live.

Liveleſs, faultleſs.

Little ſaid, ſoon mendit.

[Page] Laith to the drink, and leath fra it.

Lightly comes, lightly goes.

Laſt in the bed, beſt heard.

Lata is lang and tedious.

Little waits an ill huſſie what a dinner holds in.

Laddes will be men.

Lauch and lay down again.

Likelie lies in the myre, and unlikelie goes by it.

Let him drink as he hes brewed.

Like to die mends not the kirk yard.

Luck and a bone voyage.

Lang or ye cut Falkland wood with a pen knife.

Love me little and love me lang.

Let alone makes mony lurdon.

Little troubles the eye, but far leſs the ſoul.

Little kens the wiſe that ſits by the fire, how the wind blows cold in hurle burle ſwyre.

M.

MOny yrons in the fire part mon coole.

Maidens ſhould be meek until they be married.

Men may buy gold over dear.

Mony purſes holds friends together.

Meat and cloath makes the man.

Mony hands make light work.

Make not twa mews of ane daughter.

Meat is good, but menſe is better.

Mony maſters, quoth the frog to the harrow, when every tooth took her a knock.

Mint [offer] or ye ſtrike.

[Page] Meaſure, is treaſure.

Mony men does lack, that yat wald fain have in their pack.

Miſterfull folk mon not be mensfull.

Many ſmals makes a great.

Maiſterie mawes the meadows down.

Mony ſpeaks of Robin Hood, that never ſhot in his bow.

Miſter makes men of craft.

Meikle water runs where the miller ſleeps.

Meikle mon a good heart endure.

Mony cares for meal that hes baking bread enough.

Meikle ſpoken, part mon ſpill.

Meſſengers ſhould neither be headed nor hanged.

Men are blind in their own cauſe.

Mony words wald have meikle drink.

Man propons, but God diſpons.

Mony man ſerves a thankleſs maſter.

Mony words fills not the furlot.

Mony kinsfolk, but few friends.

Men goes over the dyke at the ebbeſt.

Might oftentimes overcomes right.

Mends is worth miſdeeds.

Meikle head, little wit.

Muſtard after meat.

Millers takes ay the beſt toll with their own hand.

Mony man ſpeirs the gate he knows full well.

Muſſel not the oxens mouth.

Meikle hes, wald ay have mair.

Money tynes the half mark whinger, for the halfpenny thong.

Make not meikle of little.

[Page] Mony man makes an errand to the hall, to bid the Lady good-day.

Mony brings the raike, but few the ſhovell.

Make no balkes of good bear land.

March whiſquer was never a good fiſher.

Meat and maſſe never hindred no man.

N.

NAture paſſes norture.

Na man can baith ſup and blaw at once.

Nothing enters in a cloſe hand.

Need makes vertue.

Need hes na law.

Neireſt the Kirk, farreſt fra God.

Neireſt the King, neireſt the widdie.

New lords, new laws.

Na man may puind for unkindneſs.

Neireſt the heart, neireſt the mouth.

Never rode, never fell.

Need gars naked men run, and ſorrow gars webſters ſpin.

Neir is the kirtle, but neirer is the ſark.

Nothing is difficile to a well willit man.

Na man makes his awn hap.

Na reply is beſt.

Nothing comes ſooner to light, then that which is long hid.

Na man can play the fool ſa weill as the wiſe man.

Na penny, na pardon.

Na man can ſeek his marrow in the churne, ſa weill as he that hes been in it himſelf.

O.

OVer faſt, over louſe.

Of anuch men leaves.

Over great familiarity genders deſpite.

Oft compting makes good friends.

Over narrow compting culzies na kindneſs.

Out of ſight, out of langer.

Of twa ills chooſe the leaſt.

Of other mens lether, men takes large whanges.

Over jolly dow not.

Of the abundance of the heart, the mouth ſpeaks.

Of all war, peace is the final end.

Of ill debtours, men takes oats.

Of need make vertue.

Of the earth mon the dyke be builded.

Of ane ill, comes many.

Over hote over cold.

Over heigh, over low.

Over meikle of ane thing, is good for nathing.

P.

PEnny wiſe, pound fool.

Prieſt and doves makes foul houſes.

Pride and lazineſs wald have meikle uphald.

Put your hand na farder nor your ſleive may reach.

Poor men are fain of little thing.

Play with your peirs.

Pith is good in all plays.

[Page] Put twa half-pennies in a purſe, and they will draw together.

Painters and Poets have leave to lie.

Poſſeſſion is worth an ill chartour.

Pride will have a fall.

Poverty parts good company, and is an enemy to vertue.

Put not your hand betwixt the rind and the tree.

Poor men they ſay hes na ſouls.

Patience perforce.

Proviſion in ſeaſon, makes a rich houſe.

Put that in the next parcel.

Peter in, and Paul out.

Plenty is na dainty.

Puddings and paramours wald be hotelie handlit.

Q.

QUhair [where] the Deer is ſlain, ſome bloud will lie.

Quhen the eye ſees it ſaw not, the heart will think it thought not.

Quhen wine is in, wit is out.

Quhen the ſteed is ſtowen, ſhut the ſtable door.

Quhen the Tod preaches, beware of the hens.

Quhen the cup is fulleſt, bear it evineſt.

Quhat better is the houſe that the da riſes in the morning.

Quhen theeves reckons, leall men comes to their geir.

Quhen I am dead, make me a cawdle.

Quhiles the hawk hes, and whiles he hunger hes.

Quhen the craw flees, her tail follows.

Quhen the play is beſt, it is beſt to leave.

[Page] Quha may wooe without coſt.

Quhiles thou, whiles I, ſo goes the bailleri.

Quhen a man is full of luſt, his womb is full of leeſings

Quha may hold that will away.

Quhen taylours are true, there little good to ſhew.

Quhen thy neighbours houſe is on fire, take heed to thy awn.

Quhen the iron is hot, it is time to ſtrike.

Quhen the belly is full, the bones wald have reſt.

Quhom God will help, na man can hinder.

Quhen all men ſpeaks, na man hears.

Quhen the good man is fra hame, the tablecloths tint.

Quhair ſtands your great horſe.

Quhair the pig breaks, let the ſhells lie.

Quhen friends meets, hearts warmes.

Quhen the well is full, it will run over.

R.

REaſon bound the man.

Ruſe [praiſe] the foord as ye find it.

Ruſe the fair day at evin.

Rackleſs youth, makes a gouſtie age.

Ryme ſpares na man.

Reavers ſhould not be rewers.

Rule youth weill, and eild will rule the ſell.

Rome was not biggit on the firſt day.

S.

SIke man, ſike maſter.

Seldom rides, tynes the ſpurs.

[Page] Shod in the cradle, bairfoot in the ſtubble.

Sike lippes, ſike latace.

Sike a man as thou wald be, draw thee to ſike company.

Soothe bourd is na bourd.

Seldome lies the Devil dead by the dyke ſide.

Saying goes good cheap.

Spit on the ſtane, it will be wet at the laſt.

Soft fire makes ſweet malt.

Sorrows gars webſters ſpin.

Sturt pays na debt.

Sillie bairns are eith to lear.

Saw thin, and maw thin.

Soon rype, ſoon rotten.

Send and fetch.

Self deed, ſelf ha.

Shame ſhall fall them that ſhame thinks, to do themſelves a good turn.

Sike father, ſike ſon, &c.

Seill comes not while ſorrow be gone.

Shees a foule bird that fyles her own neſt.

Speir at Jock thief my marrow, if I be a leal man.

Soon gotten, ſoon ſpendit.

Sike prieſt, ſike offering.

She is a ſairie mouſe that hes but ane hole.

Surfet ſlays mae nor the ſword.

Seik your ſauce where you get your ail.

Sokand ſeall is beſt.

Sike anſwer as a man gives, ſike will he get.

Small winning makes a heavy purſe.

Shame is paſt the ſhedd of your hair.

Send him to the ſea and he will not get water.

[Page] Saine [bleſs] you weill fra the Devil and the Lairds bairns.

She that takes gifts her ſelf, ſhe ſels, and ſhe that gives, does not ells.

Shroe the ghaſt that the houſe is the war of.

Shew me the man, and I ſhall ſhew you the law.

Swear by your burnt ſhines.

Sairie be your me [...]l poke, and ay your fiſt in the nook of it.

T.

THe mair haſte the war ſpeid.

Tyde bydes na man.

Twa daughters and a back door, are three ſtark theeves.

There was never a cake, but it had a make.

There came never a large fart forth of a Wrans arſe.

Toome [empty] bagges rattles.

The thing that is truſted, is not forgiven.

Take part of the pelf, when the pack is a dealing.

Tread on a worm, and ſhe will ſteir her tail.

They are lightly robbed that hes their awn.

The Craw thinks her awn bird faireſt.

There is little to the rake to get after the biſſome.

They buy good cheap that brings nathing hame.

Thraw [twiſt] the wand while it is green.

The ſhooemakers wife is worſt ſhod.

The worſt warld that ever was, ſome man wan.

They will know by a half-penny if a Prieſt will take offering.

[Page] Tyme tryes the truth.

The weeds overgaes the corn.

Take tyme while time is, for time will away.

The piper wants meikle that wants the nether chaps.

They are welcome that brings.

The langer we live, the mae ſtrange ſights we ſee.

There are many ſoothe words ſpoken in bourding.

There is na thief without a receiver.

There is many fair thing full falſe.

There came never ill of a good adviſement.

There is na man ſa deaf, as he that will not hear.

There was never a fair word inhicding.

The mouth that lyes, ſlayes the ſoul.

Trot mother, trot father, how can the foal amble.

They were never fain that ſhrugged.

Twa wolfs may worrie ane ſheep.

Twa fools in ane houſe is over many.

The day hes eyne, the night hes ears.

The tree falls not at the firſt ſtraike.

The mair ye tramp in a turde, it grows the breader.

There is none without a fault.

The Devil is a buſie Biſhop in his awn diocie.

There is no friend to a friend in need.

There is na fool to an auld fool.

Touch a good horſe in the back, and he will fling.

There is remeid for all things but ſtark deid.

There is na medicine for fear.

The weakeſt goes to the walls.

That which huſſies ſpares, cats eats.

Thou wilt get na mair of the cat but the skin.

There mae madines nor makine.

[Page] They laugh ay that winnes.

Twa wits is better nor ane.

They put at the cairt that is ay gangand.

Three may keep counſel if twa be away.

They are good willie of their horſe that hes nane.

The mae the merrier, the fewer the better chear.

The blind horſe is hardieſt.

There mae ways to the wood nor ane.

There is meikle between word and deed.

They that ſpeirs meikle, will get wot of part.

The leſs play the better.

The mair coſt, the mair honour.

There is nothing more precious nor time.

True love kyths in tyme of need.

There are many fair words in the marriage making, but few in the portion paying.

The higher up, the greater fall.

The mother of miſchief is na mair nor a gnat wing.

Tarrowing bairns were never fat.

There little ſap in dry peaſe hulls.

This bolt came never out of your bag.

Thy tongue is na ſlander.

Take him up there with his five eggs, and four of them rotten.

The next time ye daunce, wit whom ye take by the hand.

The gooſe pan is above the roſt.

Thy thumb is under my belt.

There is a dog in the well.

The malt is above the beir.

Touch me not on the fair heel.

[Page] The pigs overgaes the ald ſwine.

Take a man by his word, and a cow by her horn.

There meikle hid meat in a gooſe eye.

They had never an ill day that had a good evening.

There belongs mair to a bed nor four bair legs.

The greateſt clarks are not the wiſeſt men.

Thou ſhould not tell thy foe when thy fit ſlides.

The grace of god is geir enough.

Twa hungry meales makes the third a glutton.

This warld will not laſt ay.

The Devil and the Dean begins with a letter, when the Devil hes the Dean, the kirk will be the better.

They are as wiſe that ſpeir not.

There is nothing ſo crouſe as a new waſhen louſe.

W.

WRang hes nea warrand.

Will hes that weill is.

Well done, ſoon done.

Weapons bodes peace.

Wiles helps weak folk.

Wiſhers and walders are poor houſe halders.

Words are but wind, but dunts are the Devil.

Wark bears witneſs wha weill does.

Wealth gars wit waver.

Weill bydes, weill betydes.

Wrang compt, is na payment.

Wrang hears, wrang anſwer gives.

With empty hand, na man ſhould hawkes allure.

Weill wats the mouſe, the cats out of the houſe.

[Page] Well worth aw, that gars the plough draw.

We hounds ſlew the hair, quoth the meſſoun.

Wonder laſts but nine nights in a Town.

Women and bairns keeps counſel of that they ken not.

Wont beguilt the Lady.

Waken not ſleeping dogs.

We have a craw to pluck.

Well good mother daughter.

Wood in wilderneſs, and ſtrength in a fool.

Wit in a poor mans head, moſſe in a mountain avails nothing.

Weils him & wooes him that hes a Biſhop in his kin.

Uſe makes perfectneſs.

Unskild mediciners, and horſemarſhels, ſlays both man and beaſt.

What reakes of the feed, where the friendſhip dow nought.

Y.

YE will break your crag and your faſt alike in his houſe.

Ye ſtrive againſt the ſtream.

Youth never caſts for perrill.

Ye ſeek hot water under cold yce.

Ye drive a ſnail to Rome.

Ye ride a bootleſs errand.

Ye ſeek grace at a graceleſs face.

Ye learn your father to get bairns.

Ye may not ſit in Rome and ſtrive with the Pope.

Youth and age will never agree.

[Page] Ye may puind for debt, but not for unkindneſs.

Ye breid of the cat, ye wald fain eat fiſh, but ye have na will to weet your feet.

Ye breid of the gouk, ye have not a ryme but ane.

Ye ſhould be a king of your word.

Ye will get war bodes before Belten.

Ye may drink of the bourn, but not byte of the brae.

Ye wald do little for God an the Devil were dead.

Ye have a ready mouth for a ripe cherry.

Ye breid of the millers dog, ye lick your mouth or the pok be open.

Adagia Hebraica.

[Page]

[...]

The axe goes to the wood, from whence it borrowed its helve:

It is uſed againſt thoſe who are injurious to thoſe from whom they are derived, or from whom they have received their power.

[...]

If any ſay that one of thine ears is the ear of an aſs, regard it not: If he ſay ſo of them both, procure thy ſelf a bridle.

That is, it is time to arm our ſelves with patience when we are greatly reproached.

[...]

Do not ſpeak of ſecret matters in a field that is full of little hills.

Becauſe it is poſſible ſome body may lie hid there and here what is ſaid.

[Page] [...]

That city is in a bad caſe whoſe Phyſitian hath the gout.

[...]

Do not dwell in a city whoſe governour is a Phyſitian.

[...]

A myrtle ſtanding among nettles does notwithſtanding retaine the name of a myrtle.

[...]

i. e. Where there is a man, there do not thou ſhew thy ſelf a man:

The meaning is, that it becomes us not to intermeddle in an office where there is already ſuch good proviſion made that there is no need of our help.

[...]

i. e. At the door of the fold words, within the fold an account.

The ſhepheard does with fair words call back his fugitive ſheep to the door of the fold, but when he gets them in he puniſheth them for ſtraying away. It is applicable to what may be expected from our governours againſt whom we have rebelled:

[Page] [...]

i. e. He is pleaſed with guourds, and his wife with cucumbers.

A Proverb by which is expreſſed that both the man and his wife are vitious much alike.

[...]

i. e. It is not as thy mother ſayes, but as thy neighbours Say:

The meaning is that we are not to regard the praiſes of a near relation, but to liſten to what is ſaid by the neighbourhood.

[...]

i. e. If the dog bark, go in; if the bitch bark, go out.

[...]

i. e. We may not expect a good whelp from an ill dog.

[...]

i. e. Sichem marries the wife (viz. Dinah) and Mifgaeus is circumciſed (i. e. puniſhed.)

‘Delirant Reges plectuntur Achivi.’

[...]

A Camel in Media dances in a little cab:

This Proverb is uſed againſt thoſe who tell incredible things.

[Page] [...]

i. e. The Camel going to ſeek hornes, loſt his ears.

Againſt thoſe who being diſcontented with what they have, in purſuit of more loſe what they once had.

[...]

i. e. Many old Camels carry the skins of the young ones to the market.

[...]

i. e. The great Cab, and the little Cab go down to the grave.

[...]

i. e. He that hires one garden (which he is able to look after) eats birds; He that hires more then one will be eaten by the birds.

[...]

i. e. As is the garden ſuch is the gardiner.

[...]

i. e. If I had not lifted up the ſtone you had not found the Jewell.

It is uſed when one man reaps the fruit of the labours of another.

[Page] [...]

i. e. When the Sun riſes, the diſeaſe will abate.

It is ſaid by one of the Jews that there was a pretious ſtone which did hang on the neck of Abraham, which when the ſick man looked on he was preſently healed; And that when Abraham died God placed this ſtone in the Sun: This is thought to have given occaſion to the Proverb above named. V. Buxtorf. Lexic. Rabbin: in voce ‘ [...]’.

[...]

i. e. Whoever hath a divided beard, the whole world will not prevaile againſt him:

This Proverb is uſed of thoſe who are cunning, and ſuch are they thought to be whoſe beard is divided, which, by their much handling; when they are muſing and thoughtfull, they are ſaid to divide.

[...]

i. e. Go down the ladder when thou marrieſt a wife, go up when thou chooſeſt a friend.

The meaning is, that we ſhould not marry a wife above our rank, though we chooſe ſuch a friend.

[...]

i. e. Rather ſell then be poor.

[...]

i. e. He that buys and ſells is called a merchant.

This Proverb is uſed in deriſion of thoſe who buy and ſell to their loſs.

[Page] [...]

i. e. While the duſt is on your feet ſell what you have bought.

The meaning is that we ſhould ſell quickly (though with light gaines) that we may trade for more.

[...]

i. e. Caſt your ſtaff into the aire, and it will fall upon its root, or heavy end.

Naturam expell as furcâ licet uſque recurret.

[...]

i. e. The wine is the maſters, but the goodneſs of it is the butlers.

[...]

When an aſs climbs a ladder we may find wiſdom. in women.

[...]

i. e. An aſs is cold even in the ſummer ſolſtice.

The meaning is, that ſome men are ſo unhappy that nothing will do them good.

[...]

i. e. Aſinario—Camelarius:

i. e. A man that hath the care of leading a Camel, and driving an Aſs. Such a man is in the midſt and knows not [Page] how to go forward or backward; For the Aſſe will not lead, nor the Camel be driven. It is applicable to him who hath to do with two perſons of contrary humors, and knows not how to pleaſe both, nor dares he diſpleaſe either of them.

[...]

i. e. They had thought to have put others into a ſleeve and they are put in themſelves.

[...]

i. e. The poor man turns his cake and another comes and takes it away.

[...]

i. e. Open thy purſe (viz. to receive thy money) and then open thy ſack; i. e. then deliver thy goods.

[...]

i. e. An hungry dog will eat dung.

[...]

i. e. If you take away the ſalt you may throw the fleſh to the dogs.

[...]

i. e. The ſervant of a King is a king.

[...]

i. e. Do not dwell in a city where an horſe does not neigh, nor a dog bark:

[Page] The meaning is that if we would be ſafe from danger we muſt not dwell in a city where there is neither horſe againſt an enemy, nor dogs againſt thieves.

[...]

i. e. Make haſt when you are purchaſing a field; but when you are to marry a wife, be ſlow.

[...]

When the ſhepheard is angry with his ſheep he ſends them a blind guide.

[...]

i. e. In the time of affliction, a vow; in the time of proſperity an inundation: or a greater increaſe of wickednes.

The Devil was ſick, the Devil a monk would be;

The Devil was well, the Devil a monk was he.

[...]

i. e. An old man in an houſe is a good ſigne in an houſe.

Old men are fit to give wiſe counſel:

[...]

i. e. Wo be to him whoſe advocate becomes his accuſer.

This Proverb is accommodable to various purpoſes: God required propitiatory ſacrifices of his people; when they offered them up, as they ſhould, they did receive their pardon [Page] upon it; But if they offered the blind or lame, &c. they were ſo far from gaining their pardon, that they increaſed their guilt: And thus their advocate became their accuſer.

[...]

i. e. While thy ſhooe is on thy foot tread upon the thornes.

[...]

i. e. Your ſurety wants a ſurety.

This Proverb is uſed of an infirm argument that is not ſufficient to prove what it is alledged for.

[...]

i. e. One bird in the net is better then an hundred flying.

[...]

i. e. Little and good.

[...]

i. e. Never caſt dirt into that fountain of which thou haſt ſometime drank.

The meaning is that we ſhould not proudly deſpiſe or reproach that perſon or thing which formerly have been of uſe to us.

[...]

i. e. Do not look upon the veſſel, but upon that which it contains.

[...]

i. e. A lie hath no feet.

[Page] [...]

i. e. One ſheep follows another.

So one thief, and any other evil doer, follows the ill example of his companion.

[...]

i. e. We never find that a fox dies in the dirt of his own ditch:

The meaning is that men do rarely receive any hurt from the things to which they have accuſtomed themſelves.

[...]

i. e. If a word be worth one ſhekel, ſilence is worth two.

Nunquam etenim tacuiſſe nocet, nocet eſſe locutum.

[...]

i. e. If the Ox fall, whet your knife.

The meaning is, we muſt not let ſlip the occaſion of getting the victory over an Enemy.

[...]

i. e. When the Ox falls, there are many that will help to kill him.

The meaning is, that there are many ready to trample upon him that is afflicted.

[...]

i. e. We muſt fall down before a fox in ſeaſon:

The meaning is that we ought to obſerve cunning men and give them due reſpect in their proſperity.

[Page] [...]

i. e. Chooſe rather to be the taile of Lions then the head of Foxes.

[...]

i. e. When the weaſil and the cat make a marriage it is a very ill preſage.

The meaning is that when evil men, who were formerly at variance, and are of great power, make agreement, it portends danger to the innocent and to others who are within their reach. Thus upon the agreement of Herod and Pilate the moſt innocent bloud is ſhed. The Jews tell of two dogs that were very fierce one againſt the other; one of them is aſſaulted by a Wolfe, and thereupon the other dog reſolves to help him againſt the Wolfe who made the aſſault.

[...]

i. e. In two Cabs of dates there is one Cab of ſtones and more.

The meaning is that there is much evil mingled with the good which is found in the world.

[...]

i. e. If the whole world does not enter yet half of it will.

'Tis meant of Calumny and reproach, where many times ſome part is believed though all be not. Calumniare fortiter, & aliquid adhaerebit.

[Page] [...]

i. e. He that hath been bitten by a Serpent is afraid of a rope.

The meaning is, he is afraid of any thing that hath the leaſt likeneſs to a Serpent.

[...]

i. e. She playes the whore for apples and then beſtows them upon the ſick:

This Proverb is uſed againſt thoſe who give Almes of what they get unjuſtly.

[...]

i. e. The door that is not opened to him that begs our almes, will be opened to the Phyſitian.

[...]

Let but the drunkard alone, and he will fall of himſelf.

[...]

i. e. Thou haſt dived deep in to the water and haſt brought up a potſherd.

[...]

i. e. If thou haſt increaſed thy water, thou muſt alſo increaſe thy meale.

Thus he that raiſeth many objections is obliged to find ſolutions for them alſo.

[Page] [...]

i. e. There is nothing ſo bad, in which there is not ſomething of good.

[...]

i. e. He that hath had one of his family hanged, may not ſay to his neighbour hang up this fiſh.

The meaning is, we muſt abſtain from words of reproach, and then eſpecially when we are not free from the crimes which we reproach others for.

[...]

i. e. O thou Nazarite go about, go about and do not come near the Vineyard.

The meaning is that we ſhould avoid the occaſions of ſin. The Nazarite was forbidden the uſe of wine, and it was therefore his wiſeſt courſe to avoid all occaſions of treſpaſſing.

[...]

i. e. Thy ſecret is thy priſoner, if thou let it go thou art a priſoner to it.

The meaning is plain, viz. That we ought to be as carefull in keeping a ſecret as an officer in keeping his priſoner, who makes himſelf a priſoner by letting his priſoner go. There is ſometimes a great danger in revealing a ſecret, and alwaies it is an argument of great folly. For as the Jews ſay well, thy friend hath a friend, and thy friends friend hath a friend: And therefore what [Page] thou wouldeſt have kept as a ſecret reveale not to thy friend. And they elſewhere ſay, that He who hath a narrow heart: i. e. but a little wiſdom, hath a broad tongue. i. e. Is apt to talk at large.

[...]

i. e. The Magician mutters and knows not what he mutters.

This is Proverbially uſed againſt thoſe who pray in an unknown Tongue; or do any thing which they do not underſtand.

[...]

i. e. If thy daughter be marriageable ſet thy ſervant free, and give her to him in marriage.

[...]

i. e. To expect, to expect is worth four hundred drachms.

Zuz is the fourth part of the Sacred Shekel. This Proverb is uſed to recommend to us the advantage of deliberation in our actions.

[...]

i. e. They can find money for miſchief, when they can find none to buy Corn.

[...]

In my own City my Name, in a ſtrange City my Cloaths procure me a reſpect.

[Page] [...]

i. e. 'Tis not a basket of hey but a basket of fleſh which will make a lion roar.

That is, it muſt be fleſh and not hey which will give courage and ſtrength to a lion.

[...]

i. e. Let thy grandchild buy wax and do not thou trouble thy ſelf.

[...]

i. e. Pull off the skin in the ſtreets and receive thy wages.

That is, we were better ſubmit to the meaneſt emploiment then want neceſſaries.

[...]

i. e. One graine of ſharp pepper is better then a basket full of guourds.

That is, One wiſe man, how mean ſoever is more valuable then many that are unwiſe.

[...]

i. e. As if a man that is killed ſhould come home upon his feet:

This is uſed proverbially of thoſe things which we give for loſt.

Theſe that follow are the ſentences of Ben Syra, a man of great fame and antiquity among the Jews.

[...]

i. e. Honour a Phyſitian before thou haſt need of him:

That is, we muſt honour God in our health and proſpetity that he may be propitious to us in our adverſity.

[...]

i. e. Thy Child that is no child leave upon the waters and let him ſwim.

That is, where our Child is not reclaimable by fair means we may not hinder him from condigne puniſhment.

[...]

i. e. Gnaw the bone which is fallen to thy lot:

That is, He that hath an ill wife muſt patiently beare with her: It may alſo be applyed to other things.

[...]

i. e. Gold muſt be beaten, and a child ſcourged.

[Page] [...]

i. e. Be good, and refrain not to be good.

[...]

i. e. Wo be to the wicked, and wo be to them that cleave to them. Or, to their neighbours that live near them.

[...]

If we would avoid a miſchief we muſt not be very kind and familiar with an evil man.

[...]

i. e. Withhold not thine hand from ſhewing mercy to the poor.

[...]

i. e. The Bride goes to her marriage bed, but knows not what ſhall happen to her.

The meaning is, that we ought not confidently to promiſe our ſelves in any thing any great ſucceſs. Thus it is ſaid, that a certain man ſaid he would enjoy his Bride on the morrow, and when he was admoniſhed to ſay he would; if God will: He anſwered that he would, whether God would or not. This man and his bride were both found dead the following night. Thus was the ſaying of Ben Syra verified, the Bride, &c.

[Page] [...]

i. e. A nod for a wiſe man, and a rod for a fool.

[...]

i. e. He that gives honour to his enemy is like to an Aſs.

[...]

i. e. A little fire burns up a great deal of Corn.

This ſaying is to be underſtood of the miſchief which an evil and ſlandring tongue does, and is exemplified in Doeg, who by this means brought deſtruction upon the Prieſts. ‘ [...]. Jam. 3. 5.’

[...]

i. e. An old man in an houſe is a good ſign in an houſe.

[...]

Spread the table and contention will ceaſe.

[...]

i. e. If thou muſt deal, be ſure to deal with an honeſt man.

[...]

Be not ungratefull to your old friend.

[Page] [...]

Though thou haſt never ſo many Counſellers, yet do not forſake the Counſell of thy own ſoul.

[...]

i. e. The day is ſhort, and the work is much.

‘Ars long a vita brevis.’

FINIS.

Books ſold by W. Morden Bookſeller in Cambridge.

[Page]

DR Henry Mores Philoſophicall Collections, Fol.

Myſtery of Iniquity, Fol.

Enchyridion Metaphyſicum Lat. 4o. cum Fig.

Enchyridion Ethicum Lat. 8o.

Divine Dialogues in 2 Vol. 8o.

His Epiſt. to the 7 Churches with an Antidote againſt Idolatry 8o.

Introductio ad Carteſium, 8o.

Obſervations on Antropoſophia Theomagica.

Merceri in Job Proverb. Eccles. & Cant. Fol.

Cocceius in Prophetas Minor. Fol.

Bullialdi Aſtro. Fol.

Origines contra Celſum; Ejuſdem Philocalia, cum Ann. Gulielmi Spenceri, 4o. G. L. Edit. ſecund.

Scheyneri Fundamenta Optica, 4o.

Gliſſoni de Natura Subſtantiae, 4o.

Carteſii Epiſtolae, 4o.

Cauſabons Letter againſt the Royal Society, 4o.

Smiths ſelect Diſcourſes, 4o.

Enjedini in Vet. & Novum Teſtament. 4o.

Letter of Reſol. concerning the chief of Orig. Opinions, 4o.

Warrens no Praeexiſtence, 4o.

Godmans Sermon, 4o.

Officium Concionatorium, 8o.

Epicteti Enchyridion cum Cebetis Tabula. Acceſſerunt Simplicii & Arriani Comment. G. L. 8o.

Gaſſendi Aſtronomia, 8o.

Billingſly's Idea of Arithmetick, 8o.

Rami Logica cum Comment. Ameſii, 8o.

Ray's Collection of Engliſh and Scotch Proverbs, 8o.

Templeri Idea Theolog. Leviathanis, 8o.

Pſalterium Lat. 8o.

Gazaei Pia Hilaria. Tomus alter cum Indice Philologico, 12o.

Lucretius cum not. Tan. Fabri, 12o.

Florus Germanicus, 16o.

Dr Templers Sermon at the Biſhops Viſitation Camb. 1676.

Information about this book

Title statement

A collection of English proverbs digested into a convenient method for the speedy finding any one upon occasion : with short annotations : whereunto are added local proverbs with their explications, old proverbial rhythmes, less known or exotick proverbial sentences, and Scottish proverbs / by J. Ray, M.A. and Fellow of the Royal Society.

Ray, John, 1627-1705.

Edition statement

1678

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) :

Date

2008-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A58161

ID [STC]

Wing R387

ID [STC]

ESTC R14323

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

12648669

ID [OCLC]

ocm 12648669

ID [VID]

65242

Availability

This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal. The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

Series

Early English books online.

Notes

(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A58161)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 65242)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 774:18)

Source

— A collection of English proverbs digested into a convenient method for the speedy finding any one upon occasion : with short annotations : whereunto are added local proverbs with their explications, old proverbial rhythmes, less known or exotick proverbial sentences, and Scottish proverbs / by J. Ray, M.A. and Fellow of the Royal Society., Ray, John, 1627-1705.. The second edition enlarged by the addition of many hundred English, and appendix of Hebrew proverbs, with annotations and parallels..

Extent

[8], 414, [1] p.

Printed by John Hayes ..., for W. Morden,. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire] :: 1678.. (Advertisement: p. [1] at end.) (First published in 1670.) (Reproduction of original in Huntington Library.)

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