TERMS STARTING WITH
Proverbs ::: The Latinized word for the Book called "Mishlei Shlomoh" that is contained in Ketuvim (Writings). Its primary and most likely author is King Solomon and it contains stories of wisdom and guidance.
TERMS ANYWHERE
hagiographa ::: n. pl. --> The last of the three Jewish divisions of the Old Testament, or that portion not contained in the Law and the Prophets. It comprises Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles.
The lives of the saints.
Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) Hitopadeśa [from hita good, proper + upadeśa counsel, advice] Good counsel; a well-known Sanskrit collection of ethical precepts, allegories, and tales from a larger and older work called the Panchatantra, both books consisting of mingled verse and prose. The verses, mostly proverbs and maxims of practical wisdom, are supported by prose fables in which animals often play the part of human beings.
Ketuvim or Ketubim ::: (Heb. writings). The third and last division of the classical Jewish Bible (TaNaK), including large poetic and epigrammatic works such as Psalms and Proverbs and Job as well as a miscellany of other writings (Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Kohelet, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles).
paramiographer ::: n. --> A collector or writer of proverbs.
“Paths of Peace.” Taken from the verse in Proverbs, “Your way is the way of pleasantness, and all Your paths are those of peace.” More mass-movement oriented and more religious than Oz v'Shalom, and to its right politically. Founded in 1982, merged with Oz v'Shalom (q.v.) in 1985.
proverbial ::: a. --> Mentioned or comprised in a proverb; used as a proverb; hence, commonly known; as, a proverbial expression; his meanness was proverbial.
Of or pertaining to proverbs; resembling a proverb.
proverbialist ::: n. --> One who makes much use of proverbs in speech or writing; one who composes, collects, or studies proverbs.
proverbialize ::: v. t. & i. --> To turn into a proverb; to speak in proverbs.
Proverbs ::: The Latinized word for the Book called "Mishlei Shlomoh" that is contained in Ketuvim (Writings). Its primary and most likely author is King Solomon and it contains stories of wisdom and guidance.
Zuting shiyuan. (J. Sotei jion; K. Chojong sawon 祖庭事苑). In Chinese, "Garden of Matters from the Patriarchs' Hall," edited in eight rolls by Mu'an Shanxiang (d.u.) in 1108; the oldest encyclopedia of the Chinese CHAN tradition. This collection includes over 2,400 items related to Chan pedagogy, culled from Buddhist and secular stories, proverbs, numerological lists, personal names, local dialects, and so forth. Mu'an is said to have embarked on this project in response to the growing number of monks who were unable to understand the rich content and context of the many GONG'AN exchanges found in Chan literature. Mu'an's material is drawn from over twenty important Chan sources, such as the discourse records (YULU) of YUNMEN WENYAN, XUEDOU CHONGXIAN, and FAYAN WENYI, and YONGJIA XUANJUE's popular ZHENGDAO GE. The encyclopedia functions as a glossary for these works, offering explanations for their difficult technical terms and obscure names (which are not necessarily Chan or Buddhist in origin), and drawing his explanations from Buddhist, Confucian, and Daoist materials, as well as such secular sources. For example, the first roll of the encyclopedia provides a glossary of the Yunmen lu, which discusses the author Yunmen Wenyan, offers definitions of terms and explanations of names appearing in the text, drawing on sources ranging from the Shiji ("Book of History") to the AGAMA SuTRAs, and fills out the myriad numerical lists that appear in the text, such as the three vehicles (C. sansheng; S. TRIYĀNA), the three baskets of the canon (C. sanzang; S. TRIPItAKA), the eight teachings of Tiantai (see WUSHI BAJIAO), etc. Mu'an's exhaustive collection meticulously traces the source of each item and provides a detailed commentary on each. The Zuting shiyuan was republished in 1154, and numerous editions were published during the Tokugawa period in Japan.
KEYS (10k)
13 Anonymous
9 Proverbs
1 Simone de Beauvoir
1 ProverbsXXXIV
1 Proverbs XXVI. 12
1 Proverbs XXV. 28
1 proverbs XXL 3
1 Proverbs XXIX. 23
1 Proverbs XXIV. 16
1 Proverbs XXIII. 4-5
1 Proverbs XXIII. 26
1 Proverbs XXII. 17
1 Proverbs XXII
1 Proverbs XXI. 25
1 Proverbs XXI. 16
1 Proverbs XVII. 6
1 Proverbs XVII. 27
1 Proverbs XVII. 22
1 Proverbs XVII. 14
1 Proverbs XVI. 18: XVII. 12
1 Proverbs XVI
1 Proverbs XV 24
1 Proverbs XIV. 30
1 Proverbs XIV. 22
1 Proverbs XIV. 12
1 Proverbs XIII 20
1 Proverbs XII 22
1 Proverbs XII
1 Proverbs XI.19
1 Proverbs IX. 6
1 Proverbs IV 24
1 Proverbs IV. 23
NEW FULL DB (2.4M)
128 Anonymous
29 Joyce Meyer
19 Stormie Omartian
19 Beth Moore
16 Sarah Young
13 Rachel Held Evans
10 Ralph Waldo Emerson
10 Proverbs
9 Joel Osteen
8 Ben Carson
7 Timothy J Keller
7 Henry Cloud
7 Charles Haddon Spurgeon
6 Lysa TerKeurst
6 Chinua Achebe
5 Sarah Palin
5 Jane Austen
5 Friedrich Nietzsche
5 Emilie Barnes
4 Various
1:As a man thinketh in his heart so shall he be
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs, 23:7,#KEYS
2:Forsake your ignorance and live. ~ Proverbs IX. 6, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
3:I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs, 8:17, #KEYS
4:A calm heart is the life of the body. ~ Proverbs XIV. 30, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
5:The charm of a man is in his kindness. ~ Proverbs XII 22, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
6:The desire of the slothful killeth him. ~ Proverbs XXI. 25, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
7:He that soweth iniquity, shall reap vanity. ~ Proverbs XXII, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
8:A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. ~ Proverbs XVII. 22, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
9:A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might,
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs, 24:5,#KEYS
10:How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver! ~ Proverbs, #KEYS
11:When we set our course for God, He will always be there to direct our path
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs, 16:9,#KEYS
12:He that walketh with the wise, shall be wise. ~ Proverbs XIII 20, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
13:Wisdom is a well-spring of life unto him that hath it. ~ Proverbs, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
14:A man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. ~ Proverbs XVII. 27, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
15:Thou art my sister", and call understanding thy kinswoman. ~ Proverbs, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
16:He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding. ~ Proverbs XIV. 22, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
17:A just man falleth seven times and riseth up again. ~ Proverbs XXIV. 16, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
18:The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs, 18:10, #KEYS
19:The hand of the diligent will rule, But the slack hand will be put to forced labor.
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs, 12:24,#KEYS
20:etter is he that rulethhis spirit than he that taketh a city. ~ Proverbs XVI, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
21:Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. ~ Proverbs XVII. 6, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
22:A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs, 22:1, #KEYS
23:Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs, 20:13,#KEYS
24:My son, give me thy heart and let thine eyes observe my ways. ~ Proverbs XXIII. 26, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
25:Put away from thee a forward mouth and perverse lips put away from thee. ~ Proverbs IV 24, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
26:Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. ~ Proverbs IV. 23, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
27:To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. ~ proverbs XXL 3, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
28:For wisdom shall enter into thine heart and knowledge be pleasant unto thy soul. ~ Proverbs, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
29:Pride goeth before destruction, but before honour is humility. ~ Proverbs XVI. 18: XVII. 12, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
30:The Lord gives wisdom (sophia), from his face come knowledge (gnosis) and understanding (sunesis)
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs, 2.6, [T5],#KEYS
31:Lend thine ear, hear the words of the wise, apply thy heart to knowledge. ~ Proverbs XXII. 17, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
32:In the way of righteousness is life: and in the pathway thereof there is no death. ~ Proverbs XII, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
33:A man's pride shall bring him low, but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. ~ Proverbs XXIX. 23, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
34:The way of life is above to the wise that he may depart from hell which is beneath. ~ Proverbs XV 24, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
35:Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him. ~ Proverbs XXVI. 12, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
36:As righteousness tendeth to life, so he that pursueth evil, pursueth it to his own death. ~ Proverbs XI.19, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
37:There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. ~ Proverbs XIV. 12, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
38:He that hath no rule over his own spirit, is like a city that is broken down and without walls. ~ Proverbs XXV. 28, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
39:How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver! ~ Proverbs, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
40:The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding, shall remain in the congregation of the dead. ~ Proverbs XXI. 16, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
41:The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water; therefore leave off contention before it be meddled with. ~ Proverbs XVII. 14, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
42:Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs, 3:5-6, #KEYS
43:Thou shalt invest thyself with her as with a raiment of glory and thou shalt put her on thy head as a crown of joy. Say unto wisdom, ... "Thou art my sister", and call understanding thy kinswoman. ~ Proverbs, #KEYS
44:Vex not thyself to be rich; cease from thy own wisdom. Wilt thou set thy eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings. ~ Proverbs XXIII. 4-5, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
45:Behold the beginning of wisdom; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding. Exalt her and she shall promote thee. She shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. ~ Proverbs, #KEYS
46:Behold the beginning of wisdom; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding. Exalt her and she shall promote thee. She shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. ~ Proverbs, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
47:My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear atentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. ...
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs, 2:1-22,#KEYS
48:My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. ... ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs, 3:1-35, #KEYS
49:Happy is the man that findeth wisdom and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is everyone that retaineth her. ~ Proverbs, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
50:{3:13} Happy [is] the man [that] findeth wisdom, and the man [that] getteth understanding.
{3:14} For the merchandise of it [is] better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
{3:15} She [is] more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire arenot to be compared unto her.
{3:16} Length of days [is] in her right hand; [and] in her left hand riches and honour.
{3:17} Her ways [are] ways of pleasantness, and all her paths [are] peace.
{3:18} She [is] a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy [is every one] that retaineth her. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs, 3:13-18,#KEYS
51:The books I liked became a Bible from which I drew advice and support; I copied out long passages from them; I memorized new canticles and new litanies, psalms, proverbs, and prophecies, and I sanctified every incident in my life by the recital of these sacred texts. My emotions, my tears, and my hopes were no less sincere on account of that; the words and the cadences, the lines and the verses were not aids to make believe: but they rescued from silent oblivion all those intimate adventures of the spirit that I couldn't speak to anyone about; they created a kind of communion between myself and those twin souls which existed somewhere out of reach; instead of living out my small private existence, I was participating in a great spiritual epic. ~ Simone de Beauvoir, #KEYS
52:I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence and find out knowledge of witty inventions.... Counsel is mine and sound knowledge. I am understanding. I am strength. By me Kings reign and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me. And those that seek me shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment, that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.... I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning before ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills were, I was brought forth. ~ Proverbs, the Eternal Wisdom #KEYS
*** WISDOM TROVE ***
1:Proverbs are short sentences drawn from long experience. ~ miguel-de-cervantes, @wisdomtrove 2:For this reason, if you believe proverbs, let me tell you the common one: "It is unlucky to marry in May. ~ ovid, @wisdomtrove 3:Music-hall songs provide the dull with wit, just as proverbs provide them with wisdom. ~ william-somerset-maugham, @wisdomtrove 4:As I was walking among the fires of Hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius; which to Angels look like torment and insanity, I collected some of their Proverbs. ~ william-blake, @wisdomtrove 5:I used to read five psalms every day - that teaches me how to get along with God. Then I read a chapter of Proverbs every day and that teaches me how to get along with my fellow man. ~ billy-graham, @wisdomtrove 6:Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old gary zukav quotes, gary zukav sayings, and gary zukav proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources. ~ gary-zukav, @wisdomtrove 7:The Book of Proverbs deals very hard blows against sluggards, and Christian ministers do well frequently to denounce the great sin of idleness, which is the mother of a huge family of sins. ~ charles-spurgeon, @wisdomtrove 8:Gnomic wisdom, however, is notoriously polychrome, and proverbs depend for their truth entirely on the occasion they are applied to. Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it. ~ george-santayana, @wisdomtrove 9:I do not think I ever opened a book in my life which had not something to say upon woman's inconstancy. Songs and proverbs, all talk of woman's fickleness. But perhaps you will say, these were all written by men. ~ jane-austen, @wisdomtrove 10:The hope of the world is that wisdom can arrest conflict between brothers. I believe that war is the deadly harvest of arrogant and unreasoning minds. And I find grounds for this belief in the wisdom literature of Proverbs. It says in effect this: Panic strikes like a storm and calamity comes like a whirlwind to those who hate knowledge and ignore their God. ~ dwight-eisenhower, @wisdomtrove *** NEWFULLDB 2.4M ***
1:Patch grief with proverbs. ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
2:Forsake your ignorance and live. ~ Proverbs IX. 6, #NFDB
3:A calm heart is the life of the body. ~ Proverbs XIV. 30, #NFDB
4:The charm of a man is in his kindness. ~ Proverbs XII 22, #NFDB
5:The desire of the slothful killeth him. ~ Proverbs XXI. 25, #NFDB
6:He that soweth iniquity, shall reap vanity. ~ Proverbs XXII, #NFDB
7:The wisdom of nations lies in their proverbs, ~ William Penn, #NFDB
8:A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. ~ Proverbs XVII. 22, #NFDB
9:Wise men make proverbs, but fools repeat them. ~ Samuel Palmer, #NFDB
10:He that walketh with the wise, shall be wise. ~ Proverbs XIII 20, #NFDB
11:Proverbs for Paranoids, 4: You hide, they seek. ~ Thomas Pynchon, #NFDB
12:A longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
13:GRAY HAIR IS A CROWN OF SPLENDOR. PROVERBS 16:31. ~ Viola Shipman, #NFDB
14:Wisdom is a well-spring of life unto him that hath it. ~ Proverbs, #NFDB
15:Answer a fool according to his folly” (Proverbs 26:4). ~ Maim nides, #NFDB
16:He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly. Proverbs 14:17 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
17:Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
18:For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. PROVERBS 23:7 ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
19:Proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten ~ Chinua Achebe, #NFDB
20:A man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. ~ Proverbs XVII. 27, #NFDB
21:Proverbs 15:18-19 18 A hot-tempered person starts fights; ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
22:Proverbs may be said to be the abridgment of wisdom. ~ Joseph Joubert, #NFDB
23:He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding. ~ Proverbs XIV. 22, #NFDB
24:I like the old wisdom--puns, riddles, spells, proverbs. ~ Mason Cooley, #NFDB
25:“Thou art my sister”, and call understanding thy kinswoman. ~ Proverbs, #NFDB
26:A just man falleth seven times and riseth up again. ~ Proverbs XXIV. 16, #NFDB
27:He talks in proverbs. There’s nothing I can say in reply. ~ Jeet Thayil, #NFDB
28:What a man desires is unfailing love. Proverbs 19:22 (NIV) ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
29:Proverbs 18:10, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower. ~ James MacDonald, #NFDB
30:A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance. PROVERBS 15:13 KJV ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
31:Better is he that rulethhis spirit than he that taketh a city. ~ Proverbs XVI, #NFDB
32:Proverbs were bright shafts in the Greek and Latin quivers. ~ Isaac D Israeli, #NFDB
33:Proverbs are short sentences drawn from long experience. ~ Miguel de Cervantes, #NFDB
34:Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. ~ Proverbs XVII. 6, #NFDB
35:In the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14). ~ Ben Carson, #NFDB
36:Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing. ~ James MacDonald, #NFDB
37:Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish. ~ Ben Carson, #NFDB
38:Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18 KJV) ~ Lisa Bevere, #NFDB
39:An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips” (Proverbs 24:26). ~ H Norman Wright, #NFDB
40:Many of the historical proverbs have a doubtful paternity. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, #NFDB
41:Proverbs 23:7 says that as a person thinks in his heart, so is he. ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
42:To answer before listening — that is folly and shame.” Proverbs 18:13 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
43:My son, give me thy heart and let thine eyes observe my ways. ~ Proverbs XXIII. 26, #NFDB
44:If you want to follow some good steps, it would Proverbs, all over. ~ Pedro Martinez, #NFDB
45:January 4 Genesis 8:1–10:32 Matthew 4:12-25 Psalm 4:1-8 Proverbs 1:20-23 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
46:King Solomon says in Proverbs that there is nothing new under the sun. ~ James Joyce, #NFDB
47:Poets are like proverbs: you can always find one to contradict another. ~ Jules Verne, #NFDB
48:Proverbs 24:16,…a righteous man falls seven times and rises again.… God ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
49:Proverbs 27: 17 17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
50:Proverbs contradict each other. That is the wisdom of a nation. ~ Stanislaw Jerzy Lec, #NFDB
51:"Anyone can find the dirt in someone. Be the one who finds the gold." ~ Proverbs 11:27, #NFDB
52:As a man thinketh in his heart so shall he be
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs 23:7,#NFDB
53:He who sows discord in his own house will inherit the wind. Proverbs 11:19 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
54:Witty inspirations are the proverbs of the educated. ~ Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, #NFDB
55:BEFORE DESTRUCTION A MAN’S HEART IS HAUGHTY. — PROVERBS 18:12 ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon, #NFDB
56:Envy thou not the oppressor, And choose none of his ways. —Proverbs 3:31 ~ James Ellroy, #NFDB
57:Those that cannot produce ideas often speak with the old proverbs! ~ Mehmet Murat ildan, #NFDB
58:As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27: 17 ~ Brigid Kemmerer, #NFDB
59:He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble. from the Book of Proverbs ~ Solomon, #NFDB
60:Put away from thee a forward mouth and perverse lips put away from thee. ~ Proverbs IV 24, #NFDB
61:Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. ~ Proverbs IV. 23, #NFDB
62:To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. ~ proverbs XXL 3, #NFDB
63:For wisdom shall enter into thine heart and knowledge be pleasant unto thy soul. ~ Proverbs, #NFDB
64:Godliness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. PROVERBS 14:34 ~ Ben Carson, #NFDB
65:Pride goeth before destruction, but before honour is humility. ~ Proverbs XVI. 18: XVII. 12, #NFDB
66:From the fruit of his words a man shall be satisfied with good. PROVERBS 12:14 ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
67:One of my favorite Japanese proverbs is "Fall down 7 times, stand up 8". ~ Georges St Pierre, #NFDB
68:A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps. PROVERBS 16:9 NKJV ~ Joel Osteen, #NFDB
69:A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. Proverbs 15:1 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
70:Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed.” (Proverbs 16:3). ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
71:Lend thine ear, hear the words of the wise, apply thy heart to knowledge. ~ Proverbs XXII. 17, #NFDB
72:The genius, wit, and the spirit of a nation are discovered by their proverbs. ~ Francis Bacon, #NFDB
73:A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1) ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
74:If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. The Bible, Proverbs ~ Janet Lowe, #NFDB
75:One of our sillier Zemblan proverbs says: the lost glove is happy. Promptly ~ Vladimir Nabokov, #NFDB
76:Proverbs 15:33 33 Fear of the LORD teaches wisdom; humility precedes honor. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
77:PROVERBS 16:9 “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
78:Proverbs 23:7 reminds us, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (NLV). We ~ Lysa TerKeurst, #NFDB
79:Proverbs 27:19 19As in water face reflects face, So a man’s heart reveals the man. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
80:When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 11:2 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
81:Where there’s a will there’s relations. Misquoted from the Book of Proverbs ~ Jill Paton Walsh, #NFDB
82:Proverbs 12:24 24 Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
83:A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. PROVERBS 15:1 NIV ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
84:In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5,6 ~ Hubert Selby Jr, #NFDB
85:Proverbs 10:19 19 Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
86:In the way of righteousness is life: and in the pathway thereof there is no death. ~ Proverbs XII, #NFDB
87:The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps. PROVERBS 16:9 ~ Charles R Swindoll, #NFDB
88:Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath. ~ Robert J Morgan, #NFDB
89:Proverbs 16:18 18 Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
90:Proverbs 22:7: “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender ~ Dave Ramsey, #NFDB
91:In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. —PROVERBS 3:6 ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
92:Proverbs 16:9: “A man’s heart deviseth his way; but the Lord directs his steps. ~ Ronald C White Jr, #NFDB
93:A man’s pride shall bring him low, but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. ~ Proverbs XXIX. 23, #NFDB
94:In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. PROVERBS 3 : 6 ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
95:In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. —PROVERBS 16:9 ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
96:Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man? Proverbs 20:6 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
97:People carry on whole conversations in proverbs. But they are not LIVING the proverbs. ~ Idries Shah, #NFDB
98:Proverbs 17:6 reminds grandparents, “Children’s children are a crown to the aged. ~ Warren W Wiersbe, #NFDB
99:The way of life is above to the wise that he may depart from hell which is beneath. ~ Proverbs XV 24, #NFDB
100:Proverbs 10:19 19 Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
101:Proverbs 12:1 1 To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
102:Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses (Proverbs 27:6). ~ H Norman Wright, #NFDB
103:Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23). ~ John Townsend, #NFDB
104:Lying lips are detestable to the LORD, but faithful people are His delight. Proverbs 12:22 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
105:Proverbs are always platitudes until you have personally experienced the truth of them. ~ Aldous Huxley, #NFDB
106:Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him. ~ Proverbs XXVI. 12, #NFDB
107:There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother. Proverbs 30:11 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
108:Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding. PROVERBS 23:23 ~ Joel Osteen, #NFDB
109:A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. —PROVERBS 17:22 ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
110:An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression. Proverbs 29:22 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
111:Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life.
Proverbs 4:23 ~ Anonymous,#NFDB
112:In spite of everything that proverbs may say, poverty keeps together more homes than it breaks up. ~ Saki, #NFDB
113:Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. —PROVERBS 3:5 ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
114:Wisdom—the wisdom of God—is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom (Proverbs 4:7). ~ Chris Oyakhilome, #NFDB
115:As righteousness tendeth to life, so he that pursueth evil, pursueth it to his own death. ~ Proverbs XI.19, #NFDB
116:He that writeth in blood and proverbs doth not want to be read, but learnt by heart. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche, #NFDB
117:Proverbs 15:4 4 Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
118:Proverbs 29:23 23A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
119:Those who work hard will make a profit, but those who only talk will be poor. PROVERBS 14:23 ~ Dave Ramsey, #NFDB
120:A joyful heart makes a face cheerful, but a sad heart produces a broken spirit. Proverbs 15:13 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
121:Let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.
Proverbs 31:7 ~ Anonymous,#NFDB
122:Music-hall songs provide the dull with wit, just as proverbs provide them with wisdom. ~ W Somerset Maugham, #NFDB
123:There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. ~ Proverbs XIV. 12, #NFDB
124:Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
125:Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but an encouraging word makes it glad. PROVERBS 12:25 ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
126:A person’s anxiety will weigh him down, but an encouraging word makes him joyful. Proverbs 12:25 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
127:April “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” PROVERBS 3 : 6 ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
128:A ruler can be persuaded through patience, and a gentle tongue can break a bone. Proverbs 25:15 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
129:A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife. Proverbs 15:18 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
130:Carefully consider the path for your feet, and all your ways will be established. Proverbs 4:26 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
131:She is clothed in strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.Proverbs 31:25 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
132:He that writeth in blood and proverbs doth not want to be read, but learnt by heart. In ~ Friedrich Nietzsche, #NFDB
133:He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor (Proverbs 22:9). ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
134:PROVERBS 15 [†] d A soft answer turns away wrath, but e a harsh word stirs up anger. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
135:Proverbs 13:4 4 Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
136:Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5) ~ Pauline Creeden, #NFDB
137:It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman. Proverbs 21:19 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
138:Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. PROVERBS 19 : 21 ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
139:PROVERBS 12:18 18 Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
140:Proverbs 16:25 25 There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
141:The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way? PROVERBS 20:24 NLT ~ Joel Osteen, #NFDB
142:Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy? —Proverbs 27:4 ~ Katherine Kurtz, #NFDB
143:For this reason, if you believe proverbs, let me tell you the common one: "It is unlucky to marry in May. ~ Ovid, #NFDB
144:Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. Proverbs 17:9 ~ Sheila Walsh, #NFDB
145:Men, crumpled like bed-sheets in hospitals,
And women, battered like overused proverbs. ~ Vladimir Mayakovsky,#NFDB
146:Proverbs 21:15 NIV:
When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. ~ Anonymous,#NFDB
147:Proverbs and truisms are for this reason dangerous, because they produce blindness or non-thought. ~ Idries Shah, #NFDB
148:The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the grey head. PROVERBS 20:29 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
149:Proverbs 16:25 25 There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
150:Proverbs 21:23: “Watch your words and hold your tongue; you’ll save yourself a lot of grief” (MSG). ~ Doug Fields, #NFDB
151:When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord” (Proverbs 19: 3). ~ David A Powlison, #NFDB
152:When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. PROVERBS 16:7 ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
153:Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty (Proverbs 21:5). ~ John Wooden, #NFDB
154:Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
155:He that hath no rule over his own spirit, is like a city that is broken down and without walls. ~ Proverbs XXV. 28, #NFDB
156:Proverbs 21:30 (NIV). There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD....... ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
157:The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe” (Proverbs 18:10). ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
158:A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might,
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs 24:5,#NFDB
159:How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver! ~ Proverbs, #NFDB
160:Proverbs 10:10 10 Whoever winks maliciously causes grief, and a chattering fool comes to ruin. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
161:Proverbs 31:27: “She looketh well to the way of her household and eateth not the bread of idleness. ~ Sandra Dallas, #NFDB
162:The fatalism of Russian peasant proverbs is contrasted with the self-reliance of Chinese ones by ~ Malcolm Gladwell, #NFDB
163:The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. PROVERBS 18:21 NLT ~ Various, #NFDB
164:Wisdom is the focus of the perceptive, but a fool’s eyes roam to the ends of the earth. Proverbs 17:24 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
165:How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver! ~ Proverbs, #NFDB
166:Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
167:Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him."
(Proverbs 26:4) ~ Anonymous,#NFDB
168:He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm. PROVERBS 13:20 ~ Sally Clarkson, #NFDB
169:Humility isn’t a place of weakness but rather a position that will come with honor (Proverbs 18:12). ~ Lysa TerKeurst, #NFDB
170:Proverbs 18:8 8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
171:Proverbs 23:23 23 Get the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
172:The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. PROVERBS 12:19 14 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
173:The reflections of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. Proverbs 16:1 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
174:T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets, William Blake’s “Proverbs of Hell,” and Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself. I ~ Robin Rinaldi, #NFDB
175:When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. (Proverbs 3:24) ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
176:Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge. PROVERBS 14:26 ~ Max Lucado, #NFDB
177:A happy heart makes the face cheerful . . . the cheerful heart has a continual feast. PROVERBS 15:13, 15 ~ Joel Osteen, #NFDB
178:Proverbs 11:4 4 Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
179:A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree. PROVERBS 11:28 ~ Rick Warren, #NFDB
180:As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion. —PROVERBS 11:22 ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
181:He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. PROVERBS 19:17 ~ Joel Osteen, #NFDB
182:Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” The ~ Matt Chandler, #NFDB
183:The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding, shall remain in the congregation of the dead. ~ Proverbs XXI. 16, #NFDB
184:The Proverbs 31 woman is not the model of a perfect woman. She is the model of a committed woman under God. ~ Tony Evans, #NFDB
185:Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it” (13:11). Proverbs ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
186:Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in deep darkness” (Proverbs 20:20). ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
187:Proverbs 23:9 9Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words. ~ John F MacArthur Jr, #NFDB
188:Proverbs 31:30: “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. ~ Matt Chandler, #NFDB
189:How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. Proverbs 16:16 ~ Jim Fay, #NFDB
190:Listen, my sons, to a father's discipline, and pay attention so that you may gain understanding. Proverbs 4:1 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
191:Proverbs 10:26 26 Lazy people irritate their employers, like vinegar to the teeth or smoke in the eyes. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
192:The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him. Proverbs 18:17 ~ Andreas J K stenberger, #NFDB
193:train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
194:A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree. PROVERBS 11:28 (MSG) ~ Rick Warren, #NFDB
195:Religion to be permanently influential must be intelligent. ~ Elias Lyman Magoon, Proverbs for the People (1849) ch. 1, p. 16, #NFDB
196:Some pretend to be rich, yet have nothing; others pretend to be poor, yet have great wealth. Proverbs 13:7 ~ Malcolm Gladwell, #NFDB
197:The hand of the diligent will rule, But the slack hand will be put to forced labor.
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs 12:24,#NFDB
198:Those who love to talk will experience the consequences, for the tongue can kill or nourish life. PROVERBS 18:21 ~ Ben Carson, #NFDB
199:When having a goal takes your focus off God and His daily intentions for you, it can cause trouble. Proverbs ~ Lysa TerKeurst, #NFDB
200:I shall find favor, good understanding, and high esteem in the sight [or judgment] of God and man. —PROVERBS 3:4 ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
201:He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses. Proverbs 28:27 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
202:Proverbs 21:17-18 17 Those who love pleasure become poor; those who love wine and luxury will never be rich. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
203:The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Proverbs 9:10 ~ Anonymous,#NFDB
204:A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel. PROVERBS 1:5 ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
205:From the fruit of his mouth a man’s stomach is satisfied; he is filled with the product of his lips. Proverbs 18:20 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
206:Proverbs 16:32, which says that mightier is the man who can control his temper than the man who can conquer a city. ~ Ben Carson, #NFDB
207:Out of monuments, names, words proverbs ...and the like, we do save and recover somewhat from the deluge of time. ~ Francis Bacon, #NFDB
208:The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. PROVERBS 1:7 NIV ~ Pamela L McQuade, #NFDB
209:Proverbs 16:7 says, “When God approves of your life, even your enemies will end up shaking your hand” (The Message). ~ Joel Osteen, #NFDB
210:Proverbs 28:26
Those who trust in their own reasoning are fools, but those who walk in Wisdom will be kept safe. ~ Anonymous,#NFDB
211:Proverbs for Paranoids, 3: If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about answers. ~ Thomas Pynchon, #NFDB
212:The devil shall have his bargain; for he was never yet a breaker of proverbs--he will give the devil his due. ~ William Shakespeare, #NFDB
213:A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle. —PROVERBS 18:19 ~ John Bevere, #NFDB
214:Do you see, my dear? The proverbs are at play. ‘I wept because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.’” I ~ Ruta Sepetys, #NFDB
215:Proverbs for Paranoids, 2: The innocence of the creatures is in inverse proportion to the immorality of the Master. ~ Thomas Pynchon, #NFDB
216:words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. (Proverbs 12:18, NIV) ~ Lisa Bevere, #NFDB
217:The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy. Proverbs 28:13 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
218:A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. PROVERBS 17:22 AMP ~ Various, #NFDB
219:A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. PROVERBS 17:22 ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
220:Good sense makes a man restrain his anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression or an offense. PROVERBS 19:11 ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
221:Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs 20:13,#NFDB
222:Proverbs save us the trouble of thinking. What we call folk wisdom is often no more than a kind of expedient stupidity. ~ Edward Abbey, #NFDB
223:A man will be satisfied with good by the words of his mouth, and the work of a man’s hands will reward him. Proverbs 12:14 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
224:How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver (Proverbs 16:16 NKJV). ~ T D Jakes, #NFDB
225:The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water; therefore leave off contention before it be meddled with. ~ Proverbs XVII. 14, #NFDB
226:A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22) ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
227:He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. Proverbs 16:32 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
228:Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” ~ Sorita d Este Proverbs 13:12, C3rd BCE ~ Sorita d Este, #NFDB
229:It’s interesting that, there really is no Proverbs 31 for men in the Bible. Men need the whole Bible, women need a chapter. ~ Tony Evans, #NFDB
230:Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten. ~ Chinua Achebe, #NFDB
231:As Proverbs 17:9 reminds us, peace is more likely when one forgets about past wrongs as opposed to reminding others of them. ~ Ben Carson, #NFDB
232:He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.” — Proverbs 16:20 ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon, #NFDB
233:He that winneth souls is wise (Proverbs 11:30) - Those are the best educated ministers, who win the most souls. ~ Charles Grandison Finney, #NFDB
234:Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning. PROVERBS 10:12 – 13 ~ Karen Ehman, #NFDB
235:The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy in him.
Proverbs 23:24 ~ Anonymous,#NFDB
236:Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered. Proverbs 11:13 ESV ~ Susie Larson, #NFDB
237:My words are life unto those that find them, and my words are health, or medicine, to all their flesh” (Proverbs 4:20–22). ~ Kenneth E Hagin, #NFDB
238:One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24 ~ Anonymous,#NFDB
239:Proverbs 27:18-20 18 Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
240:In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. PROVERBS 3: 6 ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
241:Proverbs 10:17 17 People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore correction will go astray. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
242:Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten. Okoye ~ Chinua Achebe, #NFDB
243:Proverbs 19:26 26 Children who mistreat their father or chase away their mother are an embarrassment and a public disgrace. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
244:The Lord gives wisdom (sophia), from his face come knowledge (gnosis) and understanding (sunesis)
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs 2.6, [T5],#NFDB
245:The power of the words we speak is far greater than we realize. “Life and death is in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). ~ Randy Alcorn, #NFDB
246:Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them. PROVERBS 13:24 NIV ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
247:Proverbs are all very fine when there's nothing to worry you, but when you're in real trouble, they're not a bit of help. ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery, #NFDB
248:Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories—first carefully turning them inside out. ~ G K Chesterton, #NFDB
249:I can’t imagine myself falling for a man who can’t cite ten proverbs, five philosophical allusions, and the names of three composers). ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
250:Proverbs, words, and grammar inflections convey the public sense with more purity and precision, than the wisest individual. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, #NFDB
251:Yet as the proverb says, 'In vino veritas,' whether with boys, or without them (In allusion to two proverbs.); and therefore I must speak. ~ Plato, #NFDB
252:...people quote proverbs without realizing they're really in awe of the authority of their truth and the power of their expression... ~ John Geddes, #NFDB
253:Since wisdom “will honor you if you embrace her” (Proverbs 4:8), I believe a good-willed wife will honor you when you love her. ~ Emerson Eggerichs, #NFDB
254:...remember what it says in Proverbs 19:21, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. ~ Annalisa Daughety, #NFDB
255:Solomon's Proverbs, I think, have omitted to say, that as the sore palate findeth grit, so an uneasy consciousness heareth innuendos. ~ George Eliot, #NFDB
256:Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]. Proverbs 18:21 ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
257:In Proverbs 20:30, the Bible basically says it sometimes takes a painful experience to make us change our ways. And sometimes it does. ~ Kyle Idleman, #NFDB
258:Solomon’s Proverbs, I think, have omitted to say, that as the sore palate findeth grit, so an uneasy consciousness heareth innuendoes. ~ George Eliot, #NFDB
259:PROVERBS 24:1–2 “Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
260:Proverbs were anterior to boots, and formed the wisdom of the vulgar, and in the earliest ages were the unwritten laws of morality. ~ Benjamin Disraeli, #NFDB
261:He had a penchant for idioms, sayings, proverbs and the like; some of which he invented or used in a way that was incomprehensible to me, ~ Javier Mar as, #NFDB
262:Do not despise the LORD’S instruction … for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, just as a father, the son he delights in. Proverbs 3:11–12 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
263:He limps in his life like the lame man in the Proverbs, whose legs were not equal, for his praying is shorter than his preaching. ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon, #NFDB
264:Then I referred him to Solomon: “The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out” (Proverbs 20:5). ~ John Townsend, #NFDB
265:Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. PROVERBS 3:5 ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
266:Let your daughter have first of all the book of Psalms for holiness of heart, and be instructed in the Proverbs of Solomon for her godly life. ~ Saint Jerome, #NFDB
267:A man’s mind plans his way [as he journeys through life], But the Lord directs his steps and establishes them. (from the Bible, Proverbs 16:9 AMP) ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
268:It is foolish to spread a net where any bird can see it, but they set an ambush to kill themselves; they attack their own lives. Proverbs 1:17–18 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
269:Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
270:Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: But a woman who fears the Lord,
She shall be praised.
(Proverbs 31:30 Modern King James Version) ~ Anonymous,#NFDB
271:Do you know Eastern proverbs?
"Unskilled guns, but... The more guns, the likely they will hit..."
I've got plenty of Akuma to go around. ~ Katsura Hoshino,#NFDB
272:The book of Proverbs makes the same point: Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him. (14.31) ~ Marcus J Borg, #NFDB
273:The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages is preserved into perpetuity by a nation's proverbs, fables, folk sayings and quotations. ~ William Feather, #NFDB
274:Pay attention to my words; listen closely to my sayings… . For they are life to those who find them, and health to one’s whole body. Proverbs 4:20, 22 ~ Beth Moore, #NFDB
275:Books, like proverbs, receive their chief value from the stamp and esteem of ages through which they have passed. ~ Sir William Temple, Ancient and Modern Learning., #NFDB
276:Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul. Proverbs 22:24–25 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
277:Our heart oft times wakes when we sleep, and God can speak to that, either by words, by proverbs, by signs and similitudes, as well as if one was awake. ~ John Bunyan, #NFDB
278:A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy, and wrath are like rottenness of the bones. Proverbs 14:30 ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
279:Vex not thyself to be rich; cease from thy own wisdom. Wilt thou set thy eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings. ~ Proverbs XXIII. 4—5, #NFDB
280:Sometimes it takes a broken heart for us to finally let Jesus in. Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways. —Proverbs 20:30 GNT ~ Kyle Idleman, #NFDB
281:All cats are grey. This pithy little saying originates from John Heywood’s book of proverbs, published in 1546: ‘When all candles be out, all cats be grey. ~ Sue Perkins, #NFDB
282:Proverbs tells us, “The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.”12 Those who pass along insights get more from God. ~ Rick Warren, #NFDB
283:Proverbs 3:7–8 7Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. 8It will be health to your flesh,a And strengthb to your bones. ~ John F MacArthur Jr, #NFDB
284:Only when the last tree has been cut down and the last river has dried up will man realise that reciting red indian proverbs makes you sound like a fucking muppet. ~ Banksy, #NFDB
285:As I was walking among the fires of Hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius; which to Angels looked like torment and insanity, I collected some proverbs ~ William Blake, #NFDB
286:Proverbs 3:5–6 5Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall directa your paths. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
287:The writer of Proverbs observed that sharp people sharpen one another, just as iron sharpens iron. If you want to be a sharp thinker, be around sharp people. ~ John C Maxwell, #NFDB
288:Today’s choices become tomorrow’s circumstances. Proverbs 27:12 says, “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. ~ Lysa TerKeurst, #NFDB
289:The woman described in Proverbs 31 is not some ideal that exists out there; she is present in each one of us when we do even the smallest things with valor ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
290:I will stay away from anything that pulls me from You. When I do all this, my heart will be at peace—and anxiety will no longer steal my body’s health. (Proverbs 3) ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
291:pessimist and fatalist (so R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [Garden City, 1965], p. 192), who questions the benefits of wisdom and the meaningfulness of life. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
292:the woman described in Proverbs 31 is not some ideal that exists out there; she is present in each one of us when we do even the smallest things with valor. ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
293:From a wise mind comes wise speech; the words of the wise are persuasive. Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. PROVERBS 16:23–24 NLT ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
294:Proverbs 23:13-14 13 Don’t fail to discipline your children. The rod of punishment won’t kill them. 14 Physical discipline may well save them from death. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
295:Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. —PROVERBS 3:5–6 ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
296:Proverbs 22:7 "The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is slave to the lender."
Galatians 5:1 "do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. ~ Anonymous,#NFDB
297:Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). ~ Os Hillman, #NFDB
298:Proverbs 19:21 is a foundational Scripture in regard to understanding God’s purpose: “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. ~ Myles Munroe, #NFDB
299:Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5–6 NIV ~ Sheila Walsh, #NFDB
300:As I was walking among the fires of Hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius; which to Angels look like torment and insanity, I collected some of their Proverbs. ~ William Blake, #NFDB
301:Proverbs 19:15-16 15 Lazy people sleep soundly, but idleness leaves them hungry. 16 Keep the commandments and keep your life; despising them leads to death. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
302:Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5 – 6 NIV ~ Max Lucado, #NFDB
303:too much in their dispute. I heeded the warning in Proverbs 26:17: “Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own” (NIV). ~ Emerson Eggerichs, #NFDB
304:Own the error and correct it,” he said. Hamood had a thousand proverbs and maxims. His favorite was Keep the money in your hand, never in your heart. He used that one a lot. ~ Dave Eggers, #NFDB
305:pessimist and fatalist (so R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [Garden City, 1965], p. 192), who questions the benefits of wisdom and the meaningfulness of life. Divergent, ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
306:Proverbs 18:6-7 6 Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels; they are asking for a beating. 7 The mouths of fools are their ruin; they trap themselves with their ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
307:In the mountains the shortest way is from peak to peak, but for that route thou must have long legs. Proverbs should be peaks, and those spoken to should be big and tall. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche, #NFDB
308:There are some people who wait eagerly for the fall of a just man so they can use his fall to justify their flaws, but Proverbs twenty four sixteen shall always stand! ~ Ernest Agyemang Yeboah, #NFDB
309:according to Ahava, the woman described in Proverbs 31 is not some ideal that exists out there; she is present in each one of us when we do even the smallest things with valor. ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
310:I used to read five psalms every day - that teaches me how to get along with God. Then I read a chapter of Proverbs every day and that teaches me how to get along with my fellow man. ~ Billy Graham, #NFDB
311:Proverbs 18:23-24 23 The poor plead for mercy; the rich answer with insults. 24 There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
312:Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught. —PROVERBS 3:25–26 NKJV ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
313:In a sermon on a text from Proverbs—"adversity kills only where there is a weakness to be killed"—one of the North’s leading clergymen expressed this new mood of grim resolution. ~ James M McPherson, #NFDB
314:Proverbs 19:20-21 20 Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life. 21 You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
315:Like apples of gold in a silver setting is a word that is aptly spoken. It is a golden ring, an ornament of finest gold, such is a wise apology to an attentive ear.” —Proverbs 25:11–12 ~ Richard Rohr, #NFDB
316:Proverbs 18:2-3 2 Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions. 3 Doing wrong leads to disgrace, and scandalous behavior brings contempt. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
317:Proverbs are the literature of reason, or the statements of absolute truth, without qualification. Like the sacred books of each nation, they are the sanctuary of its intuitions. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, #NFDB
318:Proverbs 12:19-20 19 Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed. 20 Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil; joy fills hearts that are planning peace! ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
319:Proverbs 19:8-9 8 To acquire wisdom is to love yourself; people who cherish understanding will prosper. 9 A false witness will not go unpunished, and a liar will be destroyed. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
320:I do admit to mocking atheists, because mockery is a legitimate form of debate according to my rule Book. God Himself mocks evil men who refuse His moral government (see Proverbs 1:26-27). ~ Ray Comfort, #NFDB
321:Proverbs 27:5–6 5It is better to correct someone openly than to have love and not show it. 6The slap of a friend can be trusted to help you, but the kisses of an enemy are nothing but lies. ~ Max Lucado, #NFDB
322:Proverbs 13:24-25 24 Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them. 25 The godly eat to their hearts’ content, ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
323:It says somewhere—in the Book of Proverbs, I think—that lying lips are abomination to the Lord, but they that deal truly are his delight. I considered my words carefully before I spoke them. ~ Alan Bradley, #NFDB
324:Proverbs 17:12-13 12 It is safer to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than to confront a fool caught in foolishness. 13 If you repay good with evil, evil will never leave your house. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
325:If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee. Proverbs 25:21–22 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
326:Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. (Proverbs 31:8–9, NLT) ~ Lisa Bevere, #NFDB
327:Look to the ant, thou sluggard; Consider her ways and be wise: Which having no chief, overseer, or ruler, Provides her meat in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest. —PROVERBS 6:6–8 ~ Steven Johnson, #NFDB
328:Proverbs 20:20-21 20 If you insult your father or mother, your light will be snuffed out in total darkness. 21 An inheritance obtained too early in life is not a blessing in the end. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
329:PROVERBS 27 Do not boast about tomorrow, y for you do not know what a day may bring. 2 Let z another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
330:The Book of Proverbs deals very hard blows against sluggards, and Christian ministers do well frequently to denounce the great sin of idleness, which is the mother of a huge family of sins. ~ Charles Spurgeon, #NFDB
331:Thou shalt invest thyself with her as with a raiment of glory and thou shalt put her on thy head as a crown of joy. Say unto wisdom, ... "Thou art my sister", and call understanding thy kinswoman. ~ Proverbs, #NFDB
332:Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed. PROVERBS 16:3 AMP ~ Various, #NFDB
333:Don't judge a book by its cover. - "Do not form an opinion about something or somebody based solely on outward appearance." ~ English proverbs Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs. , #NFDB
334:For proverbs are the pith, the proprieties, the proofs, the purities, the elegancies, as the commonest so the commendablest phrases of a language. To use them is a grace, to understand them a good. ~ John Florio, #NFDB
335:Proverbs 14:32-33 32 The wicked are crushed by disaster, but the godly have a refuge when they die. 33 Wisdom is enshrined in an understanding heart; wisdom is not[*] found among fools. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
336:Igbo sayings and proverbs are far more valuable to me as a human being in understanding the complexity of the world than the doctrinaire, self-righteous strain of the Christian faith I was taught. ~ Chinua Achebe, #NFDB
337:Proverbs 15:1-3 1 A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. 2 The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
338:Proverbs 14:28-29 28 A growing population is a king’s glory; a prince without subjects has nothing. 29 People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
339:Proverbs 3:9-10 9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. 10 Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
340:It goes back to the passage from Proverbs. We don’t know what to do, where to go, or how. So I thought we’d try and take this time to find out what we want, and what God wants, and pray for each other. ~ Davis Bunn, #NFDB
341:They sleep not, except they have done mischief; And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall For they eat the bread of wickedness, And they drink the wine of violence. PROVERBS 4: 16-17 ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
342:One of the greatest gifts we can give to each other is the gift of honesty and confrontation. As Proverbs tells us, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses” (Proverbs 27:6). ~ Henry Cloud, #NFDB
343:Proverbs 14:22-24 22 If you plan to do evil, you will be lost; if you plan to do good, you will receive unfailing love and faithfulness. 23 Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty! ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
344:Wealth is a planned result that requires productive work and dedication. The Tanakh says, “The plans of the diligent lead only to abundance; but all who rush in arrive only at want” (CJB, Proverbs 21:5). ~ H W Charles, #NFDB
345:El hambre agudiza el ingenio,” said Raphael.
Hunger sharpens the wit.
“Good proverb,” said Magnus. “However, like most proverbs, it sounds wise and yet does not actually clarify anything. ~ Cassandra Clare,#NFDB
346:I'm an old, superstitious Arab, and I believe in our proverbs. There's one that says, 'Everything that happens once can never happen again. But anything that happens twice will surely happen a third time. ~ Paulo Coelho, #NFDB
347:Do not rescue an angry man, lest you have to do it again tomorrow” (Proverbs 19:19, my paraphrase). In other words, if you give in once to someone’s anger, get ready to do it again the next time you say no. ~ Henry Cloud, #NFDB
348:My preference is for you to depend on Me continually, trusting Me to guide you and strengthen you as needed. This is how you grow strong in your weakness. JAMES 4:13–15; PROVERBS 3:5 AMP;
ISAIAH 40:28–31 ~ Sarah Young,#NFDB
349:I’m an old, superstitious Arab, and I believe in our proverbs. There’s one that says, ‘Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time. ~ Paulo Coelho, #NFDB
350:As Proverbs 18:21 points out, life and death are in the power of the tongue. If you lend credence to a continual onslaught of negativity, whether self-inflicted or external, eventually it will wear you down. ~ John Herrick, #NFDB
351:Having spoken plainly so far, Okoye said the next half a dozen sentences in proverbs. Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten. ~ Chinua Achebe, #NFDB
352:Proverbs 15:20-21 20 Sensible children bring joy to their father; foolish children despise their mother. 21 Foolishness brings joy to those with no sense; a sensible person stays on the right path. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
353:Proverbs 10:27-28 27 Fear of the LORD lengthens one’s life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. 28 The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
354:Proverbs 13:15-16 15 A person with good sense is respected; a treacherous person is headed for destruction.[*] 16 Wise people think before they act; fools don’t—and even brag about their foolishness. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
355:We’ve made a kind of game of it, Freddy,” said Mrs. Wiggins, “since we heard about your Mr. Camphor. We think up proverbs and then try them out. Most of them seem to be wrong. Like ‘A cat can look at a king. ~ Walter R Brooks, #NFDB
356:Gnomic wisdom, however, is notoriously polychrome, and proverbs depend for their truth entirely on the occasion they are applied to. Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it. ~ George Santayana, #NFDB
357:I do not think I ever opened a book in my life which had not something to say upon woman's inconstancy. Songs and proverbs, all talk of woman's fickleness. But perhaps you will say, these were all written by men. ~ Jane Austen, #NFDB
358:Proverbs 25:28 says, “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.” In other words, if we do not control our own lives from the inside, somebody else will control them from the outside. ~ Myles Munroe, #NFDB
359:Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her King Solomon ~ John Paul Davis Proverbs 8:10-11 ~ John Paul Davis, #NFDB
360:Proverbs 17:27-28 27 A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered. 28 Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
361:anxiety and subsequent panic attacks were the result of being conflicted between the fear of the Lord and the fear of man. Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe. ~ Mark Driscoll, #NFDB
362:Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. PROVERBS 31:10-12 ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
363:Proverbs 10:31-32 31 The mouth of the godly person gives wise advice, but the tongue that deceives will be cut off. 32 The lips of the godly speak helpful words, but the mouth of the wicked speaks perverse words. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
364:But such is life, the silliest proverbs prove to be true, and when a man thinks, now it's all right, it's not all right by a longshot. Man proposes, God disposes, and there's always that last straw to break the camel's back. ~ Alfred Doblin, #NFDB
365:The strength of Ray Ortlund's study of Proverbs is its Christ-centeredness. The wisdom of Proverbs loses none of its practical value, but rather is given its ultimate fulfillment as an expression of the wisdom of Christ. ~ Graeme Goldsworthy, #NFDB
366:The name of the Lord (says the Scripture) is a strong tower; thither the righteous flee and are safe (Proverbs 18:10). Let us secure His favor and He will lead us through the journey of this life and at length receive us to a better. ~ Samuel Adams, #NFDB
367:The poor and the low have their way of expressing the last facts of philosophy as well as you. "Blessed be nothing," and "The worse things are, the better they are," are proverbs which express the transcendentalism of common life. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, #NFDB
368:The power of life and death are in the tongue, and we eat the fruit of them (Proverbs 18:21). Our words affect us and the people around us. They also affect what God is able to do for us. We cannot have a negative mouth and a positive life. ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
369:Proverbs often contradict one another, as any reader soon discovers. The sagacity that advises us to look before we leap promptly warns us that if we hesitate we are lost; that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but out of sight, out of mind. ~ Leo Rosten, #NFDB
370:I’m starting to sound like that halfwit Demeter. If I start spouting half-formed proverbs, feel free to send me back from whence I came— I implore you. I’d rather die a thousand deaths than use fortune cookies as my sole source of inspiration. ~ Bella Forrest, #NFDB
371:The Proverbs—a collection of wisdom in the Old Testament—say that smiling makes you happy. Which is actually backed up by psychological studies. So I stand there with a flight attendant–like grin frozen on my face. But inside, I am full of wrath. ~ A J Jacobs, #NFDB
372:There are proverbs about frying pans and fires that I might have quoted to myself, but I preferred to adapt a different one to my purposes: better the devil that would attack everyone impartially than the devil specifically looking to kill us. ~ Marie Brennan, #NFDB
373:Proverbs 19:1-3 1 Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and a fool. 2 Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes. 3 People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
374:Proverbs 11:27 has a great summary of both sides: 'If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you!' Ultimately, for better or for worse, it is often our *actions* that end up determining how we feel. ~ Shaunti Feldhahn, #NFDB
375:Whatever we focus our attention on is what will dominate our thoughts (Proverbs 23:7). If our thoughts are dominated by the things of this world then we are going to get worldly results in our lives. We need to focus on God to get godly results. ~ Andrew Wommack, #NFDB
376:I would fain coin wisdom,—mould it, I mean, into maxims, proverbs, sentences, that can easily be retained and transmitted. Would that I could denounce and banish from the language of men—as base money—the words by which they cheat and are cheated! ~ Joseph Joubert, #NFDB
377:Religion may enter a pothouse as a minister of good, but it may not lay aside its dignity to argue its rights and claims there. The moment that it does this it is shorn of its power. ~ Josiah Gilbert Holland, Gold-foil, Hammered from Popular Proverbs (1860) p. 242, #NFDB
378:She considers a [new] field before she buys or accepts it [expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties]; with her savings [of time and strength] she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard. PROVERBS 31:16 ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
379:Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Proverbs 27:5–6). Like a surgeon, friends cut you in order to heal you. Friends become wiser together through a healthy clash of viewpoints. “As iron sharpens iron, so friend sharpens friend” (Proverbs 27:17). ~ Timothy J Keller, #NFDB
380:He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. PSALM 145:19 Where there is no vision, the people perish. PROVERBS 29:18 KJV You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. PSALM 145:16 ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
381:One of my favorite insights in all the Bible’s wisdom literature comes from Proverbs 27:14: “If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.” As we say in the Episcopal Church, this is the Word of the Lord. ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
382:The fatalism of Russian peasant proverbs is contrasted with the self-reliance of Chinese ones by R. David Arkush in “If Man Works Hard the Land Will Not Be Lazy—Entrepreneurial Values in North Chinese Peasant Proverbs,” Modern China 10, no. 4 (October ~ Malcolm Gladwell, #NFDB
383:Proverbs, like the sacred books of each nation, are the sanctuary of the intuitions. That which the droning world, chained to appearances, will not allow the realist to say in his own words, it will suffer him to say in proverbs without contradiction. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, #NFDB
384:The sages taught the Jews not to rejoice over another’s misfortune. “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth” (Proverbs 24:17). (I must confess that I have always enjoyed gloating over the comeuppance suffered by the detestable, regardless of race, color, or creed.) ~ Leo Rosten, #NFDB
385:The wisdom of nations lies in their proverbs, which are brief and pithy. Collect and learn them; they are notable measures of directions for human life; you have much in little; they save time in speaking; and upon occasion may be the fullest and safest answer. ~ William Penn, #NFDB
386:But regardless of his motive, words can be destructive. As Proverbs 18:21 points out, life and death are in the power of the tongue. If you lend credence to a continual onslaught of negativity, whether self-inflicted or external, eventually it will wear you down. ~ John Herrick, #NFDB
387:Proverbs gives us some of the clearest evidence that God’s Word is designed for all of life. There is no area of human life that the book ignores, and it contains a great deal of teaching on the most important realities with which we deal as creatures in this world. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
388:Proverbs 15:24-26 24 The path of life leads upward for the wise; they leave the grave[*] behind. 25 The LORD tears down the house of the proud, but he protects the property of widows. 26 The LORD detests evil plans, but he delights in pure words. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
389:A man of fashion never has recourse to proverbs, and vulgar aphorisms; uses neither favourite words nor hard words, but takes great care to speak very correctly and grammatically, and to pronounce properly; that is, according to the usage of the best companies. ~ Lord Chesterfield, #NFDB
390:Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails (Proverbs 19:21). Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed (Proverbs 16:3). In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps (Proverbs 16:9). ~ Lysa TerKeurst, #NFDB
391:Proverbs 4:11-13 11 I will teach you wisdom’s ways and lead you in straight paths. 12 When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble. 13 Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
392:How sweetly we relish the opportunity to speak critically of someone else—even when we are unsure of our facts. We forget that “a man who stirs up dissension among brothers” by criticizing one to another is one of the “six things which the Lord hates” (Proverbs 6:16-19). ~ Jerry Bridges, #NFDB
393:The Proverbs 30 prayer is different. It is to ask, “Lord, meet my material needs, and give me wealth, yes, but only as much as I can handle without it harming my ability to put you first in life. Because ultimately I don’t need status and comfort—I need you as my Lord. ~ Timothy J Keller, #NFDB
394:Proverbs 16:28-30 28 A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends. 29 Violent people mislead their companions, leading them down a harmful path. 30 With narrowed eyes, people plot evil; with a smirk, they plan their mischief. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
395:For those of you out there today who have already been through hard times and are desperate for a word of encouragement, let me assure you that you can trust this Lord of heaven and earth. Remember that Scripture warns us to “lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). ~ James C Dobson, #NFDB
396:I always think it is kind of funny when it comes to wisdom, and I say God has a sense of humor, because my middle name is Solomon, and I love the Book of Proverbs which is written by Solomon, and I have read from the Book of Proverbs to start and end every day since I was 14. ~ Benjamin Carson, #NFDB
397:In the same way, people who sleep when they should be working are testing God. Because God promised to take care of them, they assume that God will find a way. But in Proverbs, God told them to work: “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth” (Proverbs 10:4). ~ Martin Luther, #NFDB
398:There’s a verse in Proverbs that speaks to me. “There are three things which are too wonderful for me, four which I do not understand. The way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the middle of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid.” The ~ Rachel Hauck, #NFDB
399:When it comes to yourself, follow God's formula-
deny yourself of overindulgence (Proverbs 23:2 and 30:8),
examine yourself for any sinful habits (1 Corinthians 11:28),
% exercise yourself to godliness (1 Timothy 4:7), and
IK- develop self-control (Galatians 5:23). ~ Elizabeth George,#NFDB
400:Proverbs 19:10-12 10 It isn’t right for a fool to live in luxury or for a slave to rule over princes! 11 Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs. 12 The king’s anger is like a lion’s roar, but his favor is like dew on the grass. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
401:Proverbs 15:1-3 1 A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. 2 The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness. 3 The LORD is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
402:Behold the beginning of wisdom; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding. Exalt her and she shall promote thee. She shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. ~ Proverbs, #NFDB
403:Behold the beginning of wisdom; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding. Exalt her and she shall promote thee. She shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. ~ Proverbs, #NFDB
404:Proverbs 11:9: Evil words destroy one’s friends; wise discernment rescues the godly. Proverbs 11:12: It is foolish to belittle a neighbor; a person with good sense remains silent. Proverbs 11:25: The generous prosper and are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. ~ Ben Carson, #NFDB
405:I think it's misguided, and probably profane, to look at a diverse collection of books written over thousands of years—history, poetry, law, Gospel accounts, proverbs, correspondence, and other writings—as absolute literal instructions without context, as we understand them, in all cases. ~ Sarah Bessey, #NFDB
406:Proverbs 17:19-21 19 Anyone who loves to quarrel loves sin; anyone who trusts in high walls invites disaster. 20 The crooked heart will not prosper; the lying tongue tumbles into trouble. 21 It is painful to be the parent of a fool; there is no joy for the father of a rebel. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
407:Proverbs 20:4-6 4 Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest. 5 Though good advice lies deep within the heart, a person with understanding will draw it out. 6 Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable? ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
408:Religious Jews believe that all things come from God, as God owns everything. The Tanakh says, “The Lord makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up” (NLT, 1 Samuel 2:7). “The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it” (NIV, Proverbs 10:22). ~ H W Charles, #NFDB
409:Proverbs 15:5-7 5 Only a fool despises a parent’s[*] discipline; whoever learns from correction is wise. 6 There is treasure in the house of the godly, but the earnings of the wicked bring trouble. 7 The lips of the wise give good advice; the heart of a fool has none to give. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
410:People with boundary problems usually have distorted attitudes about responsibility. They feel that to hold people responsible for their feelings, choices, and behaviors is mean. However, Proverbs repeatedly says that setting limits and accepting responsibility will save lives (Prov. 13:18, 24). ~ Henry Cloud, #NFDB
411:Proverbs 22:3 says that “the prudent man sees the evil and hides himself.” Sometimes physically removing yourself from a situation will help maintain boundaries. You can do this to replenish yourself physically, emotionally, and spiritually after you have given to your limit, as Jesus often did. ~ Henry Cloud, #NFDB
412:Proverbs 1:7-9 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but foolsa despise wisdom and instruction. 8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. 9 They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
413:Indeed, it has to be said that the percentage of old human sayings and proverbs that are actually true is very far from 100 percent. Seems it may be less important that it be true than that it rhyme, or show alliteration or the like. What goes around comes around: really? What does this mean? ~ Kim Stanley Robinson, #NFDB
414:PROVERBS—NOTE ON 25:28 Self-control relates to the passions (such as anger or love), the desires (for food, sex, etc.), and the will (as illustrated by impulsive decisions). Lack of self-control is a mark of a fool. He is like a city . . . left without walls, that is, with no means of defense against enemies. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
415:PROVERBS 1:7-9 ENGAGE 1:7 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but foolsa despise wisdom and instruction. 8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. 9 They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
416:In this loose structure law was weak, unpopular, and diverse. The people preferred to be ruled by custom, and to settle their disputes by face-saving compromises out of court. They expressed their view of litigation by such pithy proverbs as “Sue a flea and catch a bite,” or “Win your lawsuit, lose your money. ~ Will Durant, #NFDB
417:ANNOYANCE. Conflict (Hebrew madon) in Proverbs does not refer to principled disagreements or respectful arguments. It is something God hates (6: 19) and at the heart of conflict is annoyance, a word that means contempt and disdain between people. Everything said in conflict is to belittle rather than convince. ~ Timothy J Keller, #NFDB
418:God’s work is accomplished when we use the resources given to us. He wants us to use our resources but not put our trust in them. While it’s true that hardworking hands bring wealth, it’s also true that only the Lord’s blessing brings it. As Solomon said, “the blessing of the LORD brings wealth” (Proverbs 10:22). ~ Martin Luther, #NFDB
419:In Proverbs we read: 'He that winneth souls is wise.' If any man, women, or child by a godly life and example can win one soul to God, his life will not have been a failure. He will have outshone all the mighty men of his day, because he will have set a stream in motion that will flow on and on forever and ever. ~ Dwight L Moody, #NFDB
420:"I love them that love me, and glorify them that glorify me." (Proverbs 8:17, I Kings 2:30,) says the Lord of His saints. The lord gave the Holy Spirit to the saints, and they love us in the Holy Spirit. The saints hear our prayers and have the power from God to help us. The entire Christian race knows this. ~ Silouan the Athonite, #NFDB
421:Proverbs 15:15-17 15 For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast. 16 Better to have little, with fear for the LORD, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil. 17 A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
422:We need to repent of our willing cooperation in our money-centered culture, which is depleting the natural resources that God designed for all humankind. He gave us a good earth. Let us serve him by helping to preserve it for our children. 'A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children' (Proverbs 13:22 ). ~ Paul Brand, #NFDB
423:These symbolize (Proverbs 30:14) the greedy and usurers whose teeth are swords and knifes which they use to devour the poor and steal their megger possessions. All of them are children of this world who consider the children of light to be stupid and believe themselves to be the prudent ones. Their prudence is their death. ~ Anthony of Padua, #NFDB
424:Proverbs 3, verses 5 and 6: ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.’ It is not up to us to question the decisions that He makes, as long as we accept the Lord and love Him, regardless of the situation and the outcome. ~ Sarah Price, #NFDB
425:Alone was not something you saw among tribes she’d studied. From an early age children were warned against it. Alone was how your soul got stolen by spirits, or your body kidnapped by enemies. Alone was when your thinking turned to evil. The culture often had proverbs against it. Not even a possum walks alone was the Tam’s most repeated one. ~ Lily King, #NFDB
426:Proverbs 7:11-12—These verses describe, of all things, an adulteress. She is doing the opposite of the wise homemaker who tends to her house and housework. She is “out there,” walking the streets, instead of being at home. “Her feet would not stay at home. At times she was outside, at times in the open square, lurking at every corner. ~ Elizabeth George, #NFDB
427:Words are an extension of our thoughts, but we are our thoughts. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he” (nkjv). God desires not to talk to you, but to “think” to you. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “I do what I see My Father doing” (John 5:19). The text implies, “I do what I mentally see My Father thinking. ~ Myles Munroe, #NFDB
428:We may well be the ones Proverbs warns when it reminds us: "Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value the one who speaks the truth." The point is clear: If the people speak and the king doesn't listen, there is something wrong with the king. If the king acts precipitously and the people say nothing, something is wrong with the people. ~ Joan D Chittister, #NFDB
429:I'm always looking for ways to explore the politics of the everyday. For me, the proverbs were a way of bringing in this ancient wisdom that in Arabic culture is often quoted. Those proverbs are such a huge part of the language and parts of people's every day. This is the wisdom that we use in our everyday life but we're not always listening to. ~ Cherien Dabis, #NFDB
430:All minds quote. Old and new make the warp and woof of every moment. There is no thread that is not a twist of these two strands. By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote. We quote not only books and proverbs, but arts, sciences, religion, customs, and laws; nay, we quote temples and houses, tables and chairs, by imitation. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, #NFDB
431:verse of Scripture I often use in the face of failure with my own sins is Proverbs 24:16: "For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity." The person who is disciplining himself toward holiness falls many times, but he doesn't quit. After each failure he gets up and continues the struggle. ~ Jerry Bridges, #NFDB
432:What did you say to Van Eck on the bridge?” Kaz asked at last. “When we were making the trade?”
“You will see me once more, but only once.”
“More Suli proverbs?”
“A promise to myself. And Van Eck.”
“Careful, Wraith. You’re ill-suited to the revenge game. I’m not sure your Suli Saints would approve.”
“My Saints don’t like bullies. ~ Leigh Bardugo,#NFDB
433:Be often among the godly. They are the salt of the earth—and will help to season you. Their counsel may direct you; their prayers may enliven you. Such holy sparks may be thrown into your breasts as may kindle devotion in you. It is good to be among the saints, to learn the trade of godliness: "He who walks with wise men shall be wise" (Proverbs 13:20). ~ Thomas Watson, #NFDB
434:She [the wife of godly character] brings him [her husband] good, not harm, all the days of her life (Proverbs 31:12). Wait a minute! My mind raced. All the days of her life? What was that supposed to mean? I had yet to meet any woman who had been married all the days of her life. Did this verse mean that she tried to do her husband good…even before she met him? ~ Leslie Ludy, #NFDB
435:The hope of the world is that wisdom can arrest conflict between brothers. I believe that war is the deadly harvest of arrogant and unreasoning minds. And I find grounds for this belief in the wisdom literature of Proverbs. It says in effect this: Panic strikes like a storm and calamity comes like a whirlwind to those who hate knowledge and ignore their God. ~ Dwight D Eisenhower, #NFDB
436:I get inspiration from things that have nothing to do with painting: caricature, items from newspapers, sights in the street, proverbs, nursery-rhymes, children's games and songs, nightmares, desires, terrors. ... That question [why do you paint?] has been put to me before and my answer was, 'To give terror a face.' But it's more than that. I paint because I can't help it. ~ Paula Rego, #NFDB
437:The "sayings" of a community, its proverbs, are its characteristic comment upon life; they imply its history, suggest its attitude toward the world and its way of accepting life. Such an idiom makes the finest language any writer can have; and he can never get it with a notebook. He himself must be able to think and feel in that speech - it is a gift from heart to heart. ~ Willa Cather, #NFDB
438:Proverbs takes a supremely pragmatic approach: “A wife of noble character who can find?” (31:10). This verse assumes that we are involved in a serious pursuit, actively engaging our minds to make a wise choice. And the top thing a young man should consider is this: “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” (Prov. 31:30). ~ Gary L Thomas, #NFDB
439:What was missing in all of them, he thought, was a recognition of Africans as people with projects—lives they were leading, aspirations they were striving for—and a rich existing culture, exemplified in the proverbs and the religious traditions that are threaded through these novels. He was writing, as he often said, against the Africa of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. ~ Chinua Achebe, #NFDB
440:Why do people persist in an unsatisfying relationship, unwilling either to work toward solutions or end it and move on? It’s because they know changing will lead to the unknown, and most people believe that the unknown will be much more painful than what they’re already experiencing. It’s like the old proverbs say: “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know, ~ Anthony Robbins, #NFDB
441:Antiquities, or remnants of history, are, as was said, tanquam tabula naufragii: when industrious persons, by an exact and scrupulous diligence and observation, out of monuments, names, words, proverbs, traditions, private records and evidences, fragments of stories, passages of books that concern not story, and the like, do save and recover somewhat from the deluge of time. ~ Francis Bacon, #NFDB
442:The world is filled with the proverbs and acts and winkings of a base prudence, which is a devotion to matter, as if we possessedno other faculties than the palate, the nose, the touch, the eye and ear; a prudence which adores the Rule of Three, which never subscribes, which never gives, which seldom lends, and asks but one question of any project,--Will it bake bread? ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, #NFDB
443:Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance. (Proverbs 1:5, NIV) The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. (Proverbs 12:15, NIV) Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. (Proverbs 15:22, NIV) Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. (Proverbs 19:20, NIV) ~ Andy Stanley, #NFDB
444:Because I have called and you refused, 24 I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, Because you disdained all my counsel, 25 And would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; 26 I will mock when your terror comes, When your terror comes like a storm, 27 And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. Proverbs 1:23-27 ~ Joseph Campbell, #NFDB
445:The book of Proverbs warns us over and over again about negative associations. Constant exposure to wrong attitudes and wrong values will eventually take its toll in our lives. It is always easier to pull someone down than it is to lift him up. What kind of friends should you have? The kind who bring out the best in you, who lift you up, who encourage you, who make you a better person. ~ Rick Warren, #NFDB
446:For instance, some evangelicals have turned Proverbs 31 into a woman’s job description instead of what it actually is: the blessing and affirmation of valor for the lives of women, memorized by Jewish husbands for the purpose of honoring their wives at the family table. It is meant as a celebration for the everyday moments of valor for everyday women, not as an impossible exhausting standard. ~ Sarah Bessey, #NFDB
447:One of my favorite scriptures is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” That's a perfect example of trust. Sometimes you can trust and hope that everything is going to be rosy and God doesn't promise that. He promises that He's got our backs and He's prepared a place for us. ~ Mike Fisher, #NFDB
448:My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear atentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. ...
~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs 2:1-22,#NFDB
449:Sin, according to Owen, is a thick black cloud that envelops our souls and blocks out the beams of God’s grace and favor toward us. It keeps us from seeing that God really is for us in Christ. It keeps us from sensing God’s grace and favor. This means that when we toy with our sins and refuse to put them to death, we show the truthfulness of Proverbs 6:27. We are playing with fire, and we will be burned. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
450:She is more precious than rubies; Nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life ( Immortals ) is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches ( Ghanaian ) and honor ( El: Azmah ) her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace ( Sablul Salem of Qur‘an). She is a Tree of Life ( Shajrah Khuld of holy Qur‘an), to those who embrace her, those who lay hold of her will be blessed.
Proverbs : 3 : 15 – 19. ~ Anonymous,#NFDB
451:The Bible reminds us that on the other side of humility we find wisdom (Proverbs 11:2). We will be lifted up by God Himself in due time (1 Peter 5:6). “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6 NLT). Humility isn’t a place of weakness but rather a position that will come with honor (Proverbs 18:12). And humility is an absolute requirement for those who ask God to heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14). ~ Lysa TerKeurst, #NFDB
452:believe that any time we tell stories like these that embrace complexity, we are participating in Scripture’s wisdom tradition. We are doing the thing to which all artists are called, which is not to dazzle or instruct or lecture, but to tell the truth—in all its beauty, frustration, and surprise. We might not make $62 million at it, but we are, in the words of Proverbs, “walk[ing] in the way of insight” (Proverbs 9:6). ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
453:God speaks once, yea twice, yet Man perceiveth it not, in a Dream, in a Vision of the night, when deep Sleep falleth upon men, in slumbering upon the bed. We need not, when abed, to lie awake to talk with God, he can visit us while we sleep, and cause us then to hear his Voice. Our heart oft-times wakes when we sleep, and God can speak to that, either by words, by proverbs, by signs and similitudes, as well as if one was awake ~ John Bunyan, #NFDB
454:Is religion one of the fine arts, that it should consist in going to meeting in good clothes every Sunday, saying grace at table, and praying night and morning? Is there every thing to receive, and nothing to give? Are we so literally a flock that we have nothing to do but to be fed all the year, yielding only the annual fleece which forms our pastor's salary? ~ Josiah Gilbert Holland, Gold-foil, Hammered from Popular Proverbs (1860) p. 295, #NFDB
455:As we actually taste the flavor of what he's teaching, we begin to see that it's not proverbs for daily living, or ways of being virtuous. He's proposing a total meltdown and recasting of human consciousness, bursting through the tiny acorn-selfhood that we arrived on the planet with into the oak tree of our fully realized personhood. He pushes us toward it, teases us, taunts us, encourages us, and ultimately walks us there. ~ Cynthia Bourgeault, #NFDB
456:It is unwise to trust your own judgment. “He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who lives by wisdom will escape” (CJB, Proverbs 28:26). Many people have made bad financial investments because they based their decisions on their own judgment and pride. The Tanakh warns, “Pride goes before destruction, and arrogance before failure” (CJB, Proverbs 16:18). “Before being ruined, a person’s heart is proud” (CJB, Proverbs 18:12). The ~ H W Charles, #NFDB
457:Proverbs 2 The Benefits of Wisdom 1 My child,* listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. 2 Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. 3 Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. 4 Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. 5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD grants wisdom! ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
458:Solomon tells us something else in the Proverbs. He tells us that it is impossible to be wise without living in harmony with the Divine Plan. Only the soul that is gentle and filled with the love of truth is capable of great learning, and no man can learn more than he himself is. Increase of knowledge infers increase of spiritual stature. As we grow in integrity we become capable of greater knowledge. ~ Manly P Hall, How to Understand Your Bible, #NFDB
459:This was the virtue of Israel, to have “contended with Elokim and with men” and to have prevailed over their respective concealments of G-d. They are no longer barriers to him; indeed they assent to his blessings. He not only won his struggle with the angel (the guardian angel of Esau) but the angel himself blessed him. This is the achievement of which the Proverbs speak: “He makes even his enemies be at peace with him.”14 ~ Menachem M Schneerson, #NFDB
460:We’re all living in the shadow of that infamous icon, “The Proverbs 31 Woman,” whose life is so busy I wonder, when does she have time for friendships, for taking walks, or reading good books? Her light never goes out at night? When does she have sex? Somehow she has sanctified the shame most women live under, biblical proof that yet again we don’t measure up. Is that supposed to be godly—that sense that you are a failure as a woman? ~ John Eldredge, #NFDB
461:Happy is the man that findeth wisdom and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is everyone that retaineth her. ~ Proverbs, #NFDB
462:Douglas Thornton [an English Christian missionary to Cairo, Egypt with the Church Missionary Society from 1898-1907] was often more amusing than he tried to be. He had a delightful way of mixing up two kindred proverbs or idioms. Once he told his companions that he always had two strings up his sleeve. They then asked him if he had another card to his bow. Such exchanges enliven heavy committee eetings and create wholesome laughter. ~ J Oswald Sanders, #NFDB
463:If you just jump into prayer without recognizing the disordered nature of the heart’s loves, your prayer’s intention will be, “Make me as wealthy as possible.” The Proverbs 30 prayer is different. It is to ask, “Lord, meet my material needs, and give me wealth, yes, but only as much as I can handle without it harming my ability to put you first in life. Because ultimately I don’t need status and comfort—I need you as my Lord.” Imagine ~ Timothy J Keller, #NFDB
464:One of my favorite verses is from Proverbs 15:24: “The way of life winds upward for the wise.” Sadly, rather than winding upward, some people go on a steep decline, a downward spiral, because here’s what happens: Sin leads to guilt, guilt leads to shame, and ultimately shame leads to condemnation. Condemnation leads to death. If a building is condemned, that means it’s unfit for use. It’s disqualified. It’s only good for being pulled down. That’s ~ Brian Houston, #NFDB
465:Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. ‘They hit me’ you will say ‘but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?’” Proverbs 23:31-35 ~ Jennie Goutet, #NFDB
466:Proverbs 1:20-23 20 Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square. 21 She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in front of the city gate: 22 “How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge? 23 Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
467:Finally, there are numerous choices and ways that seem good, but their final outcome is sorrow, misery, loss, and death (see Proverbs 14:12). Think of it: our enemy, his servants, and his ways—all of which ultimately seek our demise—are all disguised as good. Scripture doesn’t say they can be disguised, but rather that they are disguised. So do not miss this: usually, what is most dangerous to you will not appear as blatant evil. Rather, it will mask itself as good. In ~ John Bevere, #NFDB
468:Meditate." Meditation doth discriminate and characterise a man; by this he may take a measure of his heart, whether it be good or bad; let me allude to that; "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7. As the meditation is, such is the man. Meditation is the touchstone of a Christian; it shows what metal he is made of. It is a spiritual index; the index shows what is in the book, so meditation shows what is in the heart. Thomas Watson's Saints ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon, #NFDB
469:The Bible isn’t an answer book. It isn’t a self-help manual. It isn’t a flat, perspicuous list of rules and regulations that we can interpret objectively and apply unilaterally to our lives. The Bible is a sacred collection of letters and laws, poetry and proverbs, philosophy and prophecies, written and assembled over thousands of years in cultures and contexts very different from our own, that tells the complex, ever-unfolding story of God’s interaction with humanity. ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
470:Fearing God, Not Man Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety. PROVERBS 29:25 May you be content to know that you cannot be all things to all people; you live to serve an audience of One. May you love people but keep your hope in God. May you be willing to take risks with people, but may your sole trust be in God. May the power you once gave to others rest solely on God because He defines, He saves, He provides, and He has the power to transform. ~ Susie Larson, #NFDB
471:Proverbs for Paranoids:
1. You may never get to touch the Master, but you can tickle his creatures.
2. The innocence of the creatures is in inverse proportion to the immorality of the Master.
3. If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.
4. You hide, they seek.
5. Paranoids are not paranoid because they're paranoid, but because they keep putting themselves, fucking idiots, deliberately into paranoid situations. ~ Thomas Pynchon,#NFDB
472:I do not think I ever opened a book in my life which had not something to say upon woman's inconstancy. Songs and proverbs, all talk of woman's fickleness. But perhaps you will say, these were all written by men." "Perhaps I shall. Yes, yes, if you please, no reference to examples in books. Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything. ~ Jane Austen, #NFDB
473:The Proverbs 31 woman is a star not because of what she does but how she does it---with valor. So do your thing. If it's refurbishing old furniture---do it with valor. If it's keeping up with your two-year old---do it with valor. If it's fighting against human trafficking...leading a company...or getting other people to do your work for you---do it with valor. Take risks. Work hard. Make mistakes. Get up the next morning. And surround yourself with people who will cheer you on. ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
474:The Proverbs 31 woman is a star not because of what she does but how she does it—with valor. So do your thing. If it’s refurbishing old furniture—do it with valor. If it’s keeping up with your two-year-old—do it with valor. If it’s fighting against human trafficking . . . leading a company . . . or getting other people to do your work for you—do it with valor. Take risks. Work hard. Make mistakes. Get up the next morning. And surround yourself with people who will cheer you on. ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
475:I do not think I ever opened a book in my life which had not something to say upon woman's inconstancy. Songs and proverbs, all talk of woman's fickleness. But perhaps you will say, these were all written by men."
"Perhaps I shall. Yes, yes, if you please, no reference to examples in books. Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything. ~ Jane Austen,#NFDB
476:Psalm PSALM—NOTE ON 37. This can be called a wisdom psalm because it reflects on themes normally dealt with in the Bible’s Wisdom Literature, particularly in Proverbs. It addresses the issue of why godless people often prosper. It shows that it really is better to stay loyal to the Lord—a loyalty expressed in contentment, honesty, and generosity. In his own good time, the Lord will make a clear distinction between the godless and the faithful. Meanwhile, the faithful must wait patiently. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
477:It hardly needs explaining at length, I think, how much authority or beauty is added to style by the timely use of proverbs. In the first place who does not see what dignity they confer on style by their antiquity alone?... And so to interweave adages deftly and appropriately is to make the language as a whole glitter with sparkles from Antiquity, please us with the colours of the art of rhetoric, gleam with jewel-like words of wisdom, and charm us with titbits of wit and humour. ~ Desiderius Erasmus, #NFDB
478:An idol is something that we look to for things that only God can give. Idolatry functions widely inside religious communities when doctrinal truth is elevated to the position of a false god. This occurs when people rely on the rightness of their doctrine for their standing with God rather than on God himself and his grace. It is a subtly but deadly mistake. The sign that you have slipped into this form of self-justification is that you become what the book of Proverbs calls a 'scoffer'. ~ Timothy Keller, #NFDB
479:When I returned home, I opened the copy of the Bible I’d bought while researching the millennial doomsdayers and stashed the money inside. The page happened to be Proverbs 27: “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.” I didn’t take it as a sign, though—there’s an apt prophecy on nearly every page of the Bible. It is, after all, the original survivalist manual, full of righteous men fleeing floods, fires, plagues, genocides, and tyrants. ~ Neil Strauss, #NFDB
480:God designed the universe according to his nature, life works better when we do it his way. When we are caring, responsible, and attuned to him, we have a better prospect of a good life. Reality is on your side. It is constructed so that immaturity causes your child some discomfort; ownership should bring some measure of satisfaction and fulfillment. Allow your child to experience both realities so as to learn boundaries: “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor” (Proverbs 12:24). ~ Henry Cloud, #NFDB
481:Contemplatives have long taught that mastering the volatile human spirit is the key to serenity. "It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles," the Buddha taught. "He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who captures a city," says Proverbs 16:32 NASB. In our increasingly fragmented, chatter-filled world, the quest to live and think deeply requires concerted acts of self-control. Staying grounded means growing some serious roots. ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
482:A longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. Philippians ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
483:By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we quote. We quote not only books and proverbs, but arts, sciences, religion, customs, and laws; nay, we quote temples and houses, tables and chairs by imitation. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, Letters and Social Aims (1876), Quotation and Originality; in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 653-54. ~ Alternative quote: ~ By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Quotation and Originality" in Letters and Social Aims (1876)., #NFDB
484:The idea that women should be kept weak, uneducated, and dependent on a man in ancient civilization was somewhat misinterpreted and misused, if they were referring to biblical support. In fact, in Ancient Israel women could own property. The Book of Proverbs describes an ideal woman as a woman who has the means and capacity to make financial and business decisions. It says 'she considers a field and buys it'. (Proverbs 31:16) - Raising A Strong Daughter: What Fathers Should Know by Finlay Gow JD and Kailin Gow MA ~ Kailin Gow, #NFDB
485:The rulers of your minds indulge in proverbs, but they've forgotten the main one, that love cannot be forced, and they have a deeply rooted habit of liberating people and making them happy, especially those who haven't asked for it. You probably fancy that there's no better place in the world for me than your camp and your company. I probably should even bless you and thank you for my captivity, for your having liberated me from my family, my son, my home, my work, from everything that's dear to me and that I live by. ~ Boris Pasternak, #NFDB
486:When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Proverbs 3:11–12). He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 18; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 16–17). ~ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, #NFDB
487:Proverbs, and the wisdom literature in general, counter the idea that being spiritual means handing all decisions over to the leading of the Lord. The opposite is true. Proverbs reveals that God does not make all people’s decisions for them, but rather expects them to use his gift of reason to interpret the circumstances and events of life within the framework of revelation that he has given. Yet when they have exercised their responsibility in decision-making, they can look back and see that the sovereign God has guided. ~ Graeme Goldsworthy, #NFDB
488:Believers should be wary of overzealous attempts to prescribe “biblical sex,” when sex—like beauty and like God—remains shaded with mystery. Paul likened it to the mystery of Christ’s love for the Church, the writer of Proverbs to the inscrutable way of an eagle in the sky. If Christians have learned anything from our rocky two-thousand-year theological history, it’s that we make the most beautiful things ugly when we try to systematize mystery. Even the writers of Scripture knew that some things were simply beyond their grasp. ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
489:Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.” Proverbs 20:22 BE not in haste. Let anger cool down. Say nothing and do nothing to avenge yourself. You will be sure to act unwisely if you take up the cudgels and fight your own battles; and, certainly, you will not show the spirit of the Lord Jesus. It is nobler to forgive, and let the offence pass. To let an injury rankle in your bosom, and to meditate revenge, is to keep old wounds open, and to make new ones. Better forget and forgive. ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon, #NFDB
490:On The Aphorism
'L'Amitié est l'Amour sans ailes.'
FRIENDSHIP, as some sage poet sings,
Is chasten'd Love, depriv'd of wings,
Without all wish or power to wander;
Less volatile, but not less tender:
Yet says the proverbs'Sly and slow
'Love creeps, even where he cannot go;'
To clip his pinions then is vain,
His old propensities remain;
And she, who years beyond fifteen,
Has counted twenty, may have seen
How rarely unplum'd Love will stay;
He flies notbut he coolly walks away.
~ Charlotte Smith,#NFDB
491:The key is whether or not we can hear from others where we are wrong, and accept their feedback without getting defensive. Time and again, the Bible says that someone who listens to feedback from others is wise, but someone who does not is a fool. As Proverbs 9:7–9 says: “Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. ~ Henry Cloud, #NFDB
492:The historian David Arkush once compared Russian and Chinese peasant proverbs, and the differences are striking. "If God does not bring it, the earth will not give it" is a typical Russian proverb. That's the kind of fatalism and pessimism typical of a repressive feudal system, where peasants have no reason to believe in the efficacy of their own work. On the other hand, Arkush writes, Chinese proverbs are striking in their belief that "hard work, shrewd planning and self-reliance or cooperation with a small group will in time bring recompense. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
493:I could bring you fifty quotations in a moment on my side the argument, and I do not think I ever opened a book in my life which had not something to say upon woman's inconstancy. Songs and proverbs, all talk of woman's fickleness. But perhaps you will say, these were all written by men." "Perhaps I shall. Yes, yes, if you please, no reference to examples in books. Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything. ~ Jane Austen, #NFDB
494:If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It's been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness. ~ David Foster Wallace, #NFDB
495:All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking." by Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) German-Swiss philosopher and writer.
Elizabeth Bennet: I'm very fond of walking. Mr. Darcy: Yes... yes I know. (from Pride & Prejudice)
A man’s mind plans his way [as he journeys through life], But the Lord directs his steps and establishes them. (from the Bible, Proverbs 16:9 AMP)
This is how we know what love is, Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. (from the Bible, 1 John 3:16 NIV) ~ Jane Austen,#NFDB
496:When I tried to meet some impossible standard for motherhood, tried to earn my way to a weird sort of Proverbs 31 Woman Club, I collapsed in exhaustion and simmering anger, sadness, and failure. This was not life in the Vine, this exhausting job description; this was not the Kingdom of God, let alone a redeemed woman living full. This was the shell of someone trying to measure up, trying to earn through her mothering what God had already freely given. This was someone feeling the weight of unmet expectations from the Church and her own self and the world all at once. ~ Sarah Bessey, #NFDB
497:began to read in Proverbs. Immediately I saw a string of verses about angry people and how they get themselves into trouble. Proverbs 16:32 impressed me the most: “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (RSV). My lips moved wordlessly as I continued to read. I felt as though the verses had been written just to me, for me. The words of Proverbs condemned me, but they also gave me hope. After a while peace begin to fill my mind. My hands stopped shaking. The tears stopped. During those hours alone in the bathroom, ~ Ben Carson, #NFDB
498:The smash was their walk, their déjeuner, their omelette, the Chablis, the place, the view, their present talk and his present pleasure in it—to say nothing, wonder of wonders, of her own. To this tune and nothing less, accordingly, was his surrender made good. It sufficiently lighted up at least the folly of holding off. Ancient proverbs sounded, for his memory, in the tone of their words and the clink of their glasses, in the hum of the town and the plash of the river. It was clearly better to suffer as a sheep than as a lamb. One might as well perish by the sword as by famine. ~ Henry James, #NFDB
499:Impossible,” he said, and switched to Igbo. “Ama m atu inu. I even know proverbs.” “Yes. The basic one everybody knows. A frog does not run in the afternoon for nothing.” “No. I know serious proverbs. Akota ife ka ubi, e lee oba. If something bigger than the farm is dug up, the barn is sold.” “Ah, you want to try me?” she asked, laughing. “Acho afu adi ako n’akpa dibia. The medicine man’s bag has all kinds of things.” “Not bad,” he said. “E gbuo dike n’ogu uno, e luo na ogu agu, e lote ya. If you kill a warrior in a local fight, you’ll remember him when fighting enemies. ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, #NFDB
500:The Proverbs 31 woman is hardworking, a savvy businesswoman, a loving homemaker, a wise mother, and praised by her husband and children. It’s easy to read the first twenty-nine verses and think, I will never measure up to that! Read verse 30, though, and you see the truth: “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” The reason the Proverbs 31 woman was able to develop these characteristics over the course of her lifetime was because her strength was not her own. The only thing that was perfect about her was God’s transformative power. ~ Lara Casey, #NFDB
501:The archaic pantheons—Norse, Egyptian, Greek—all have a god dedicated to the dark art of gossip. The book of Proverbs treats the topic thoroughly; one verse from many cautions that “a man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue.” “Judge not lest you be judged” is one of the most famous phrases in the whole Bible. Several sources maintain that the Romans enshrined a goddess named “Rumor”—a winged demon with a hundred eyes and a hundred mouths who spoke only the most hurtful side of the truth. Appropriately enough, I can’t seem to confirm this. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
502:God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 TIMOTHY 1:7 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 1 JOHN 4:18 The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe. PROVERBS 29:25 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. JAMES 1:12 I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. PSALM 34:4 ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
503:Of all that is written, I love only what a person hath written with his blood. Write with blood, and thou wilt find that blood is spirit. It is no easy task to understand unfamiliar blood; I hate the reading idlers. He who knoweth the reader, doeth nothing more for the reader. Another century of readers—and spirit itself will stink. Every one being allowed to learn to read, ruineth in the long run not only writing but also thinking. Once spirit was God, then it became man, and now it even becometh populace. He that writeth in blood and proverbs doth not want to be read, but learnt by heart. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche, #NFDB
504:There’s a Good Book about goodness and how to be good and so forth, but there’s no Evil Book about evil and how to be bad. The Devil has no prophets to write his Ten Commandments and no team of authors to write his biography. His case has gone completely by default. We know nothing about him but a lot of fairy stories from our parents and schoolmasters. He has no book from which we can learn the nature of evil in all its forms, with parables about evil people, proverbs about evil people, folk-lore about evil people. All we have is the living example of the people who are least good, or our own intuition. ~ Ian Fleming, #NFDB
505:In his book Human Universals, Donald E. Brown lists traits that people in all places share. The list goes on and on. All children fear strangers and prefer sugar solutions to plain water from birth. All humans enjoy stories, myths, and proverbs. In all societies men engage in more group violence and travel farther from home than women. In all societies, husbands are on average older than their wives. People everywhere rank one another according to prestige. People everywhere divide the world between those inside their group and those outside their group. These tendencies are all stored deep below awareness. ~ David Brooks, #NFDB
506:The doctor's wife was not particularly keen on the tendency of proverbs to preach, nevertheless something of this ancient lore must have remained in her memory, the proof being that she filled two of the bags they had brought with beans and chick peas, Keep what is of no use at the moment, and later you will find what you need, one of her grandmothers had told her, the water in which you soak them will also serve to cook them, and whatever remains from the cooking will cease to be water, but will have become broth. It is not only in nature that from time to time not everything is lost and something is gained. ~ Jos Saramago, #NFDB
507:There's a Good Book about goodness and how to be good and so forth, but there's no Evil Book about how to be evil and how to be bad. The Devil had no prophets to write his Ten Commandments, and no team of authors to write his biography. His case has gone completely by default. We know nothing about him but a lot of fairy stories from our parents and schoolmasters. He has no book from which we can learn the nature of evil in all its forms, with parables about evil people, proverbs about evil people, folklore about evil people. All we have is the living example of people who are least good, or our own intuition. ~ Ian Fleming, #NFDB
508:Slavery is disheartening; but Nature is not so helpless but it can rid itself of every last wrong. But the spasms of nature are centuries and ages and will tax the faith of short-lived men. Slowly, slowly the Avenger comes, but comes surely. The proverbs of the nations affirm these delays, but affirm the arrival. They say, "God may consent, but not forever." The delay of the Divine Justice — this was the meaning and soul of the Greek Tragedy, — this was the soul of their religion. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The Fugitive Slave Law", a lecture in New York City (7 March 1854), The Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1904), p. 238, #NFDB
509:{3:13} Happy [is] the man [that] findeth wisdom, and the man [that] getteth understanding.
{3:14} For the merchandise of it [is] better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
{3:15} She [is] more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire arenot to be compared unto her.
{3:16} Length of days [is] in her right hand; [and] in her left hand riches and honour.
{3:17} Her ways [are] ways of pleasantness, and all her paths [are] peace.
{3:18} She [is] a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy [is every one] that retaineth her. ~ Anonymous, The Bible, Proverbs 3:13-18,#NFDB
510:As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. 2 SAMUEL 22:31 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. PROVERBS 3:5 Let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield. PSALM 5:11-12 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. PSALM 118:8 Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon his God. ISAIAH 50:10 ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
511:Many people have got caught up in the belief known as the “Law of Attraction.” They believe that by their thoughts, affirmations, and other “attraction” exercises they will become wealthy. However, the Tanakh wisely says, “In all work there is profit, but mere talk produces only poverty.” (CJB, Proverbs 14:23). Only through work it is possible to produce results that create wealth and simply talking about wealth will not produce any results. The idea that wealth can come through thoughts or affirmations is a fantasy. “A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty” (CJB, Proverbs 28:19). ~ H W Charles, #NFDB
512:Like most parents we had some kind of issue with each of our children. Two of them struggled getting through school, one was very messy, and another was an extreme perfectionist and put tremendous pressure on herself. The good news is they all made it and are doing fine. Some of them took a little detour and made some bad choices, but they learned from them and came full circle back to what they were taught. God’s Word states that if we train them in the way they should go, when they are old they will not depart from it (see Proverbs 22:6). If you are concerned about one of your children, just cling to that promise I just mentioned. ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
513:The world will brin its condemnation. They may even put their sword behind it. But we know that the highest courst has already ruled in our favor. 'If God is for us, who can be against us?' (Romans 8:31) No one successfully If they reject us, he accepts us. If they hate us, he loves us. If they imprison us, he sets our spirits free. If they afflict us, he refines us by the fire. If they kill us, he makes it a passage to paradise. They cannot defeat us. Christ has died. Christ has risen. We are alive in him. And in him there is no condemnation. We are forgiven, and we are righteous. 'And the righteous are bold as a lion.' (Proverbs 28:1) ~ John Piper, #NFDB
514:This is a law of the universe. Frustration and painful moments of discipline help a child learn to delay gratification, one of the most important character traits a person can have. If you are able to hold the limit and empathize with the pain, then character (the “harvest of righteousness”) will develop. But if you don’t, you will have the same battle tomorrow: “A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty; if you rescue him, you will have to do it again” (Proverbs 19:19). If you rescue your children from their anger at your boundary, you can plan on more anger at later limits. Remember, their protest or pain does not determine what is good. ~ Henry Cloud, #NFDB
515:Said the writer of Proverbs, ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he
is old, he will not depart from it’ (Prov. 22:6). That training finds its roots in the
home. There will be little of help from other sources. Do not depend on
government to help in this darkening situation. Barbara Bush, wife of former United
States president George Bush, spoke wisely when in Wellesley, Massachusetts, in
1990 she addressed the Wellesley College graduating class and said, ‘Your
success as a family, our success as society, depends not on what happens at the
White House, but on what happens inside your house. ~ Gordon B Hinckley,#NFDB
516:As I saw how powerful and affirming this ancient blessing could be, I decided it was time for Christian women to take back Proverbs 31. Somewhere along the way, we surrendered it to the same people who invented airbrushing and Auto-Tune and Rachel Ray. We abandoned the meaning of the poem by focusing on the specifics, and it became just another impossible standard by which to measure our failures. We turned an anthem into an assignment, a poem into a job description. But according to Ahava, the woman described in Proverbs 31 is not some ideal that exists out there; she is present in each one of us when we do even the smallest things with valor. ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
517:Idolatry functions widely inside religious communities when doctrinal truth is elevated to the position of a false god. This occurs when people rely on the rightness of their doctrine for their standing with God rather than on God himself and his grace. It is a subtle but deadly mistake. The sign that you have slipped into this form of self-justification is that you become what the book of Proverbs calls a :scoffer." Scoffers always show contempt and disdain for opponents rather than graciousness. This is a sign that they do not see themselves as a sinners saved by grace. Instead, their trust in the rightness of their views makes them feel superior. ~ Timothy J Keller, #NFDB
518:Proverbs 15:15: “All the days of the desponding and afflicted are made evil [by anxious thoughts and forebodings], but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of circumstances].” I realized at that time that most of my life had been made miserable by evil thoughts and forebodings. Yes, I had circumstances that were very difficult, but even when I didn’t, I was still miserable because my thoughts were poisoning my outlook and robbing me of ability to enjoy life and see good days. Even if nothing bad was happening at the time, I always vaguely sensed that something bad was about to happen. Because of that I was unable to really enjoy my life. ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
519:ADAMS. This is a great work, Sir. How are you to get all the etymologies? JOHNSON. Why, Sir, here is a shelf with Junius, and Skinner, and others; and there is a Welch gentleman who has published a collection of Welch proverbs, who will help me with the Welch. ADAMS. But, Sir, how can you do this in three years? JOHNSON. Sir, I have no doubt that I can do it in three years. ADAMS. But the French Academy, which consists of forty members, took forty years to compile their Dictionary. JOHNSON. Sir, thus it is. This is the proportion. Let me see; forty times forty is sixteen hundred. As three to sixteen hundred, so is the proportion of an Englishman to a Frenchman. ~ Samuel Johnson, #NFDB
520:There are men who stalk about the world gloomy and stiff and severe — self-righteous embodiments of the mischievous heresy that the religion of peace and good-will to all mankind — the religion of love and hope and joy, the religion that bathes the universal human soul in the light of paternal love, and opens to mankind the gates of immortality — is a religion of terror — men guilty of misrepresenting Christ to the world, and doing incalculable damage to His cause, yet who find it in them to rebuke the careless laughter that bubbles up from a maiden's heart that God has filled with life and gladness. ~ Josiah Gilbert Holland, Gold-foil, Hammered from Popular Proverbs (1860) pp. 184-185, #NFDB
521:Finally, I would hug 2004 Jen, understanding that discipleship is a journey, and each stage is a necessary precursor to the following one. God was right in Proverbs: our light is the dimmest at the beginning of salvation, but it grows brighter and brighter as we go. There is no wasted scene, no futile season. God gives us what we can handle, when we can handle it. We are drawn more and more deeply into the knowledge of Jesus. A baby can’t handle a steak before she has teeth. The steak will come, but for today milk is on the menu. That’s not an insult; it’s biology. The baby will get there. Be patient. Do the best with what you know. When you know more, adjust the trajectory. ~ Jen Hatmaker, #NFDB
522:There’s a force that can be equally as damaging as a gun because it means life or death not just to the body but to the soul, and every human being is issued one at birth. It’s called the mouth. Proverbs says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Prov. 18:21 NIV). Words are powerful. So much of our baggage—self-esteem, pride, trust, and envy—has been planted in our souls by the words that important people in our life used. With words self-esteems are shaped. Wars started. Murders initiated. Divorces sealed. Children crushed. And while we are sensitive about the words that come to us, we are often careless about what comes out. ~ Pete Wilson, #NFDB
523:SEPTEMBER 5 Stay Out of Strife He who is of a greedy spirit stirs up strife, but he who puts his trust in the Lord shall be enriched and blessed. PROVERBS 28:25 Probably 80 percent of the places we visit in our ministry have church members who are riddled with strife. Strife is the devil’s tool against us. It takes personal self-control to stay out of strife. If you want to keep peace, you can’t always say everything you want to say. Sometimes you have to control yourself and apologize even when there is nothing in you that wants to do so. But if you sow the godly principle of harmony and unity today, a time will come when you will reap the blessings of all it can bring to you. ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
524:Do not expect that you will have no sorrows because you are a king. “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink.” The words of this king in the Book of Proverbs are often proven true. It is not for kings to drink the wine of pleasure. It is not for kings to have much of the intoxicating drink and enjoy the excesses that delight the world. They will have joy enough up yonder, when they “drink it new” with Jesus in their “Father’s kingdom.” Poor saint. Do not dwell on this life on earth, but think about your future. You are a king! I appeal to you, never forget that. In the midst of your tribulation, rejoice in it. ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon, #NFDB
525:PROVERBS—NOTE ON 3:5 Trust in the LORD is necessary for fulfilling any of the wise ways of life taught in Proverbs; trusting the Lord is closely connected to “fearing” him (cf. 1:7; 2:5; 9:10; 15:33; 19:23; etc.). With all your heart indicates that trust goes beyond intellectual assent to a deep reliance on the Lord, a settled confidence in his care and his faithfulness to his Word. Do not lean on your own understanding further explains trusting in the Lord. One’s “understanding” in Proverbs is his perception of the right course of action. The wise will govern themselves by what the Lord himself declares, and will not set their own finite and often-mistaken understanding against his. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
526:I remember as a very young child being warned that libraries and bookstores were quiet places where noise wasn’t allowed. Here was yet another thing the adults had gotten wrong, for these book houses pulsed with sounds; they just weren’t noisy. The books hummed. The collective noise they made was like riding on a large boat where the motor’s steady thrum and tickle vibrated below one’s sneakers, ignorable until you listened, then omnipresent and relentless, the sound that carried you forward. Each book brimmed with noises it wanted to make inside your head the moment you opened it; only the shut covers prevented it from shouting ideas, impulses, proverbs, and plots into that sterile silence. ~ Wendy Welch, #NFDB
527:PROVERBS 15 d A soft answer turns away wrath, but e a harsh word stirs up anger. 2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but f the mouths of fools pour out folly. 3 g The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. 4 h A gentle [1] tongue is i a tree of life, but j perverseness in it breaks the spirit. 5 k A fool l despises his father’s instruction, but m whoever heeds reproof is prudent. 6 In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but trouble befalls the income of the wicked. 7 n The lips of the wise spread knowledge; n not so the hearts of fools. [2] ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
528:His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins." -- Proverbs 5:22. The first sentence has reference to a net in which birds or beasts are taken. The ungodly man first of all finds sin to be a bait, and charmed by its apparent pleasantness he indulges in it and then he becomes entangled in its meshes so that he cannot escape. That which first attracted the sinner afterwards detains him. Evil habits are soon formed, the soul readily becomes accustomed to evil, and then even if the man should have lingering thoughts of better things and form frail resolutions to amend, his iniquities hold him captive like a bird in the fowler's snare. ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon, #NFDB
529:Astronomer
Sky-man in a manhole
with astronomy for dream,
astrology for nightmare;
fat man full of proverbs,
the language of lean years,
living in square after
almanac square
prefiguring the day
of windfall and landslide
through a calculus
of good hours,
clutching at the tear
in his birthday shirt
as at a hole
in his mildewed horoscope,
squinting at the parallax
of black planets,
his Tiger, his Hare
moving in Sanskrit zodiacs,
forever troubled
by the fractions, the kidneys
in his Tamil flesh,
his body the Great Bear
dipping for the honey,
the woman-smell
in the small curly hair
down there.
~ A. K. Ramanujan,#NFDB
530:I AM TAKING CARE OF YOU. Trust Me at all times. Trust Me in all circumstances. Trust Me with all your heart. When you are weary and everything seems to be going wrong, you can still utter these four words: “I trust You, Jesus.” By doing so, you release matters into My control, and you fall back into the security of My everlasting arms. Before you arise from your bed in the morning, I have already arranged the events of your day. Every day provides many opportunities for you to learn My ways and grow closer to Me. Signs of My Presence brighten even the dullest day when you have eyes that really see. Search for Me as for hidden treasure. I will be found by you. PROVERBS 3:5; DEUTERONOMY 33:27; JEREMIAH 29:13–14 ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
531:Proverbs 6:20-26 20 My son, keep your father’s command, And do not forsake the law of your mother. 21 Bind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck. 22 When you roam, they* will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you. 23 For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life, 24 To keep you from the evil woman, From the flattering tongue of a seductress. 25 Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids. 26 For by means of a harlot A man is reduced to a crust of bread; And an adulteress* will prey upon his precious life. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
532:God Will Change You Many plans are in a man’s mind, but it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand. PROVERBS 19:21 Even though you may still be operating in old habits, you still have hope of change, but you can’t change yourself. God will change you, if you seek Him with your whole heart. Don’t be in a hurry for God to finish working in your life. We want everything to be done instantly, but God is not interested in our schedule. The enemy may thwart your plans, but God’s plans don’t get thwarted, and He has a unique plan for you. Seek God’s plan for your life. Stay on fire, red hot, zealous. Pursue His purpose for you with every ounce of energy you have. There is nothing in this world that is worth seeking more. ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
533:A Rare Commodity A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor. PROVERBS 29:23 Humility isn’t a show we put on; in fact, if we think we’re humble, we’re probably not. And in our day of self-promotion, self-assertion, spotlighting “celebrities of the faith,” and magnifying the flesh, this quality—so greatly valued by the Lord Jesus—is a rare commodity indeed. . . . A truly humble person looks for opportunities to give himself freely to others rather than holding back, to release rather than hoarding, to build up rather than tearing down, to serve rather than being served, to learn from others rather than clamoring for the teaching stand. How blessed are those who learn this early in life. Hope Again ~ Charles R Swindoll, #NFDB
534:The New Testament describes the characteristics of a "virtuous widow" who is qualified to receive help from believers. This woman's description seems to parallel the miraculous, poured-out life portrayed by the Proverbs 31 woman. She does not live for her own pleasure but is well reported for good works, bringing up children, lodging strangers, washing the saints' feet, relieving the afflicted, and diligently following every good work. How does she accomplish all of this? "She trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day" (1 Timothy 5:5-6,10). She lives a supernatural existence, accomplishing incredible things without stress and exhaustion because she makes prayer the foundation of her life. ~ Leslie Ludy, #NFDB
535:Speak Life Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]. PROVERBS 18:21 If we ride to work with somebody and gossip about our boss and talk about how we hate our job and what a stupid place it is, we will have a bad day. The Bible says, “A man’s [moral] self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied [whether good or evil]” (Proverbs 18:20). Clearly, we will have to eat our words, so we need to talk about the right things to be happy. If we murmur and gossip, we will eat the fruit of death. But if we speak life, we will eat the fruit of the Spirit (see Matthew 12:37). Choose to eat good fruit today. ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
536:Power to Overcome Apply your heart to discipline and your ears to words of knowledge. PROVERBS 23:12 Can’t and won’t. Christians need to be very careful which one they choose. It seems that we prefer to use “can’t.” “I just can’t get along with my wife.” “My husband and I can’t communicate.” “I just can’t discipline the kids as I should.” “I just can’t give up the affair I’m having.” “I can’t stop overeating.” “I can’t find time to pray.” Any Christian who takes the Bible seriously will have to agree the word here really should be “won’t.” Why? Because we have been given the power, the ability to overcome. . . . We’re really saying “I won’t,” because we don’t choose to say “With the help of God, I will!” Day by Day with Charles Swindoll ~ Charles R Swindoll, #NFDB
537:One of the most difficult defilements of the spirit to deal with is the critical spirit. A critical spirit has its root in pride. Because of the 'plank' of pride in our own eye we are not capable of dealing with the 'speck' of need in someone else. We are often like the Pharisee who, completely unconscious of his own need prayed "God, I thank you that I am not like other men" (Luke 18:11). We are quick to see - and to speak of - the faults of others, but slow to see our own needs. How sweetly we relish the opportunity to speak critically of someone else - even when we are unsure of the facts. We forge that "a man who stirs up dissension among brothers" by criticizing one to another is one of the "six thing which the Lord hates" (Proverbs 6:16-19) ~ Jerry Bridges, #NFDB
538:The books I liked became a Bible from which I drew advice and support; I copied out long passages from them; I memorized new canticles and new litanies, psalms, proverbs, and prophecies, and I sanctified every incident in my life by the recital of these sacred texts. My emotions, my tears, and my hopes were no less sincere on account of that; the words and the cadences, the lines and the verses were not aids to make believe: but they rescued from silent oblivion all those intimate adventures of the spirit that I couldn’t speak to anyone about; they created a kind of communion between myself and those twin souls which existed somewhere out of reach; instead of living out my small private existence, I was participating in a great spiritual epic. ~ Simone de Beauvoir, #NFDB
539:The books I liked became a Bible from which I drew advice and support; I copied out long passages from them; I memorized new canticles and new litanies, psalms, proverbs, and prophecies, and I sanctified every incident in my life by the recital of these sacred texts. My emotions, my tears, and my hopes were no less sincere on account of that; the words and the cadences, the lines and the verses were not aids to make believe: but they rescued from silent oblivion all those intimate adventures of the spirit that I couldn't speak to anyone about; they created a kind of communion between myself and those twin souls which existed somewhere out of reach; instead of living out my small private existence, I was participating in a great spiritual epic. ~ Simone de Beauvoir, #NFDB
540:Lord, I know You don’t want me to live in fear, because fear doesn’t come from You. You want me to trust You instead. When I see things that are happening in the world it makes me afraid of what could happen to me or the people close to me. Too often I am afraid of what people think, and I know that “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25 NKJV). Thank You that Your perfect love casts out all fear. I open my heart and ask for a fresh flow of Your perfect love in me. Help me to stay close to You so I can always feel Your love flowing through me and erasing all fear (2 Timothy 1:7). Keep me protected and away from every frightening threat. I know that the closer I am to You, the farther fear is from me. In Jesus’ name I pray. ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
541:Speak God’s Mind Hear, for I will speak excellent and princely things; and the opening of my lips shall be for right things. PROVERBS 8:6 One of our biggest mistakes we make is that we sometimes answer people too quickly, just giving them something off the top of our head. Only a fool utters his whole mind (see Proverbs 29:11 KJV). Those who speak frequently and hastily are always in trouble, as the Bible says, “There are those who speak rashly, like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Proverbs 12:18). Jesus operated in wisdom. He always knew just the right thing to say, at just the right moment, to astound everybody. If we don’t spend enough time with God, we will say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Decide to wait on God before speaking your mind today. ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
542:I'm getting very sorry for the Devil and his disciples such as the good LeChiffre. The Devil has a rotten time and I always like to be on the side of the underdog. We don't give the poor chap a chance. There's a Good Book about goodness and how to be good and so forth, but there's no Evil Book about evil and how to be bad. The Devil has no prophets to write his Ten Commandments and no team of authors to write his biography. His case has gone completely by default. We know nothing about him but a lot of fairy stories from our parents and schoolmasters. He has no book from which we can learn the nature of evil in all its forms, with parables about evil people, proverbs about evil people, folk-lore about evil people. All we have is the living example of the people who are least good, or our own intuition. ~ Ian Fleming, #NFDB
543:Proverbs offer a few clarifications: • How we treat our parents displays our values and attitudes (19:26). • Disrespecting our parents can have terrible implications for our own life (20:20). • Children have a significant impact on how parents view their lives and evaluate their significance (10:1; 15:20; 17:25; 23:24). • As our parents grow older, we should give them the gifts of listening and caring (23:22). • By pursuing wisdom, we benefit ourselves and bring our parents joy (23:25; 29:3). • By pursuing evil and folly, we can be a destructive force in our parents’ lives (28:24; 29:15). • We will suffer if we lack respect for our parents (30:11, 17). More: Proverbs says that parents are meant to offer more to children than practical care. They are to impart wisdom. See “Learning at Home” at Prov. 4:3, 4. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
544:A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh…let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. EPHESIANS 5:31,33 One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. PROVERBS 28:9 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her. EPHESIANS 5:25 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. JAMES 5:16 Husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. EPHESIANS 5:28-29 ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
545:If you worship money and things — if they are where you tap real meaning in life — then you will never have enough. Never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly, and when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you. On one level, we all know this stuff already — it’s been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, bromides, epigrams, parables: the skeleton of every great story. The trick is keeping the truth up-front in daily consciousness. Worship power — you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart — you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. And so on. ~ David Foster Wallace, #NFDB
546:Say What You Say on Purpose Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]. PROVERBS 18:21 I strongly recommend confessing the Word of God out loud. Even though what you confess may be the opposite of how you initially feel, keep doing it; God’s Word has inherent power to change your feelings. God’s Word also brings comfort to us and quiets our distraught emotions. There is a time to talk and a time to keep silent. Sometimes the best thing we can do is say nothing. When we do speak, it is wise to be purposeful in what we say and think about our words beforehand. If we truly believe our words are filled with life or death, why wouldn’t we choose what we say more carefully? Power Thought: I choose my words carefully; I choose words filled with life. ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
547:When you think of investments and returns, call Mark 10. If you are depressed, call Psalm 27. If your pocketbook is empty, call Psalm 37. If people seem unkind, call John 15. If discouraged about your work, call Psalm 126. If you find the world growing small and yourself great, call Psalm 19. —AUTHOR UNKNOWN Emergency numbers may be dialed direct. No operator assistance is necessary. All lines to heaven are open 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Prayer: Father God, You say to call on You, that You will never forsake me. Thank You for giving me the Bible so I can be encouraged in times of emergency. Amen. Action: Call one of the emergency phone numbers today to see what information you receive. Today’s Wisdom: Without wise leadership, a nation is in trouble; but with good counselors there is safety. —PROVERBS 11:14 TLB ~ Emilie Barnes, #NFDB
548:I hate wise men because they are lazy, cowardly, and prudent. To the philosophers' equanimity, which makes them indifferent to both pleasure and pain, I prefer devouring passions. The sage knows neither the tragedy of passion, nor the fear of death, nor risk and enthusiasm, nor barbaric, grotesque, or sublime heroism. He talks in proverbs and gives advice. He does not live, feel, desire, wait for anything. He levels down all the incongruities of life and then suffers the consequences. So much more complex is the man who suffers from limitless anxiety. The wise man's life is empty and sterile, for it is free from contradiction and despair. An existence full of irreconcilable contradictions is so much richer and creative. The wise man's resignation springs from inner void, not inner fire. I would rather die of fire than of void. ~ Emil M Cioran, #NFDB
549:Experienced professionals? They have dragged out their life in stupor and semi-sleep, they have married hastily, out of impatience, they have made children at random. They have met other men in cafés, at weddings and funerals. Sometimes, caught in the tide, they have struggled against it without understanding what was happening to them. All that has happened around them has eluded them; long, obscure shapes, events from afar, brushed by them rapidly and when they turned to look all had vanished. And then, around forty, they christen their small obstinacies and a few proverbs with the name of experience, they begin to simulate slot machines: put a coin in the left hand slot and you get tales wrapped in silver paper, put a coin in the slot on the right and you get precious bits of advice that stick to your teeth like caramels. ~ Jean Paul Sartre, #NFDB
550:Is there something you see every day that reminds you of what you’re believing for, something that inspires you, ignites your faith? Proverbs says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” With no vision you’ll get stuck. That’s why many people have lost their passion. They don’t have anything that reminds them of what they’re dreaming about. If you’re believing to move into a nicer house, find a picture of a house you like and put it on your bathroom mirror. Let that seed get into you.
If you’re believing to get into a college, go buy the school’s T-shirt and wear it around. Put the coffee mug with their logo on your counter. Every time you see that picture, that T-shirt, that baby’s outfit, say under your breath: “Thank You, Lord, for bringing my dreams to pass. Thank You, Lord, that I’ll become everything You created me to be. ~ Joel Osteen,#NFDB
551:The Bible contains significant teachings that encourage the creation of goods and services. One example is the description of an “excellent wife” in Proverbs 31:10–31: “She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant” (v. 24). She makes valuable products and so increases the GDP of Israel. This woman is productive, for “she seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands” (v. 13). She produces agricultural products from the earth, because “with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard” (v. 16). She sells products in the marketplace, because “she perceives that her merchandise is profitable” (v. 18). (The Holman Christian Standard Bible translates this as, “She sees that her profits are good”; this is also a legitimate translation because the Hebrew term sakar can refer to profit or gain from merchandise.) ~ Wayne Grudem, #NFDB
552:Where are you going?"
"To get my Bible."
"Right now? You can't get your Bible out right now! I'm, I'm, we're just about to..."
She'd never be able to go through with this if he got out his Bible. She wiped all humor from her face.
"I believe you. Proverbs 5:18. Rejoice, relish, and romp with your husband."
He chuckled. "I'm serious, Connie, and I won't have you feeling ashamed or unclean over anything we do in that bed, tonight or any other night."
"I won't. I feel unashamed and very clean. I promise. But please don't get out that Bible."
"What? Think you that God can't see us right now?"
Groaning, she slid off his lap and covered her face with her hands. He sunk to his knees in front of her, drawing her hands down.
"I love you. You love me. We are man and wife. God is watching, Connie, and He is very, very pleased. ~ Deeanne Gist,#NFDB
553:Stay on Course Let your eyes look right on [with fixed purpose], and let your gaze be straight before you. Consider well the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established and ordered aright. Turn not aside to the right hand or to the left; remove your foot from evil. PROVERBS 4:25- 27 Jesus knew what His purpose was. He disciplined Himself to stay on course, living His life to fulfill that purpose for which He came. As Christians, we need to follow in His steps and focus on our purpose. We were bought with a price to live our lives in such a way that we become the salt of the earth, the light of the world (see Matthew 5). We are to lay down our selfish, self-centered lifestyles, and gear our lives toward doing something for the betterment of someone else. Then we will experience that “joy unspeakable, and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8). ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
554:LISTEN TO ME CONTINUALLY. I have much to communicate to you, so many people and situations in need of prayer. I am training you to set your mind on Me more and more, tuning out distractions through the help of My Spirit. Walk with Me in holy trust, responding to My initiatives rather than trying to make things fit your plans. I died to set you free, and that includes freedom from compulsive planning. When your mind spins with a multitude of thoughts, you cannot hear My voice. A mind preoccupied with planning pays homage to the idol of control. Turn from this idolatry back to Me. Listen to Me and live abundantly! So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. JOHN 8 : 36 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. PROVERBS 19 : 21 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” JOHN 10 : 27 ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
555:The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. PROVERBS 18:10 NKJV When you are confused about the future, go to your Jehovah-raah, your caring shepherd. When you are anxious about provision, talk to Jehovah-jireh, the Lord who provides. Are your challenges too great? Seek the help of Jehovah-shalom, the Lord is peace. Is your body sick? Are your emotions weak? Jehovah-rophe, the Lord who heals you, will see you now. Do you feel like a soldier stranded behind enemy lines? Take refuge in Jehovah-nissi, the Lord my banner. Meditating on the names of God reminds you of the character of God. Take these names and bury them in your heart. God is the shepherd who guides, the Lord who provides, the voice who brings peace in the storm, the physician who heals the sick, and the banner that guides the soldier. The Great House of God ~ Max Lucado, #NFDB
556:Five years ago, I decided to eliminate my reactive behavior to irritations, but at first none of my tricks worked. I placed philosophical and inspirational quotes on my iPhone wallpaper or wrote in my journal, but the proverbs always lost their effectiveness over time. Then, one day, I told one of my clients who blamed her husband for everything to take 100 percent responsibility for her part in their interactions. “This way,” I said, “you will be free of trying to control him, and you will be able to find constructive solutions in your relationship.” When she left, I realized that the same advice could help me as well. Taking 100 percent personal responsibility would help me to stop blaming or complaining and achieve a sense of flow. It would also give me the clarity in any conversation to locate the right words to help a person to accept a hard choice. ~ Timothy Ferris, #NFDB
557:I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence and find out knowledge of witty inventions.... Counsel is mine and sound knowledge. I am understanding. I am strength. By me Kings reign and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me. And those that seek me shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment, that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.... I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning before ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills were, I was brought forth. ~ Proverbs, #NFDB
558:Ancient Jews often stated general principles in unequivocal terms for emphasis. We misinterpret them if we understand them as literal, universal laws. For example, Proverbs 12:21 states, “No harm happens to the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble” (cf. Prov. 13:21, 25). If read as an absolute universal law, this passage is obvious nonsense. History and our own experience demonstrate that righteous people frequently suffer great harm, while wicked people often live in peace and prosperity. Indeed, Scripture itself repeatedly makes this observation (Job; Ps. 73). As a general principle, however, righteous living helps one avoid harm, while wicked living will lead to trouble. In Proverbs 21:1, therefore, the author is not suggesting that every decision made by every king throughout history was orchestrated by God. He is simply emphasizing God’s general sovereignty over kings. Fourth, ~ Gregory A Boyd, #NFDB
559:Words
Be careful of words,
even the miraculous ones.
For the miraculous we do our best,
sometimes they swarm like insects
and leave not a sting but a kiss.
They can be as good as fingers.
They can be as trusty as the rock
you stick your bottom on.
But they can be both daisies and bruises.
Yet I am in love with words.
They are doves falling out of the ceiling.
They are six holy oranges sitting in my lap.
They are the trees, the legs of summer,
and the sun, its passionate face.
Yet often they fail me.
I have so much I want to say,
so many stories, images, proverbs, etc.
But the words aren't good enough,
the wrong ones kiss me.
Sometimes I fly like an eagle
but with the wings of a wren.
But I try to take care
and be gentle to them.
Words and eggs must be handled with care.
Once broken they are impossible
things to repair. ~ Anne Sexton,#NFDB
560:MAY 31 The Power of Your Words Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. PROVERBS 18:21 NASB OUR WORDS have tremendous power and are similar to seeds. By speaking them aloud, they are planted in our subconscious minds, take root, grow, and produce fruit of the same kind. Whether we speak positive or negative words, we will reap exactly what we sow. That’s why we need to be extremely careful what we think and say. The Bible compares the tongue to the small rudder of a huge ship, which controls the ship’s direction (see James 3:4). Similarly, your tongue will control the direction of your life. You create an environment for either good or evil with your words, and if you’re always murmuring, complaining, and talking about how bad life is treating you, you’re going to live in a pretty miserable world. Use your words to change your negative situations and fill them with life. ~ Joel Osteen, #NFDB
561:Extended Family
Yet like grandfather
I bathe before the village crow
the dry chlorine water
my only Ganges
the naked Chicago bulb
a cousin of the Vedic sun
slap soap on my back
like father
and think
in proverbs
like me
I wipe myself dry
with an unwashed
Sears turkish towel
like mother
I hear faint morning song
(though here it sounds
Japanese)
and three clear strings
nextdoor
through kitchen
clatter
like my little daughter
I play shy
hand over crotch
my body not yet full
12
of thoughts novels
and children
I hold my peepee
like my little son
play garden hose
in and out
the bathtub
like my grandson
I look up
unborn
at myself
like my great
great-grandson
I am not yet
may never be
my future
dependent
on several
people
yet
to come
~ A. K. Ramanujan,#NFDB
562:Words
Be careful of words,
even the miraculous ones.
For the miraculous we do our best,
sometimes they swarm like insects
and leave not a sting but a kiss.
They can be as good as fingers.
They can be as trusty as the rock
you stick your bottom on.
But they can be both daisies and bruises.
Yet I am in love with words.
They are doves falling out of the ceiling.
They are six holy oranges sitting in my lap.
They are the trees, the legs of summer,
and the sun, its passionate face.
Yet often they fail me.
I have so much I want to say,
so many stories, images, proverbs, etc.
But the words aren't good enough,
the wrong ones kiss me.
Sometimes I fly like an eagle
but with the wings of a wren.
But I try to take care
and be gentle to them.
Words and eggs must be handled with care.
Once broken they are impossible
things to repair.
~ Anne Sexton,#NFDB
563:The End Of The World
Here, at the end of the world,
the flowers bleed
as if they were hearts,
the hearts ooze a darkness
like india ink,
& poets dip their pens in
& they write.
"Here, at the end of the world,"
they write,
not knowing what it means.
"Here, where the sky nurses on black milk,
where the smokestack feed the sky,
where the trees tremble in terror
& people come to resemble them. . . . "
Here, at the end of the world,
the poets are bleeding.
Writing & bleeding
are thought to be the same;
singing & bleeding
are thought to be the same.
Write us a letter!
Send us a parcel of food!
Comfort us with proverbs or candied fruit,
with talk of one God.
Distract us with theories of art
no one can prove.
Here at the end of the world
our heads are empty,
& the wind walks through them
like ghosts
through a haunted house.
~ Erica Jong,#NFDB
564:When God brought the first man his spouse, he brought him not just a lover but the friend his heart had been seeking. Proverbs 2:17 speaks of one's spouse as your "'allup," a unique word that the lexicons define as your "special confidant" or "best friend." In an age where women were often seen as the husband's property, and marriages were mainly business deals and transactions seeking to increase the family's social status and security, it was startling for the Bible to describe a spouse in this way. But in today's society, with its emphasis on romance and sex, it is just as radical to insist that your spouse should be your best friend, though for a different reason. In tribal societies, romance doesn't matter as much as social status, and in individualistic Western societies, romance and great sex matter far more than anything else. The Bible, however, without ignoring the importance of romance, puts great emphasis on marriage as companionship. ~ Timothy J Keller, #NFDB
565:Augustine then cites Proverbs 30:7–9 as an example: “Give me neither poverty nor riches: Feed me with food appropriate for me lest I be full and deny you . . . or lest I be poor, and steal and take the name of my God in vain.” This is an excellent test. Consider the petition “O Lord—give me a job so I won’t be poor.” That is an appropriate thing to ask God for. Indeed, it is essentially the same thing as to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Yet the Proverbs 30 prayer reveals the only proper motivation beneath the request. If you just jump into prayer without recognizing the disordered nature of the heart’s loves, your prayer’s intention will be, “Make me as wealthy as possible.” The Proverbs 30 prayer is different. It is to ask, “Lord, meet my material needs, and give me wealth, yes, but only as much as I can handle without it harming my ability to put you first in life. Because ultimately I don’t need status and comfort—I need you as my Lord. ~ Timothy J Keller, #NFDB
566:Proverbs tells us, “Pride only leads to arguments” (13:10 NCV). The proud are magnetically attracted to conflict. And when the proud get into a squabble, it can become epic, because the hardest thing in the world would be for them to apologize. That requires humility. Some words and phrases just won’t come out of the prideful mouth. “I was wrong. Please forgive me,” for example. It’s agonizing because it feels like defeat, and proud people are obsessive about being undefeated in arguments, class discussions, political conversations, and family disputes. And proud people love to make their point on the Internet. The few, the proud (unfortunately the proud are not few) will wait out the worst disagreements without apologizing. They can hold out for decades, kind of hoping it all blows over. “I was wrong” or “that was my fault” are out of the question. On the very, very rare occasion one of the proud apologizes, he’ll qualify it: “I’m sorry—but …” Qualified apologies never seem to work. ~ Kyle Idleman, #NFDB
567:We may observe that the teaching of Our Lord Himself, in which there is no imperfection, is not given us in that cut-and-dried, fool-proof, systematic fashion we might have expected or desired. He wrote no book. We have only reported sayings, most of them uttered in answer to questions, shaped in some degree by their context. And when we have collected them all we cannot reduce them to a system. He preaches but He does not lecture. He uses paradox, proverb, exaggeration, parable, irony; even (I mean no irreverence) the 'wisecrack'. He utters maxims which, like popular proverbs, if rigorously taken, may seem to contradict one another. His teaching therefore cannot be grasped by the intellect alone, cannot be 'got up' as if it were a 'subject'. If we try to do that with it, we shall find Him the most elusive of teachers. He hardly ever gave a straight answer to a straight question. He will not be, in the way we want, 'pinned down'. The attempt is (again, I mean no irreverence) like trying to bottle a sunbeam. ~ C S Lewis, #NFDB
568:Later that evening, I meet Alex and Gracie at a crepe stand on Fairview for dinner. He orders two ham-and-provolones and I chose a goat-cheese-spinach-and-tomato. We watch as the woman behind the stand pours the batter on the round wheel and rakes it into a perfect circle with a wooden tool. Within seconds, the batter thickens and bubbles, turning a shade of golden brown. She reaches for a tub of cheese labeled "Pro 3-5," then shakes her head and tucks it under the shelf before looking up at us. "Almost forgot to toss this one. Found it in the back of the fridge. Expired months ago." She opens up a new tub of shredded cheese and sprinkles it on Alex's crepe. I'm not thinking about expired cheese, however. It's "Pro 3-5" that haunts me. I know it's silly. It's an expiration date for provolone cheese, but I key Proverbs 3:5 into my phone, and read what comes back: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. ~ Sarah Jio, #NFDB
569:April 1 I AM CALLING YOU to a life of constant communion with Me. Basic training includes learning to live above your circumstances, even while interacting on that cluttered plane of life. You yearn for a simplified lifestyle, so that your communication with Me can be uninterrupted. But I challenge you to relinquish the fantasy of an uncluttered world. Accept each day just as it comes, and find Me in the midst of it all. Talk with Me about every aspect of your day, including your feelings. Remember that your ultimate goal is not to control or fix everything around you; it is to keep communing with Me. A successful day is one in which you have stayed in touch with Me, even if many things remain undone at the end of the day. Do not let your to-do list (written or mental) become an idol directing your life. Instead, ask My Spirit to guide you moment by moment. He will keep you close to Me. Pray continually. 1 THESSALONIANS 5 : 17 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. PROVERBS 3 : ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
570:The Bible isn’t an answer book. It isn’t a self-help manual. It isn’t a flat, perspicuous list of rules and regulations that we can interpret objectively and apply unilaterally to our lives. The Bible is a sacred collection of letters and laws, poetry and proverbs, philosophy and prophecies, written and assembled over thousands of years in cultures and contexts very different from our own, that tells the complex, ever-unfolding story of God’s interaction with humanity. When we turn the Bible into an adjective and stick it in front of another loaded word (like manhood, womanhood, politics, economics, marriage, and even equality), we tend to ignore or downplay the parts of the Bible that don’t fit our tastes. In an attempt to simplify, we try to force the Bible’s cacophony of voices into a single tone, to turn a complicated and at times troubling holy text into a list of bullet points we can put in a manifesto or creed. More often than not, we end up more committed to what we want the Bible to say than what it actually says. So ~ Rachel Held Evans, #NFDB
571:A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. PROVERBS 17:22 SEPTEMBER 18 I visited my old hometown and thought about my boyhood days. I remembered the time I’d been eating unripe apples, and I suffered for it. I called a doctor. He came and poked around at me and asked me what I had been doing. He gave me some peppermint and said, “You just take that and quit eating unripe apples. You will be all right.” Then he put his hand on my head and said, “Son, I can cure your stomach. That is easy. But if you get bad thoughts in your mind, it will take a greater doctor than I am to cure you. So don’t let bad or sick thoughts get in that head of yours.” How you think can even change the impact of sickness, physical deterioration, and aging. Christianity is life, friends. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). And if you are going to have life, you have to cope with illness and deterioration and aging. And how you think has an important bearing on the aging process. ~ Norman Vincent Peale, #NFDB
572:Of all that is written, I love only what a person hath written with his blood. Write with blood, and thou wilt find that blood is spirit.
It is no easy task to understand unfamiliar blood; I hate the reading idlers.
He who knoweth the reader, doeth nothing more for the reader. Another century of readers--and spirit itself will stink.
Every one being allowed to learn to read, ruineth in the long run not only writing but also thinking.
Once spirit was God, then it became man, and now it even becometh populace.
He that writeth in blood and proverbs doth not want to be read, but learnt by heart.
In the mountains the shortest way is from peak to peak, but for that route thou must have long legs. Proverbs should be peaks, and those spoken to should be big and tall.
The atmosphere rare and pure, danger near and the spirit full of a joyful wickedness: thus are things well matched.
I want to have goblins about me, for I am courageous. The courage which scareth away ghosts, createth for itself goblins--it wanteth to laugh. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche,#NFDB
573:Staying Free of Destructive Relationships Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared. PROVERBS 22:24-25 Lord, Your Word says that a good friend is not so changeable that You never know how they are going to act from day to day. Help me to never be like that, and to not continue in a relationship with someone who is like that. Enable me to recognize right away when a person is often angry, negative, and destructive toward me so that I won’t continue on with them as a friend. Help me to be rid of any relationships in my life that are negative in an ongoing way. Although I can’t control how another person treats me, with Your help I can refuse to allow them to continue to treat me badly. Show me if I have any destructive relationship in my life and enable me to separate myself from that person. Help me to recognize that when a person continually makes me feel badly about myself and my life, they are not part of Your plan for me. In Jesus’ name I pray. ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
574:Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9 There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. PROVERBS 23:18 NIV Keep sound wisdom and discretion; so they will be life to your soul and grace to your neck. Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught. PROVERBS 3:21-26 Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD. PROVERBS 19:14 I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. JEREMIAH 29:11-13 ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
575:Love God Today: Love God more than you love things, and He will always give you what is best for you and will help you fulfill your destiny. August 15 Wisdom Is Calling Wisdom cries aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the markets. PROVERBS 1:20 God wants us to use wisdom, and according to today’s Scripture, wisdom is not difficult to obtain; the Holy Spirit wants to reveal it to us; we simply need to pay attention. For example, have you ever needed to make a decision and had your “head” (your intellectual abilities) try to lead you one way while your heart is leading you another? Have you ever had a situation in which your natural thoughts and feelings seemed to be guiding you in one direction, but something inside of you kept nagging you to go another direction? Chances are, wisdom is crying out to you. One way to love yourself is to listen to it and obey. Many times, it cries out in your heart that you should or should not do a certain thing—you should eat healthily, you should be kind to other people, you should not spend money you do not have. These are all ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
576:Because here's something else that's weird but true: in the day-to day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship—be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles—is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It's been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness. ~ David Foster Wallace, #NFDB
577:Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion. PROVERBS 11:22 Heavenly Father, I fear I haven’t been representing the dignity that You’ve given me. You have called me to be a woman of noble character who is respected. You have instructed me to present myself with beautiful modesty and a wise spirit. Lord, forgive me for trading in Your admirable qualities for worldly trends. My culture has glamorized provocative women with loose morals. I know You have higher standards for us because You cherish us more than we can understand. You’ve placed Your beauty inside of me, that I wouldn’t allow it to be slandered or trampled on. It breaks Your heart to see Your precious daughters throwing themselves at guys, accepting crude comments as compliments, and drawing inappropriate attention to their bodies. You created me for more than that, Lord. Remind me of my worth. Make my heart feel instantly sick the moment I present myself with less value than You’ve given me. You have crowned me as Your daughter and princess; You have inscribed Your royalty on my heart. ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
578:Healing Scriptures My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Proverbs 4:20-22 Behold, I will bring health and cure, and I will heal them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. Jeremiah 33:6 …Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee. 2 Kings 20:5 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It will be health (medicine) to thy navel, and marrow (refreshment) to thy bones. Proverbs 3:7,8 And ye shall serve the Lord your god, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness from the midst of thee. Exodus 23:25 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid hands on every one of them, and healed them. Luke 4:40 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. ~ Norvel Hayes, #NFDB
579:Failure to put the relationship on a slower timetable may result in an act that was never intended in the first place. Another important principle is to avoid the circumstances where compromise is likely. A girl who wants to preserve her virginity should not find herself in a house or dorm room alone with someone to whom she is attracted. Nor should she single-date with someone she has reason not to trust. A guy who wants to be moral should stay away from the girl he knows would go to bed with him. Remember the words of Solomon to his son, “Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house” (Proverbs 5:8). I know this advice sounds very narrow in a day when virginity is mocked and chastity is considered old-fashioned. But I don’t apologize for it. The Scriptures are eternal, and God’s standards of right and wrong do not change with the whims of culture. He will honor and help those who are trying to follow His commandments. In fact, the apostle Paul said, “He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear” (1Corinthians 10:13). Hold that promise and continue to use your head. You’ll be glad you did. ~ James C Dobson, #NFDB
580:In Chapter One, I discussed four of the seven steps to answered prayer. The four steps already covered are as follows: 1.Decide what you want from God and find the scripture or scriptures that definitely promise you these things. 2.Ask God for the things you want and believe that you receive them. 3.Let every thought and desire affirm that you have what you asked for. 4.Guard against every evil thought that comes into your mind to try to make you doubt God’s Word. Step Number Five: Meditate on God’s Promises Step number five to receiving answered prayer is meditate constantly on the promises upon which you based the answer to your prayer. In other words, you must see yourself in possession of what you’ve asked for and make plans accordingly as if it were already a reality. PROVERBS 4:20-22 20 My son, ATTEND TO MY WORDS; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. 22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. God said, “My son, attend to my words . . .” (Prov. 4:20). God will make His Word good in your life if you’ll act on it. ~ Kenneth E Hagin, #NFDB
581:the layers of pretence. ‘If you are right, you may be able to render the Abberley family an inestimable service.’ ‘I’m right.’ ‘Your confidence does you credit. But permit me to utter a word of warning. You are in a foreign land of which you know very little. Of its history, I would suspect, even less. Remember your own countrymen’s proverbs: a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, whereas ignorance is bliss.’ ‘What Ortiz knew was inescapably dangerous. I have his written record of it. And I’m willing to surrender it.’ Derek could feel the perspiration forming on his upper lip and forehead, but knew he could not be seen to wipe it away. It was useless to hope his anxiety had escaped Galazarga’s notice. The only question was what he would conclude from it. ‘But my willingness is strictly conditional. You follow?’ ‘I believe I do.’ The cigar slipped into his mouth, then was withdrawn. ‘I think I can safely say Señor Delgado would very much like to agree satisfactory terms for his acquisition of the Ortiz … of the curio you describe.’ ‘Good.’ Derek swallowed hard. ‘There’s just … er … one thing I have to explain.’ Galazarga’s eyebrows shot ~ Robert Goddard, #NFDB
582:TO TRUST ME in more and more areas of your life. Anything that tends to make you anxious is a growth opportunity. Instead of running away from these challenges, embrace them, eager to gain all the blessings I have hidden in the difficulties. If you believe that I am sovereign over every aspect of your life, it is possible to trust Me in all situations. Don’t waste energy regretting the way things are or thinking about what might have been. Start at the present moment—accepting things exactly as they are—and search for My way in the midst of those circumstances. Trust is like a staff you can lean on, as you journey uphill with Me. If you are trusting in Me consistently, the staff will bear as much of your weight as needed. Lean on, trust, and be confident in Me with all your heart and mind. But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. —PSALM 52:8 Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. —PROVERBS 3:5–6 AMP ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
583:life. Such a relationship requires that you seek God like never before. So start this year right by becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with the One who has all power in heaven and earth. JANUARY 3 Trust in the Power of Hope Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life. PROVERBS 13:12 I define hope as “the happy anticipation of good things.” You can hope for something good to happen to you by learning how to celebrate and enjoy life. Everything in life is a process in motion. Without movement and progression there is no life. As long as you live you are always heading somewhere, and you should enjoy yourself on the way. God created you to be a goal-oriented visionary. Without a vision you become bored and hopeless. But there’s something about hope that makes people lighthearted and happy. Hope is a powerful spiritual force that is activated through your positive attitude. God is positive and He wants positive things to happen to you, but that probably won’t happen unless you have hope and faith. Expect God to bring good out of every circumstance in your life. Whatever happens, trust in the Lord . . . and trust in the power of hope! ~ Joyce Meyer, #NFDB
584:Threefold is the march of time
While the future slow advances,
Like a dart the present glances,
Silent stands the past sublime.
No impatience e'er can speed him
On his course if he delay;
No alarm, no doubts impede him
If he keep his onward way;
No regrets, no magic numbers
Wake the tranced one from his slumbers.
Wouldst thou wisely and with pleasure,
Pass the days of life's short measure,
From the slow one counsel take,
But a tool of him ne'er make;
Ne'er as friend the swift one know,
Nor the constant one as foe!
II.
Threefold is the form of space:
Length, with ever restless motion,
Seeks eternity's wide ocean;
Breadth with boundless sway extends;
Depth to unknown realms descends.
All as types to thee are given;
Thou must onward strive for heaven,
Never still or weary be
Would'st thou perfect glory see;
Far must thy researches go.
Wouldst thou learn the world to know;
Thou must tempt the dark abyss
Wouldst thou prove what Being is.
Naught but firmness gains the prize,
Naught but fulness makes us wise,
Buried deep, truth ever lies!
~ Friedrich Schiller, The Proverbs Of Confucius
,#NFDB
585:MARCH 16 IT IS GOOD THAT YOU RECOGNIZE YOUR WEAKNESS. That keeps you looking to Me, your Strength. Abundant life is not necessarily health and wealth; it is living in continual dependence on Me. Instead of trying to fit this day into a preconceived mold, relax and be on the lookout for what I am doing. This mind-set will free you to enjoy Me and to find what I have planned for you to do. This is far better than trying to make things go according to your own plan. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Lighten up and laugh with Me. You have Me on your side, so what are you worried about? I can equip you to do absolutely anything, as long as it is My will. The more difficult your day, the more I yearn to help you. Anxiety wraps you up in yourself, trapping you in your own thoughts. When you look to Me and whisper My Name, you break free and receive My help. Focus on Me, and you will find Peace in My Presence. I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]. —PHILIPPIANS 4:13 AMP A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. —PROVERBS 17:22 ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
586:Such was the Arab of the desert, the dweller in tents, in whom was fulfilled the prophetic destiny of his ancestor Ishmael. "He will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him." Nature had fitted him for his destiny. His form was light and meagre, but sinewy and active, and capable of sustaining great fatigue and hardship. He was temperate and even abstemious, requiring but little food, and that of the simplest kind. His mind, like his body, was light and agile. He eminently possessed the intellectual attributes of the Shemitic race, penetrating sagacity, subtle wit, a ready conception, and a brilliant imagination.
His sensibilities were quick and acute, though not lasting; a proud and daring spirit was stamped on his sallow visage and flashed from his dark and kindling eye. He was easily aroused by the appeals of eloquence, and charmed by the graces of poetry. Speaking a language copious in the extreme, the words of which have been compared to gems and flowers, he was naturally an orator;
but he delighted in proverbs and apothegms, rather than in sustained flights of declamation, and was prone to convey his ideas in the oriental style, by apologue and parable. ~ Washington Irving,#NFDB
587:If I Were To Own
f I were to own this countryside
As far as a man in a day could ride,
And the Tyes were mine for giving or letting, Wingle Tye and Margaretting
Tye, - and Skreens, Gooshays, and Cockerells,
Shellow, Rochetts, Bandish, and Pickerells,
Martins, Lambkins, and Lillyputs,
Their copses, ponds, roads, and ruts,
Fields where plough-horses steam and plovers
Fling and whimper, hedges that lovers
Love, and orchards, shrubberies, walls
Where the sun untroubled by north wind falls,
And single trees where the thrush sings well
His proverbs untranslatable,
I would give them all to my son
If he would let me any one
For a song, a blackbird's song, at dawn.
He should have no more, till on my lawn
Never a one was left, because I
Had shot them to put them into a pie, His Essex blackbirds, every one,
And I was left old and alone.
Then unless I could pay, for rent, a song
As sweet as a blackbird's, and as long No more - he should have the house, not I
Margaretting or Wingle Tye,
Or it might be Skreens, Gooshays, or Cockerells,
Shellow, Rochetts, Bandish, or Pickerells,
Martins, Lambkins, or Lillyputs,
Should be his till the cart tracks had no ruts.
~ Edward Thomas,#NFDB
588:Early in my career, I formed a personal motto, one by which I continue to live: If offering a criticism, accompany it with one potential solution. In the case I described, the individual didn’t want to work together to find a solution. Unfortunately, I’ve never found an effective way to deal with adults who exhibit immaturity. The Bible offers a bit of interesting insight that I consider applicable: “Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, or desire his delicacies; for as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, ‘Eat and drink!’ but his heart is not with you. You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten, and waste your compliments. Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words” (Proverbs 23:6-9). The Bible also says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” (Romans 12:18). It saddens me to say, but in that individual’s case, peace meant limiting my interactions with him. To foster peace, I stopped saying hello in the mornings. Not out of spite, but because friendly conversation led to comfort, and comfort, I noticed, opened the door for negative comments. Rarely do I take such an extreme measure, but sometimes distance is helpful. His visits ended. My peace and fervor began to reemerge. ~ John Herrick, #NFDB
589:9:10). Since the fear of the Lord is the great treasure of life, Proverbs tries to woo us to it. It tries to make the fear of the Lord as attractive as possible. Those who fear the Lord will fear nothing else (19:23). The fear of the Lord adds length to life (10:27), it is a secure fortress for the one who fears and for his or her children (14:26). It is a fountain of life (15:16), it brings honor (22:4), and it should be praised when we see it (31:30). What does the fear of the Lord look like? It looks like loving good and hating evil. “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil” (8:13). It looks like trusting God (reverence) and obeying him. Can you see that the fear of the Lord is a blessing? Just imagine what it would be like to truly hate sin, first our own, then the sins of others (Matt. 7:3-5). What would happen to marital fights? They would be almost impossible. Spouses would be too busy listening and asking forgiveness for their own selfishness. What about the little cliques in the school yard? They would be telling good stories about somebody else. What about when someone sins against us? We would no longer have to murder the person in our own heart. Instead, we could cover the sin in humility and love, or we could confront the other person in the same spirit. ~ Edward T Welch, #NFDB
590:APOLOGUE (A'POLOGUE) n.s.[.]Fable; story contrived to teach some moral truth. An apologue of Æsop is beyond a syllogism, and proverbs more powerful than demonstration.Brown’sVulgar Errours. Some men are remarked for pleasantness in raillery; others for apologues and apposite diverting stories.Locke. APOLOGY (APO'LOGY) n.s.[apologia, Lat. Defence; excuse. Apology generally signifies rather excuse than vindication, and tends rather to extenuate the fault, than prove innocence. This is, however, sometimes unregarded by writers. In her face excuseCame prologue; and apology too prompt;Which with bland words at will she thus address’d.Milton’sParad. Lost,b. ix. l. 854.2. It has for before the object of excuse. It is not my intention to make an apology for my poem: some will think it needs no excuse, and others will receive none.Dryden’sPref. toAbs. and Achit. I shall neither trouble the reader, nor myself, with any apology for publishing of these sermons; for if they be, in any measure, truly serviceable to the end for which they are designed, I do not see what apology is necessary; and if they be not so, I am sure none can be sufficient.Tillotson. APOMECOMETRY (APOMECO'METRY) n.s.[ from, l distance, and lesqex, to measure.]The art of measuring things at a distance. ~ Samuel Johnson, #NFDB
591:aughter is such great medicine. So first of all, don't take life too seriously. There's so much to laugh about. In fact, look for the "sillies" in your circumstances. And laughter is contagious! One time our kids were telling a silly story. What they said set me off, and I started laughing and couldn't stop. No one knew what I was laughing about, but everyone joined in anyway. Make room for laughter in your life. Deliberately seek it out. Proverbs 15:15 says, "The cheerful heart has a continual feast." Be sure to smile
today at someone. Find something worth laughing about and go for it big time.
by not make a few healthy resolutions?
• Don't let children watch TV or play video games on school nights.
• Don't let feelings of inadequacy creep up on you because your kids aren't doing well in school. Encourage them and do what has to be done to correct the problems. Be available to help with homework, but realize ultimately homework is their responsibility.
• Don't bail your children out when they leave their books at home. A couple of times of forgetting and doing without and you'd be surprised how their memories will improve.
• Support your child's teacher. If there is a problem with a teacher, talk it over with your child and the teacher, together or separately, as appropriate. ~ Emilie Barnes,#NFDB
592:I Forgive You Smart people know how to hold their tongue; their grandeur is to forgive and forget. PROVERBS 19:11 MSG Great power comes in these three little words: I forgive you. Often they are hard to say, but they are powerful in their ability to heal our own hearts. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” He knew we needed to forgive others to be whole. When we are angry or hold a grudge against someone, our spirits are bound. The release that comes with extending forgiveness enables our spirits to commune with God more closely, and love swells within us. How do you forgive? Begin with prayer. Recognize the humanity of the person who wronged you, and make a choice to forgive. Ask the Lord to help you forgive the person(s). Be honest, for the Lord sees your heart. Trust the Holy Spirit to guide you and cleanse you. Then step out and follow His leading in obedience. By forgiving, we can move forward, knowing that God has good things in store for us. And the heaviness of spirit is lifted, and relief washes over us after we’ve forgiven. A new sense of hope and expectancy rises. I forgive you. Do you need to say those words today? Father, search my heart and show me areas where I might need to forgive another. Help me let go and begin to heal. Amen. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
593:[I]n 1955, Klaus Koch proposed a construct of “deeds-consequences,” wherein he argued that the very structure of most sayings in the Book of Proverbs (and elsewhere in the Old Testament) assumed and affirmed that human deeds have automatic and inescapable consequences, so that acts for good or for ill produce their own “spheres of destiny.” The critical point in Koch’s argument is that in “foolish acts” - acts that violate Yahweh’s righteousness - Yahweh does not need to intervene directly in order to punish or reward, as in the covenant blessings and curses of Sinai. Rather, the deed carries within it the seed of its own consequence, punishment or reward, which is not imposed by an outside agent (Yahweh). Thus, for example, a lazy person suffers the consequence of poverty, without the instrusion of any punishing agent; likewise, carelessness in choosing friends will produce a life of dissolution, all on its own. Consequently, “responsible acts” - those that cohere with Yahweh’s ordering of creation - will result in good for self and for community. Yahweh is not at all visible in this process. But, according to Israel, Yahweh is nonetheless indispensable for the process. This is not, in Israel’s horizon, a self-propelled system of sanctions, but it is an enactment of Yahweh’s sovereign, faithful intentionality. ~ Walter Brueggemann, #NFDB
594:PROVERBS 2 u My son, v if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice w for understanding, 4 if you seek it like x silver and search for it as for y hidden treasures, 5 then z you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. 6 For a the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is b a shield to those who c walk in integrity, 8 guarding the paths of justice and d watching over the way of his e saints. 9 f Then you will understand g righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; 10 for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; 11 h discretion will i watch over you, understanding will guard you, 12 delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, 13 who forsake the paths of uprightness to j walk in the ways of darkness, 14 who k rejoice in doing evil and l delight in the perverseness of evil, 15 men whose m paths are crooked, n and who are o devious in their ways. ~ Anonymous, #NFDB
595:Proverbs 23:21 When government limits itself to defending our lives and liberty, it creates the right environment for the people to thrive and prosper. Of course, expecting government to limit itself is like handing a chocoholic a Hershey bar and just hoping for the best. We haven’t been getting “the best.” The government, binging on its own power, has insinuated itself into every aspect of life. Bureaucrats tell our children what they can eat in school (even if the kids refuse to eat it), they tell us how large our soft drinks can be (I can’t imagine that’s what the Founders had in mind), they shut down kids’ “illegal” lemonade stands for not having a proper permit (!), and apparently they can even force us to bake cakes for events that some find immoral or wrong. Too many people in government think it is their job to tell you what to do, what to think, and how to behave. Every bureaucrat operates under the assumption that he knows best how individual citizens should lead their lives. But that’s not what freedom is all about. SWEET FREEDOM IN Action Today, if you have children or grandchildren, encourage them in the principle of self-reliance. Remember that whenever you—or they—get that feeling that “something must be done,” you should resist the temptation of turning to government, and instead do it yourself. You can make a heck of a lot better decisions for your family than government ever can. ~ Sarah Palin, #NFDB
596:Trust God Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed. PROVERBS 16:3 AMP Many people make resolutions at the beginning of a new year . . . only to break them before the month is complete. Others set goals, then lay out detailed plans to accomplish them. In fact, January sees a plethora of self-help courses, webinars, blog posts, and other venues that emphasize how goals and/or resolutions will lead to success if we can manage not to break them or throw out the goals. There’s nothing wrong with these things, except too many times we forget to include God in our plans. In the first chapter of Joshua we read of God’s charge to Joshua after Moses was dead. It was time to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land. God tells Joshua the secret to success: “Be sure to obey all the teachings my servant Moses gave you. If you follow them exactly, you will be successful in everything you do. Always remember what is written in the Book of the Teachings. Study it day and night to be sure to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything” (Joshua 1:7–8 NCV). Solomon writes that we are to roll all our plans and goals onto the Lord. If they are in accordance with God’s plan, then He will establish our plans and help us make them reality. Father, I commit my plans to You today. ~ Various, #NFDB
597:MANAGING GOD’S MONEY Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. Proverbs 3:9–10 This concept of fiscal responsibility was not lost on me as governor of Alaska. That’s why I used my line-item veto to cut spending by almost 10 percent. I rejected a pay raise. (As mayor, I took a voluntary pay cut.) I invested billions of dollars in state savings. I forward-funded education. See, I knew the resources were not mine to squander and that I had to do right by the people who hired me. Alaska reaped the benefits of that fiscal responsibility: during my tenure, both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s upgraded Alaska’s credit rating. Our politicians in Washington should be so wise with taxpayer dollars because what’s good for an individual, family, and state is also good for a nation; God’s principles apply across the board. Wasteful spending that robs the American people—like $500,000 to study shrimp on a treadmill, or subsidizing the annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Senator Harry Reid’s state of Nevada—doesn’t seem to qualify as the fiscal responsibility this Scripture describes. And funding Planned Parenthood certainly does not honor God—fiscally or morally. SWEET FREEDOM IN Action What’s in your hand is not yours. It’s a loan. God expects you to be obedient and wise with what He’s allowed you to manage. Today, honor Him for His blessings and pray America does the same. ~ Sarah Palin, #NFDB
598:Increase. Being fruitful is a good and necessary start, but it should grow into the next phase, increase. Once again, even though the idea here is to multiply or reproduce, sexual procreation is only part of the meaning. The Hebrew word for increase also can mean “abundance,” “to be in authority,” “to enlarge,” and “to excel.” It carries the sense of refining your gift until it is completely unique. It is impossible to reproduce what you have not refined. In this context, then, to increase means not only to multiply or reproduce as in having children, but also to improve and excel, mastering your gift and becoming the very best you can possibly be at what you do. It also means learning how to manage the resources God has given you and developing a strategy for managing the increase that will come through refinement. By refining your gift, you make room for it in the world. The more refined your gift, the more in demand you will be. Proverbs 18:16 (KJV) says, “A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.” By refining your gift, you make room for it in the world. What is your fruit—your gift? What are you known for? What do you have that is reproducible? What quality or ability do you have that causes people to seek you out? What brings you joy? What are you passionate about? What do you have to offer the world, even just your little part of it? Fruit must be reproducible or else it is not genuine fruit. “Be fruitful” means to produce fruit; “increase” means to reproduce it. ~ Myles Munroe, #NFDB
599:You have treasure in you. There is talent and skill that will cause you to be noticed. Proverbs 22:29 says, “Do you see a person skilled in their work? They will stand before kings and great men.” Keep sharpening your skills. Cream always rises to the top.
This is what Joseph did in the Bible. He started off at the very bottom. He was thrown into a pit and sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph didn’t wait for vindication. He decided to be his best. Even as a slave, he developed his gifts.
Joseph made himself so valuable that he was put in charge of his master’s house. When he was falsely accused and put in prison, he was so organized, so wise, so skillful that they put him in charge of the whole prison.
Joseph was cream rising to the top. When Pharaoh needed someone to run the country, and administer the nationwide food program, Pharaoh didn’t choose one of his own people. He didn’t choose his department head, or a cabinet member. He chose Joseph, a prisoner, and a foreigner.
Why? Joseph developed his skills right where he was, and his gifts made room for him. Don’t use where you are as an excuse to not grow. Don’t say, “I’m not in a good job. I don’t like my position. I’ve had unfair things happen. That’s why I’ve lost my passion.”
Remember, the treasure is still in you. God is saying it’s time to use your gifts. Stretch yourself. Take some courses. Sharpen your skills. You should be so productive, so filled with wisdom no matter where you are, like Joseph, you will rise to the top. ~ Joel Osteen,#NFDB
600:s a child, I was so shy I once hid in a closet at my own birthday party! But again and again, over the years, God has confronted me with opportunities to step outside of myself to touch others. And you know what? Saying yes to God is always a hopeful endeavor. If someone asked me 40 years ago whether I'd ever write a book or speak in front of a large audience, I'd have told her she was crazy. But that's what my ministry became! And as I've matured in the Lord, my hope has grown too. These days I'm far from a hopeless romantic. I'm not a hopeless anything. I'm a wide-eyed child of God eagerly waiting to see what He has in mind for me next.
hese troubling days are the perfect time to enjoy the company of old and dear friends. You can share your sorrows, rejoice at God's love, and reminisce about good times. Through all life's seasons friends add so much depth and meaning. Don't think you have to fill every minute with activities. Spend time talking, listening, and enjoying companionship. Gather around a table of great food and soak up the warmth of years of friendship. Share a verse of Scripture and a time of prayer. The Bible says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
ver the years I've put together a "This Is Your Life" scrapbook for every one of my children. The books are filled with birth announcements, birthday party pictures, graduation memories-everything imaginable. Report cards, favorite Bible verses, photos of friends, even letters they wrote from camp. My kids have so enjoyed their special books-their own personal history. I love the scripture in Proverbs that says: "The ~ Emilie Barnes,#NFDB
601:AMAZING GRACE IS A SWEET SOUND Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. Proverbs 10:12 Wherever you look, Christians are being abused—whether it’s the ridicule, marginalization, and stigmatization that Christians receive from the media and liberal elites here, or the torture, imprisonment, beheadings, and slaughter Christians suffer abroad. So-called progressives in the West treat Christians with snobbish contempt. Radical Islamists kill us. In both cases, morality has been turned upside-down. The Bible warns of such crumbling morality in 2 Timothy 3:2. It’s all been prophesized. This passage reveals that people will be lovers of themselves, arrogant, abusive, and wicked. The line separating right from wrong has been blurred by the worldly influences of humanism, secularism, and religious doctrines not based on the Word of God. The outcry of the age is for “tolerance,” yet how tolerant is it for people to attack Christians who simply want to live their lives by biblical principles? The very heart of Christianity is to love our enemies, as tough as that may be. What does that love look like now that so many are labeling us “intolerant”? Our example is found in Jesus. If He showed such amazing strength and mercy in the face of horrendous treatment coming at Him, how can we, being recipients of His mercy, refuse to exercise whatever strength we can muster? We can’t refuse it. The daunting nature of required mercy and grace makes it seem impossible to implement, especially when we see hatred around us. All the more reason to tap into God’s amazing grace and ask Him to show us how. He’ll be delighted to teach us. SWEET FREEDOM IN Action Pray to God for strength and understanding, and for the grace to endure. ~ Sarah Palin, #NFDB
602:FINANCIAL FREEDOM For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you. Deuteronomy 15:6 God promised Israel that if they were obedient to Him, they’d lack nothing. He’d bless Israel so abundantly that they’d have plenty to lend to others. Interesting how the verse goes from not being a borrower to not being ruled. The link between indebtedness and control is reiterated in Proverbs 22:7: “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” America is so many trillions of dollars in debt it’s almost impossible to account. Yet we have leaders refusing to acknowledge it, refusing to cut spending, and refusing to exercise fiscal prudence. What’s worse is the very real danger of being owned by lenders. When we are dependent on China, a nation that does not particularly like us, we’re in big trouble. Washington spends our money in unbelievably wasteful ways. The government’s backing of the green-energy company Solyndra cost us half a billion dollars alone! The Obama “stimulus” package, enacted in 2009, is expected to cost well over $800 billion by 2019, and the only real stimulus it has provided has been to government spending. The stories of government waste are legion. How about the $16 billion of ammunition the government purchased, only to decide it didn’t need it, so it spent $1 billion to destroy it! How’s that for prudently handling the nation’s money and resources? SWEET FREEDOM IN Action Today, vow to pay closer attention to how politicians spend your money. Those who do not exercise fiscal restraint do not deserve your vote. Find candidates who do. Remember that bigger government is the problem, not the cure. ~ Sarah Palin, #NFDB
603:Lfr Jp tZ~ Emilie Barnes LLtI~ Emilie Barnes
A righteous [woman] who walks in [her] integrity-how blessed are [her] sons after [her].
-PROVERBS 20:7
My Bob often says, "Just do what you say you are going to do!" This has been our battle cry for more than 25 years. People get into relational problems because they forget to keep their promises. It's so easy to make a verbal promise for the moment and then grapple with the execution of that promise later.
Sometimes we underestimate the consequences of not keeping the promise flippantly made in a moment of haste. Many times we aren't even aware we have made a promise. Someone says, "I'll call you at 7:00 tonight"; "I'll drop by before noon"; or "I'll call you to set up a breakfast meeting on Wednesday." Then the weak excuses begin to follow. "I called but no one answered" (even though you have voice mail and no message was left). "I got tied up and forgot." "I was too tired."
I suggest that we don't make promises if we aren't going to keep them. The person on the other end would prefer not hearing a promise that isn't going to be kept.
Yes, there will be times when the execution of a promise will have to be rescheduled, but be up front with the person when you call to change the time. We aren't perfect, but we can mentor proper relationship skills to our friends and family by exhibiting accountability in our words of promise. We teach people that we are trustworthy-and how they can be trusted too.
You'll be pleased at how people will pleasantly be surprised when you keep your promises. As my friend Florence Littauer says, "It takes so little to be above average." When you develop a reputation for being a woman who does what she says, your life will have more meaning and people will enjoy being around you. ~ Emilie Barnes,#NFDB
604:So I took another look at Genesis …” “You know Genesis?” “And Nehemiah, Ezra, Proverbs, Lamentations—one of my favorites, hilarious subtext, but I can’t read it on airplanes, where people get upset with laughing fits. The whole book’s a classic.” “You read the whole Bible?” “Couple times. And you know how in Genesis, Lot’s the only good guy in the twin cities, Sodom and Gomorrah. These two male angels come to stay with him. Apparently they’re lookers. Think Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in Dogma. And these people from his street bang on Lot’s door, wanting him to let the houseguests out so they can have gay sex. Now Lot’s always been an accommodating neighbor, but this ain’t no potluck dinner. They argue back and forth, going nowhere. So, finally, in an attempt to show that sex with girls is much more fun and convert them to heterosexuality, Lot offers to turn over his two underage, virgin daughters for gang rape.” “It doesn’t say that!” “Let me see your Bible.” Serge executed a perfect sword drill, finding chapter nineteen in seconds. He turned the book around, slid it back across the table and tapped verse eight. Three youths crowded over the page. “It does say that. But how can it be?” “Because God blessed us with curiosity. Read it with an open mind and you realize it’s actually a brilliant satire on homophobia. Think as an individual: The Lord doesn’t want a train pulled on little kids. It’s like reading Swift’s Modest Proposal and thinking he really wants to eat babies. What the Bible’s trying to say is we’re all his children. But if you take Lot’s story literally, well, nice family values, eh? But that’s just my interpretation, which I’m now questioning. I could be way off.” The youths got up and went over to their pastor. “I think we’ve been wrong about gay people …” “… They’re fellow children of God. ~ Tim Dorsey, #NFDB
605:In all matters of consequence, General P.P. Peckem was, as he always remarked when he was about to criticize the work of some close associate publicly, a realist. He was a handsome, pink-skinned man of fifty-three. His manner was always casual and relaxed, and his uniforms were custom-made. He had silver-gray hair, slightly myopic eyes and thin, overhanging, sensual lips. He was a perceptive, graceful, sophisticated man who was sensitive to everyone's weaknesses but his own and found everyone absurd but himself. General Peckem laid great fastidious stress on small matters of taste and style. He was always augmenting things. Approaching events were never coming, but always upcoming. It was not true that he wrote memorandums praising himself and recommending that his authority be enhanced to include all combat operations; he wrote memoranda. And the prose in the memoranda of other officers was always turgid, stilted, or ambiguous. The errors of others were inevitable deplorable. Regulations were stringent, and his data never was obtained from a reliable source, but always were obtained. General Peckem was frequently constrained. Things were often incumbent upon him, and he frequently acted with the greatest reluctance. It never escaped his memory that neither black nor white was a color, and he never used verbal when he meant oral. He could quote glibly from Plato, Nietzsche, Montaigne, Theodore Roosevelt, the Marquis de Sade and Warren G. Harding. A virgin audience like Colonel Scheisskopf [his new underling] was grist for General Peckem's mill, a stimulating opportunity to throw open his whole dazzling erudite treasure house of puns, wisecracks, slanders, homilies, anecdotes, proverbs, epigrams, apothegms, bon mots and other pungent sayings. He beamed urbanely as he began orienting Colonel Scheisskopf to his new surroundings. ~ Joseph Heller, #NFDB
606:The hadith, insofar as they addressed issues not dealt with in the Quran, would become an indispensable tool in the formation of Islamic law. However, in their earliest stages, the hadith were muddled and totally unregulated, making their authentication almost impossible. Worse, as the first generation of Companions passed on, the community had to rely increasingly on the reports that the second generation of Muslims (known as the Tabiun) had received from the first; when the second generation died, the community was yet another step removed from the actual words and deeds of the Prophet. Thus, with each successive generation, the “chain of transmission,” or isnad, that was supposed to authenticate the hadith grew longer and more convoluted, so that in less than two centuries after Muhammad’s death, there were already some seven hundred thousand hadith being circulated throughout the Muslim lands, the great majority of which were unquestionably fabricated by individuals who sought to legitimize their own particular beliefs and practices by connecting them with the Prophet. After a few generations, almost anything could be given the status of hadith if one simply claimed to trace its transmission back to Muhammad. In fact, the Hungarian scholar Ignaz Goldziher has documented numerous hadith the transmitters of which claimed were derived from Muhammad but which were in reality verses from the Torah and Gospels, bits of rabbinic sayings, ancient Persian maxims, passages of Greek philosophy, Indian proverbs, and even an almost word-for-word reproduction of the Lord’s Prayer. By the ninth century, when Islamic law was being fashioned, there were so many false hadith circulating through the community that Muslim legal scholars somewhat whimsically classified them into two categories: lies told for material gain and lies told for ideological advantage. In ~ Reza Aslan, #NFDB
607:Fear of the Lord The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. —PSALM 111:10 The motto of the wisdom teachers is that the fear of the LORD (showing holy respect and reverence for God and shunning evil) is the starting point and essence of wisdom. When you have a fear of the LORD, you express that respect by submission to His will. • “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”—Job 28:28 NASB • “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”—Proverbs 9:10 NASB • “The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility.”—Proverbs 15:33 NASB • “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” —Ecclesiastes 12:13 NASB Wisdom is not acquired by a mechanical formula, but through a right relationship with God. It seems that following God’s principles and commandments should be the obvious conclusion of our thankfulness for all He has done for us. In today’s church world, many people have lost the concept of fearing God. The soft side of Christianity has preached only the “love of God.” We haven’t balanced the scale by teaching the other side, His justice and judgment—fear, anger, wrath, obedience, and punishment. Just because some pastors don’t teach it from their pulpits doesn’t make it less a reality. As with involvement with drugs, alcohol, lust, and envy, we must respect the consequences of our actions, or we will be destroyed by them. Our safeguard to resist these life destroyers is to have a proper respect for God. Then we will be obedient to His precepts and stay away from the fire of temptation. God lights the way for our paths, but we must be willing to follow His lighted path. ~ Emilie Barnes, #NFDB
608:Continental Divide
Handcuffed by time,
I travel across this broad
beautiful Americamesas, deserts,
peaks with clouds caught
upon them,
the Continental Divide
where a dropp of rain
must decide
whether to roll east or west
like the rest of us.
I speak to a group
of avid, aging Californians
about daring to embrace
the second half of life.
The passions of the old
are deeper
than any wells
the young can plumb.
Meanwhile, you are dying
in New York Hospitalyour beautiful face drained
of blood,
your arms too heavy
to seize the day,
your shining eyes
dimmed by pain
& drugs to dull it.
You have boycotted food,
yet all you can do is apologize
to your grieving children
for the trouble you cause
by dying.
42
'Don't worry, I'm fine,'
you say, eternal mother.
Solitary as you will ever be,
our love cannot save you
from this last loneliness,
this last sea voyage
where no one
dresses for dinner.
Meanwhile
I am listening to a doctor
who claims we can all live
to be a hundred,
a hundred and twenty,
If only we expand
our arteries with exercise,
our genitals with sex,
our brains with crossword puzzles,
poems & proverbs . . .
Wingless, we can fly
over death
if only the body
-that laggardconsents.
I suppose the dropp of rain decided
to roll west with the setting sun,
taking you along.
The Californian doctor is quoting
Victor Hugo now:
the eyes of the young show flame,
the eyes of the old, light.
More light, Doctor!
How can we accept
time's jagged jaws
even as we are being eaten?
How can we accept
43
the extinguishing of eyes?
Doctoris death the aberration.
or is life?
And as for lovewhy is it never enough
to save us?
~ Erica Jong,#NFDB
609:~ Emilie BarnesJw~ Emilie BarnesZc2til~ Emilie Barnes-t-Zvtl~ Emilie Barnes- ~ Emilie BarnesO-wti 71.LZwd~ Emilie Barnes-tL
A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
-PROVERBS 18:24
A good paraphrase of this opening Scripture is, "A woman of too many friends will be broken in pieces." Indiscriminately chosen friends may bring trouble, but a genuine friend sticks with you through thick and thin.
Our friends have a positive or negative effect upon our lives. Many of us have told our children to be careful who they run with because people are known by the company they keep. There are certain areas in our lives where we have no choice about who we are around, such as work, church, neighbors, and social clubs. In these settings we are thrown together. How ever, in our family and private times we can be very discriminating about those with whom we associate. We must realize that our time and energy are among our most precious assets. Therefore it's important to make wise choices in the selection of people we will
spend time with. Are they people who build us up and encourage us to be better people than we would be by ourselves?
Why have you chosen the people who are closest to you? How do they contribute to who you are? It's not that you cast off those who don't contribute positively to your life, but I encourage you to reevaluate your relationships and see how you respond when you are around certain people. Do you respect them? Do they encourage you to grow? Do you have a kindred spirit? Do you share like values? If you can't answer in the affirmative, you might want to review how much time you spend with these people. Some changes might be in order.
You have a limited amount of time to spend with others, so select wisely; much of who you are-positive as well as negative-will be formed by the friends you keep. ~ Emilie Barnes,#NFDB
610:Be a Listener When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. —PROVERBS 10:19 I’ve heard it said that God gave us two ears and only one mouth because He wants us to listen twice as much as we speak. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had to apologize for something I haven’t said. It’s much easier and really more natural for us to speak rather than listen. We have to learn to listen. It takes discipline to keep from talking. As a parent, spouse, sibling, or friend, we need to be known as good listeners. And while listening, we’d do well to remember that there are always two sides to every story. Postpone any judgment until you’ve heard all the evidence—then wait some more. Eleanor Roosevelt, in one of her many speeches, stated, “A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and in all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world no one is all-knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity.” Our Scripture verse talks to us about being more of a listener than a talker. Too many words can lead to putting one’s foot in one’s mouth. The more we speak, the greater the chance of being offensive. The wise person will restrain her speech. Listening seldom gets us into trouble, but our mouths certainly cause transgressions. When others realize that you are a true listener, they will tell you important matters. They will open up about their lives and their dreams. They will entrust you with a bit of themselves and their hearts. Never violate that trust. You have the best model possible in your relationship with God. Without fail, He listens to your every need and hope. Prayer: Father God, thank You for giving me two good ears to hear. Hold my tongue when I want to lash out. I want to be a better hearer. Amen. ~ Emilie Barnes, #NFDB
611:There’s a Good Book about goodness and how to be good and so forth, but there’s no Evil Book about evil and how to be bad. The Devil has no prophets to write his Ten Commandments and no team of authors to write his biography. His case has gone completely by default. We know nothing about him but a lot of fairy stories from our parents and schoolmasters. He has no book from which we can learn the nature of evil in all its forms, with parables about evil people, proverbs about evil people, folk-lore about evil people. All we have is the living example of the people who are least good, or our own intuition. ‘So,’ continued Bond, warming to his argument, ‘Le Chiffre was serving a wonderful purpose, a really vital purpose, perhaps the best and highest purpose of all. By his evil existence, which foolishly I have helped to destroy, he was creating a norm of badness by which, and by which alone, an opposite norm of goodness could exist. We were privileged, in our short knowledge of him, to see and estimate his wickedness and we emerge from the acquaintanceship better and more virtuous men.’ ‘Bravo,’ said Mathis. ‘I’m proud of you. You ought to be tortured every day. I really must remember to do something evil this evening. I must start at once. I have a few marks in my favour – only small ones, alas,’ he added ruefully – ‘but I shall work fast now that I have seen the light. What a splendid time I’m going to have. Now, let’s see, where shall I start, murder, arson, rape? But no, these are peccadilloes. I must really consult the good Marquis de Sade. I am a child, an absolute child in these matters.’ His face fell. ‘Ah, but our conscience, my dear Bond. What shall we do with him while we are committing some juicy sin? That is a problem. He is a crafty person this conscience and very old, as old as the first family of apes which gave birth to him. We must give that problem really careful thought or we shall spoil our enjoyment. Of course, we should murder him first, but he is a tough bird. It will be difficult, but if we succeed, we could be worse even than Le Chiffre. ~ Ian Fleming, #NFDB
612:TRAGIC RACISM HERETOFORE IGNORED Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all. Proverbs 22:2 Planned Parenthood’s founder Margaret Sanger was a racial eugenicist, a proponent of the idea that through birth control, abortion, and sterilization of the “unfit” we could create a “cleaner” human race and enable “the cultivation of the better racial elements.” She actually addressed this with the Ku Klux Klan. Yet far from repudiating Sanger, liberal leaders defend her. Hillary Clinton expresses great admiration for her; Barack Obama praises Planned Parenthood and asks God to bless what they do; the New York Times has mentioned Sanger as a replacement for Andrew Jackson on the twenty-dollar bill. When the media went into hysterics trying to ban the Confederate Battle Flag—while simultaneously ignoring the revelations about Planned Parenthood harvesting the organs of aborted babies, and babies born alive, for profit—I posted a graphic of the rebel flag alongside the Planned Parenthood logo with this question: “Which symbol killed 90,000 black babies last year?” Our government—using your tax dollars—is not to be subsidizing abortion. It’s illegal and immoral. Yet, Planned Parenthood receives more than a million tax dollars out of your pocket every single day. It shouldn’t get a penny. Good news: light now shines on this darkness. The abortionists were caught on tape nibbling lunch and sipping wine while nonchalantly pondering where to spend the profits made from bartering the bodies of innocent babies . . . just another day at the office. I know that it sounds unbelievable, like something from a macabre horror movie script—but the exposé must stir you to action, lest a nation, through complacency, accept the most revolting mission of Margaret Sanger. SWEET FREEDOM IN Action Today, don’t just pray for unborn children. Demand that Congress stop funding abortion mills; elect a pro-life president; support pro-life centers that provide resources to give parents a real choice in this debate—knowing that choosing life is ultimately the beautiful choice. ~ Sarah Palin, #NFDB
613:Lives
I.
O the enormous avenues of the Holy Land,
the temple terraces!
What has become of the Brahman
who explained the proverbs to me?
Of that time, of that place,
I can still see even the old women!
I remember silver hours and sunlight by the rivers,
the hand of the country on my shoulder
and our carresses standing on the spicy plains.-A flight of scarlet pigeons thunders round my thoughts.
An exile here, I once had a stage on which
to play all the masterpieces of literature.
I would show you unheard-of riches.
I note the story of the treasures you discovered.
I see the outcome.
My wisdom is as scorned as chaos.
What is my nothingness
to the stupor that awaits you?
II.
I am the inventor more deserving far
than all those who have preceeded me;
a musician, moreover, who has discovered
something like the key of love.
At present, a country gentleman
of a bleak land with a sober sky,
I try to rouse myself with the memory
of my beggar childhood,
my apprenticeship or my arrival in wooden shoes,
of polemics, of five or six widowings, and of certain convivalities
when my level head kept me from rising
to the diapason of my comrades.
I do not regret my old portion of divine gaiety:
88
the sober air of this bleak countryside
feeds vigorously my dreadful skepticism.
But since this skepticism cannot,
henceforth be put to use, and since,
moreover, I am dedicated to a new torment,-I expect to become a very vicious madman.
III.
In a loft, where I was shut in when I was twelve,
I got to know the world,
I illustrated the human comedy.
I learned history in a wine cellar.
In a northern city, at some nocturnal revel,
I met all the women of the old masters.
In an old arcade in Paris,
I was taught the classical sciences.
In a magnificent dwelling encircled by the entire Orient,
I accomplished my prodigious work
and spent my illustrious retreat.
I churned up my blood.
My duty has been remitted.
I must not even think of that anymore.
I am really from beyond
the tomb, and no commissions.
~ Arthur Rimbaud,#NFDB
614:1 Each one shall sit at table with his own cup and spoon, and with his own repentance. Each one's own business shall be his most important affair, and provide his own remedies. They have neglected bowl and plate. Have you a wooden fork? Yes, each monk has a wooden fork as well as a potato. 2 Each one shall wipe away tears with his own saint, when three bells hold in store a hot afternoon. Each one is supposed to mind his own heart, with its conscience, night and morning. Another turn on the wheel: ho hum! And observe the Abbot! Time to go to bed in a straw blanket. 3 Plenty of bread for everyone between prayers and the psalter: will you recite another? Merci, and Miserere. Always mind both the clock and the Abbot until eternity. Miserere. 4 Details of the Rule are all liquid and solid. What canon was the first to announce regimentation before us? Mind the step on the way down! Yes, I dare say you are right, Father. I believe you; I believe you. I believe it is easier when they have ice water and even a lemon. Each one can sit at table with his own lemon, and mind his own conscience. 5 Can we agree that the part about the lemon is regular? In any case, it is better to have sheep than peacocks, and cows rather than a chained leopard says Modest, in one of his proverbs. The monastery, being owner of a communal rowboat, is the antechamber of heaven. Surely that ought to be enough. 6 Each one can have some rain after Vespers on a hot afternoon, but ne quid nimis, or the purpose of the Order will be forgotten. We shall send you hyacinths and a sweet millennium. Everything the monastery provides is very pleasant to see and to sell for nothing. What is baked smells fine. There is a sign of God on every leaf that nobody sees in the garden. The fruit trees are there on purpose, even when no one is looking. Just put the apples in the basket. In Kentucky there is also room for a little cheese. Each one shall fold his own napkin, and neglect the others. 7 Rain is always very silent in the night, under such gentle cathedrals. Yes, I have taken care of the lamp, Miserere. Have you a patron saint, and an angel? Thank you. Even though the nights are never dangerous, I have one of everything. [1499.jpg] -- from Selected Poems of Thomas Merton, by Thomas Merton
~ Thomas Merton, A Practical Program for Monks
,#NFDB
615:One of the most disputed Old Testament texts that could show distinct personality for more than one person is Proverbs 8:22–31. Although the earlier part of the chapter could be understood as merely a personification of “wisdom” for literary effect, showing wisdom calling to the simple and inviting them to learn, vv. 22–31, one could argue, say things about “wisdom” that seem to go far beyond mere personification. Speaking of the time when God created the earth, “wisdom” says, “Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind” (Prov. 8:30–31 NIV). To work as a “craftsman” at God’s side in the creation suggests in itself the idea of distinct personhood, and the following phrases might seem even more convincing, for only real persons can be “filled with delight day after day” and can rejoice in the world and delight in mankind.7 But if we decide that “wisdom” here really refers to the Son of God before he became man, there is a difficulty. Verses 22–25 (RSV) seem to speak of the creation of this person who is called “wisdom”: The LORD created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth. Does this not indicate that this “wisdom” was created? In fact, it does not. The Hebrew word that commonly means “create” (bārā’) is not used in verse 22; rather the word is qānāh, which occurs eighty-four times in the Old Testament and almost always means “to get, acquire.” The NASB is most clear here: “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his way” (similarly KJV). (Note this sense of the word in Gen. 39:1; Ex. 21:2; Prov. 4:5, 7; 23:23; Eccl. 2:7; Isa. 1:3 [”owner”].) This is a legitimate sense and, if wisdom is understood as a real person, would mean only that God the Father began to direct and make use of the powerful creative work of God the Son at the time creation began8: the Father summoned the Son to work with him in the activity of creation. The expression “brought forth” in verses 24 and 25 is a different term but could carry a similar meaning: the Father began to direct and make use of the powerful creative work of the Son in the creation of the universe. ~ Wayne Grudem, #NFDB
616:I DESIGNED YOU to live in union with Me. This union does not negate who you are; it actually makes you more fully yourself. When you try to live independently of Me, you experience emptiness and dissatisfaction. You may gain the whole world and yet lose everything that really counts. Find fulfillment through living close to Me, yielding to My purposes for you. Though I may lead you along paths that feel alien to you, trust that I know what I am doing. If you follow Me wholeheartedly, you will discover facets of yourself that were previously hidden. I know you intimately —far better than you know yourself. In union with Me, you are complete. In closeness to Me, you are transformed more and more into the one I designed you to be. “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” MARK 8 : 36 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. PSALM 139 : 13 – 16 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 CORINTHIANS 3 : 17 – 18 September 17 YOU WILL NOT FIND MY PEACE by engaging in excessive planning: attempting to control what will happen to you in the future. That is a commonly practiced form of unbelief. When your mind spins with multiple plans, Peace may sometimes seem to be within your grasp; yet it always eludes you. Just when you think you have prepared for all possibilities, something unexpected pops up and throws things into confusion. I did not design the human mind to figure out the future. That is beyond your capability. I crafted your mind for continual communication with Me. Bring Me all your needs, your hopes and fears. Commit everything into My care. Turn from the path of planning to the path of Peace. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 PETER 5 : 6 – 7 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. PROVERBS 16 : 9 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. PSALM 37 : 5 (NKJV) ~ Sarah Young, #NFDB
617:The origin of the Jews is revealed by the origin of their tribal
name. The word "Jew" was unknown in ancient history. The
Jews were then known as Hebrews, and the word Hebrew tells us
all about this people that we need to know. The Encyclopaedia
Britannica defines Hebrew as originating in the Aramaic word,
Ibhray, but strangely enough, offers no indication as to what the
word means. Most references, such as Webster's International
Dictionary, 1952, give the accepted definition of Hebrew. Webster
says Hebrew derives from the Aramaic Ebri, which in turn
19
derives from the Hebrew word, Ibhri, lit. "one who is from across
the river. 1. A Member of one of a group of tribes in the northern
branch of the Semites, including Israelites."
That is plain enough. Hebrew means "one who is from across
the river." Rivers were often the boundaries of ancient nations,
and one from across the river meant, simply, an alien. In every
country of the ancient world, the Hebrews were known as aliens.
The word also, in popular usage, meant "one who should not be
trusted until he has identified himself." Hebrew in all ancient
literature was written as "Habiru". This word appears frequently
in the Bible and in Egyptian literature. In the Bible, Habiru is
used interchangeably with "sa-gaz", meaning "cutthroat". In all
of Egyptian literature, wherever the word Habiru appears, it is
written with the word "sa-gaz" written beside it. Thus the Egyptians
always wrote of the Jews as "the cutthroat bandits from
across the river". For five thousand years, the Egyptian scribes
identified the Jews in this manner. Significantly, they are not
referred to except by these two characters. The great Egyptian
scholar, C. J. Gadd, noted in his book, The Fall of Nineveh,
London, 1923,
"Habiru is written with an ideogram. . . sa-gaz. . . signifying
'cut-throats'."
In the Bible, wherever the word Habiru, meaning the Hebrews,
appears, it is used to mean bandit or cutthroat. Thus, in Isaiah
1:23, "Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves,"
the word for thieves here is Habiru. Proverbs XXVIII:24 ,
"Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, 'It is no
transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer," sa-gaz
is used here for destroyer, but the word destroyer also appears
sometimes in the Bible as Habiru. Hosea VI:9 , "And as troops of
robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the
way by consent; for they commit lewdness." The word for robbers
in this verse is Habiru. ~ Eustace Clarence Mullins,#NFDB
618:When He Needs Direction A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. PROVERBS 16:9 WE ALL NEED DIRECTION from the Lord. In our culture today we encounter so much deception, and without the Holy Spirit leading us we will have a hard time distinguishing the truth from a lie. And how can we make sound decisions without His wisdom? The Holy Spirit is our guide in all things, and it is He who gives wisdom, knowledge, and revelation. “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:13). We can make all the plans we want, and we do need to do that, but ultimately it will still be the direction of the Holy Spirit that will direct us on the right path. He will usher us into all that is right and true for our lives. Your husband needs knowledge and guidance from the Lord every day, and you can pray that he will have it. Pray he will clearly hear the voice of God speaking to him above all voices—even those of well-meaning people, or those who want to influence him for their own gain, or the voice of the enemy trying to take him off the path God has for him. Pray the same for yourself every time you ask God for direction on behalf of your husband. The Holy Spirit is the only true guide into all that is right for his life, your life, and your lives together. My Prayer to God LORD, I pray You would guide my husband through this day and in every decision he must make. Enable him to always discern the truth from a lie. Keep him from becoming blinded by deception and led down the wrong path. Teach him to search Your Word so that the truth is in his heart. Give him a fresh flow of Your wisdom. Put in him a holy barometer that has a deception meter ringing loudly in his mind and heart whenever he is about to be swayed away from Your best for his life. Lead him far from all that is not Your will. Enable him to hear Your voice instructing him in the way he should go. Keep him from being influenced by wrong voices who don’t have his best interests at heart. Enable him to hear Your voice above all, telling him the right thing to do. I pray You would guide me as well. Help me to hear Your voice in every decision either of us must make so that I can be a help and support to him. Give him the desire to pray with me about decisions that must be made. Only You, Lord, know what is best for him, and for me, and for us together. And only Your Holy Spirit can guide us in all truth. Enable both of us to know Your truth in our hearts at all times. In Jesus’ name I pray. ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
619:How Do You Tackle Your Work
How do you tackle your work each day?
Are you scared of the job you find?
Do you grapple the task that comes your way
With a confident, easy mind?
Do you stand right up to the work ahead
Or fearfully pause to view it?
Do you start to toil with a sense of dread?
Or feel that you're going to do it?
You can do as much as you think you can,
But you'll never accomplish more;
If you're afraid of yourself, young man,
There's little for you in store.
For failure comes from the inside first,
It's there if we only knew it,
And you can win, though you face the worst,
If you feel that you're going to do it.
Success! It's found in the soul of you,
And not in the realm of luck!
The world will furnish the work to do,
But you must provide the pluck.
You can do whatever you think you can,
It's all in the way you view it.
It's all in the start you make, young man:
You must feel that you're going to do it.
How do you tackle your work each day?
With confidence clear, or dread?
What to yourself do you stop and say
When a new task lies ahead?
What is the thought that is in your mind?
Is fear ever running through it?
If so, just tackle the next you find
By thinking you're going to do it.
—From 'A Heap o' Linin',' by Edgar A. Guest
I tackle my terrible job each day
With a fear that is well defined;
352
And I grapple the task that comes my way
With no confidence in my mind.
I try to evade the work ahead,
As I fearfully pause to view it,
And I start to toil with a sense of dread,
And doubt that I'm going to do it.
I can't do as much as I think I can,
And I never accomplish more.
I am scared to death of myself, old man,
As I may have observed before.
I've read the proverbs of Charley Schwab,
Carnegie, and Marvin Hughitt;
But whenever I tackle a difficult job,
O gosh! I hate to do it!
I try to believe in my vaunted power
With that confident kind of bluff,
But somebody tells me The Conning Tower
Is nothing but awful stuff.
And I take up my impotent pen that night,
And idly and sadly chew it,
As I try to write something merry and bright,
And I know that I shall not do it.
And that's how I tackle my work each day—
With terror and fear and dread—
And all I can see is a long array
Of empty columns ahead.
And those are the thoughts that are in my mind,
And that's about all there's to it.
As long as there's work, of whatever kind,
I'm certain I cannot do it.
~ Edgar Albert Guest,#NFDB
620:When I Find It Difficult to Trust Him Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. PROVERBS 3:5 HAS YOUR HUSBAND ever done something you feel has violated your trust in him? It doesn’t have to be anything as terrible as infidelity. It could be financial irresponsibility, or some kind of lie or deception, or hurtful treatment of you, or a confidence he shared with someone else. Whatever it is, you can find yourself wary—always suspecting he may do the same thing again. Yet there must be trust in your marriage relationship or you can never move forward. Living in such a close relationship without trust is not living at all. It’s remarkably sad to not be able to trust the one we are supposed to trust the most. If this has happened to you, it must be remedied, rectified, and resolved. Only God can truly restore the kind of trust you need to have. If your husband has done something to lose your trust, pray that God will lead him to complete repentance. Pray also that your heart will be willing to forgive him. This can be especially hard if he is a repeat offender, but it is not too hard for God to work forgiveness in your heart if you are willing. Ask God to set you free of all anger, frustration, disappointment, fear, and resentment. The most important thing to do after you have prayed for your husband’s repentance and your forgiveness is to pray you will trust God to work a miracle in your husband’s heart and yours as well. You have to first decide that You will trust God with all your heart and not lean on your own understanding. Then He will enable you to trust your husband again. My Prayer to God LORD, I confess any time when I have lost faith in my husband and don’t have full trust in him. I know that is not the way You want me to live. Help us both to have faith in each other and not live in constant distrust, bracing ourselves for what violation of trust is going to happen next. Where my distrust is unfounded, I pray You would help me to see that and enable me to step out in trust of him again. Where my distrust is legitimate because he has truly violated that trust, I ask for a miracle of restoration. First of all, I pray You would lead my husband to total repentance. Bring him to his knees before You in confession so he can be restored. I pray he will be sincerely apologetic to me as well. Second, help me to forgive him so completely that I can trust him fully without reservation again. And last, but most important of all, help me to trust You with all my heart to rectify this situation. Work powerfully in my husband to make him trustworthy, and do a work in me to make me trusting. Help me to not depend on my own reasoning, but rather to depend on Your ability to transform us both. In Jesus’ name I pray. ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
621:He [Abraham] was sitting in the opening of the tent.... Sarah heard from the opening of the tent. (Genesis 18:1, 10) Rabbi Judah opened "'Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land' (Proverbs 31:23). Come and see: The Blessed Holy One has ascended in glory. He is hidden, concealed, far beyond. There is no one in the world, nor has there ever been, who can understand His wisdom or withstand Him. He is hidden, concealed, transcendent, beyond, beyond. The beings up above and the creatures down below-- none of them can comprehend. All they can say is: "Blessed be the Presence of YHVH in His place' (Ezekiel 3:12) The ones below proclaim that He is above: 'His Presence is above the heavens' (Psalms 113:4) the ones above proclaim that He is below: 'Your Presence is over all the earth' (Psalms 57:12). Finally all of them, above and below, declare: 'Blessed be the Presence of YHVH wherever He is!' For He is unknowable. No one has ever been able to identify Him. How, then, can you say: 'Her husband is known in the gates'? Her husband is the Blessed Holy One! Indeed, He is known in the gates. He is known and grasped to the degree that one opens the gates of imagination! The capacity to connect with the spirit of wisdom, to imagine in one's heart-mind-- this is how God becomes known. Therefore 'Her husband is known in the gates,' through the gates of imagination. But that He be known as He really is? No one has ever been able to attain such knowledge of Him." Rabbi Shim'on said "'Her husband is known in the gates.' Who are these gates? The ones addressed in the Psalm: 'O gates, lift up your heads! Be lifted up, openings of eternity, so the King of Glory may come!' (Psalms 24:7) Through these gates, these spheres on high, the Blessed Holy One becomes known. Were it not so, no one could commune with Him. Come and see: Neshamah of a human being is unknowable except through limbs of the body, subordinates of neshamah who carry out what she designs. Thus she is known and unknown. The Blessed Holy One too is known and unknown. For He is Neshamah of neshamah, Pneuma of pneuma, completely hidden away; but through these gates, openings for neshumah, the Blessed Holy One becomes known. Come and see: There is opening within opening, level beyond level. Through these the Glory of God becomes known. 'The opening of the tent' is the opening of Righteousness, as the Psalmist says: 'Open for me the gates of righteousness...' (Psalms 118:19). This is the first opening to enter. Through this opening, all other high openings come into view. One who attains the clarity of this opening discovers all the other openings, for all of them abide here. [bk1sm.gif] -- from Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment: (Classics of Western Spirituality), Translated by Daniel Chanan Matt
~ Moses de Leon, The Gates (from Openings)
,#NFDB
622:When We Should Not Rush into Anything It is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, and he sins who hastens with his feet. PROVERBS 19:2 FAR TOO OFTEN a hasty decision made without enough knowledge, thought, or prayer has gotten a husband and wife into trouble. And when one spouse is guilty of making that hasty decision over the objections of the other, it can cause serious friction between them. How many times have we, or someone else we know, done something that “seemed like a good idea,” but it only seemed like a good idea because God was never consulted? The book of Proverbs says, “He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind” (Proverbs 11:29). Doing foolish and impulsive things troubles a spouse, which definitely troubles the house. If you or your husband has ever rushed into anything without proper consideration, without praying enough about it until you had the leading of the Lord, without talking it out between you, or without gathering all the knowledge and information you needed on the subject, this may have become a prelude to trouble in your house. In fact, it can break down trust in a marriage to the point that it becomes irreparable in the eyes of the spouse who is the sensible one. No one will continually pay the price for a spouse who does impulsive or irresponsible things that can jeopardize their future. At some point it becomes too much to bear. Pray this doesn’t happen to you. Ask God to give you and your husband wisdom in all things. Pray that neither of you ever hastily rushes into something that may be out of God’s will for your life. My Prayer to God LORD, I pray You would give my husband and me wisdom, knowledge, and understanding so that we don’t make hasty decisions without first seeking You for direction. If either of us is ever about to do something like that at any time, I pray You would give us such clear revelation that it stops us in our tracks before we make a serious mistake. Help both of us to never trouble our house by being impulsive and quick to cater to what we think is right instead of waiting to hear from You so that we do what we know is right. Don’t let us get off the path You have for us by taking even one step in the wrong direction that will lead to problems for us later on. Pull us back from our own way and help us live according to Yours. Keep us from pursuing our own desires over Your will. Wake us up to the truth whenever we have willfully stepped into the path of deception. Keep us from buying something we cannot afford, or committing to something we are not supposed to do, or investing time and money in something You will not bless. Keep our eagerness to have something from controlling our decisions. Give us wisdom, and let our good judgment lead us in the right way. Enable us to have a calm, sensible, Spirit-led approach to every decision we make. In Jesus’ name I pray. ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
623:When He Has Lost Vision for Tomorrow Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. PROVERBS 29:18 KJV WHEN YOUR HUSBAND loses his vision for a bright tomorrow, it means he has lost sight of his purpose and his reason to get up in the morning. He has misplaced his sense of God’s calling on his life and his reason to keep fighting the good fight. (Or perhaps he never had a sense of his purpose and calling in the first place.) He may also have lost his reason to keep working and trying. He can even lose his drive to face the day. Having a husband who has lost sight of his future—or your future together—is not a good thing. The Bible says people can’t survive without a vision. That’s why the enemy of our soul comes to steal away the vision we have from God, so that he can kill our hope and destroy our sense of purpose. But your prayers for your husband to have a clear vision for his future and your future together can restore all that and make an enormous difference in his life. Lack of vision happens gradually. It creeps in a day at a time, a thought at a time, a disappointment at a time. And it can happen to anyone. We get too busy. We get discouraged or exhausted. We work too hard for too long. We try to do right, but things keep going wrong. This could be happening to your husband right now without either of you even realizing it. If you’re not certain how your husband feels about the future, ask him and then pray accordingly. If you can tell he has lost his vision, your prayer can help him find it and be able to hear from God again. My Prayer to God LORD, I pray You would give my husband a clear and strong vision for the future—not only his future, but also our future together as a couple. If the many challenges he has faced, or the disappointments he has experienced, have accumulated enough to take away his sense of hopeful anticipation, I pray You would help him to see that his future is in You and not in outside circumstances. Give him the understanding he needs to know that the value of his life and purpose are not determined by external situations. Enable him to see that success is not in how well things are going at the moment, but it’s in how close he walks with You in prayer and in Your Word. Help him to understand that true vision for his life and our lives together comes only from You. When my husband is feeling hopeless, I pray he would realize that his hope is found in You. Where his vision has become clouded because of futile thoughts, wrong actions, or advanced apathy, I pray You would enable him to comprehend that he is wholly dependent upon You for proper thinking and right actions. Where he has overworked or overworried, I pray You would revive him again. Even if he doesn’t know specifics about his future, help him recognize that he has a bright one. Don’t allow him to waste away in his own disappointments. Restore his spiritual sight so he can see that his future is found in You. In Jesus’ name I pray. ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
624:When I Know I Must Speak Pleasant Words Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. PROVERBS 16:24 WHAT ARE THE FIRST WORDS you speak to your spouse when you both get up in the morning? Are they pleasant and positive? Are they covered with the love and joy of the Lord? Or are they powered by yesterday’s resentments, disappointments, and unfulfilled expectations? It is of utmost importance that a wife sets the tone of the day for the entire family, but especially for her husband. It is easy for you as a wife to not be ahead of your emotions and thoughts before you talk to your husband in the morning, especially when you have a lot on your plate, too much to do, you don’t feel well, you’re upset at your husband, or you haven’t had enough time with the Lord to get your heart right. And if you have been up in the night, for whatever reason, and haven’t had enough sleep, your mind can be set on a negative track long before your husband wakes up. You may have already thought up many things you want to communicate to him that do not include pleasant words. If you dive in with these issues before he is ready to talk, it can set the day on the wrong course. The thing to do, right when you wake up in the morning, is ask God to give you pleasant words that bring “sweetness to the soul” of your husband when you first see him—even if you don’t think he deserves it at that moment. When God gives you the right attitude first thing in the morning, you’ll see what a difference it makes in your day and night. Your husband will respond differently than he would if your words were harsh. A soft word can turn away much suffering and bring great healing. It’s not worth it to start your day any other way. My Prayer to God LORD, I pray You would help me to pause every morning when I wake up to thank You for the day and ask You to fill me afresh with Your love and joy, so that the first words that come out of my mouth to my husband are pleasant. Help me to hesitate before I speak to him for the first time in order to plan how I can set a positive tone for the day. Make me to be a woman with a gentle and loving spirit so that uplifting words flow naturally from me. I pray that the next time I see or talk to my husband, my words will bring sweetness to his soul and health to his body. May they also bring sweetness and health to the very soul of our marriage. I know there are times when pleasant and sweet is not my first reaction. I realize I can sometimes worry and allow thoughts and words that are not glorifying to You. At those times I depend on You to transform me so that I can be a strong conduit for Your love to my husband and family. Help me to be a person he wants to be around. Break in me any bad habits of negative, faithless, or critical thinking. Help me to forgive anything he has done or said that is still in my mind. I release the past to You so I can do what is right today. Help me to always consider the state of my heart before I speak. In Jesus’ name I pray. ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
625:CALL on the present day and night for nought,
Save what by yesterday was brought.
-----
THE sea is flowing ever,
The land retains it never.
-----
BE stirring, man, while yet the day is clear;
The night when none can work fast Draweth near.
-----
WHEN the heavy-laden sigh,
Deeming help and hope gone by,
Oft, with healing power is heard,
Comfort-fraught, a kindly word.
-----
How vast is mine inheritance, how glorious and sublime!
For time mine own possession is, the land I till is time!
-----
UNWARY saith,--ne'er lived a man more true;
The deepest heart, the highest head he knew,--
"In ev'ry place and time thou'lt find availing
Uprightness, judgment, kindliness unfailing."
-----
THOUGH the bards whom the Orient sun bath bless'd
Are greater than we who dwell in the west,
Yet in hatred of those whom our equals we find.
In this we're not in the least behind.
-----
WOULD we let our envy burst,
Feed its hunger fully first!
To keep our proper place,
We'll show our bristles more;
With hawks men all things chase,
Except the savage boar.
-----
BY those who themselves more bravely have fought
A hero's praise will be joyfully told.
The worth of man can only be taught
By those who have suffer'd both heat and cold.
-----
"WHEREFORE is truth so far from our eyes,
Buried as though in a distant land?"
None at the proper moment are wise!
Could they properly understand,
Truth would appear in her own sweet guise,
Beauteous, gentle, and close at hand.
-----
WHY these inquiries make,
Where charity may flow?
Cast in the flood thy cake,--
Its eater, who will know?
-----
ONCE when I a spider had kill'd,
Then methought: wast right or wrong?
That we both to these times should belong,
This had God in His goodness willed.
-----
MOTLEY this congregation is, for, lo!
At the communion kneel both friend and foe.
-----
IF the country I'm to show,
Thou must on the housetop go.
-----
A MAN with households twain
Ne'er finds attention meet,
A house wherein two women reign
Is ne'er kept clean and neat.
-----
BLESS, thou dread Creator,
Bless this humble fane;
Man may build them greater,--
More they'll not contain.
-----
LET this house's glory rise,
Handed to far ages down,
And the son his honour prize.
As the father his renown.
-----
O'ER the Mediterranean sea
Proudly hath the Orient sprung;
Who loves Hafis and knows him, he
Knows what Caldron hath sung.
-----
IF the ass that bore the Saviour
Were to Mecca driven, he
Would not alter, but would be
Still an ass in his behavior.
-----
THE flood of passion storms with fruitless strife
'Gainst the unvanquished solid land.--
It throws poetic pearls upon the strand,
And thus is gain'd the prize of life.
-----
WHEN so many minstrels there are,
How it pains me, alas, to know it!
Who from the earth drives poetry far?
Who but the poet!
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Book Of Proverbs
,#NFDB
626:If we take God’s Word seriously, we should avoid debt when possible. In those rare cases where we go into debt, we should make every effort to get out as soon as we can. We should never undertake debt without prayerful consideration and wise counsel. Our questions should be, Why go into debt? Is the risk called for? Will the benefits of becoming servants to the lender really outweigh the costs? What should we ask ourselves before going into debt? Before we incur debt, we should ask ourselves some basic spiritual questions: Is the fact that I don’t have enough resources to pay cash for something God’s way of telling me it isn’t his will for me to buy it? Or is it possible that this thing may have been God’s will but poor choices put me in a position where I can’t afford to buy it? Wouldn’t I do better to learn God’s lesson by foregoing it until—by his provision and my diligence—I save enough money to buy it? What I would call the “debt mentality” is a distorted perspective that involves invalid assumptions: • We need more than God has given us. • God doesn’t know best what our needs are. • God has failed to provide for our needs, forcing us to take matters into our own hands. • If God doesn’t come through the way we think he should, we can find another way. • Just because today’s income is sufficient to make our debt payments, tomorrow’s will be too (i.e., our circumstances won’t change). Those with convictions against borrowing will normally find ways to avoid it. Those without a firm conviction against going into debt will inevitably find the “need” to borrow. The best credit risks are those who won’t borrow in the first place. The more you’re inclined to go into debt, the more probable it is that you shouldn’t. Ask yourself, “Is the money I’ll be obligated to repay worth the value I’ll receive by getting the money or possessions now? When it comes time for me to repay my debt, what new needs will I have that my debt will keep me from meeting? Or what new wants will I have that will tempt me to go further into debt?” Consider these statements of God’s Word: • “True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content” (1 Timothy 6:6-8). • “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). • “My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them, for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace. They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble. You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly. You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the LORD is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap” (Proverbs 3:21-26). • “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2). ~ Randy Alcorn, #NFDB
627:When He Needs to Understand the Power of His Own Words Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. PROVERBS 18:21 MANY MEN DON’T FULLY COMPREHEND the power and impact of their words. Just by reason of being male, a man’s voice has the strength to be intimidating. A man can say something casually, carelessly, or insensitively without even realizing that he has frightened or hurt someone. Not all men use their voice to that degree, but many do. A man has the power to heal or harm the heart of those to whom he speaks, and never is that more true than within his marriage and family. What your husband says to you or your children—and the way he says it—can build up or tear down. His words can strengthen family relationships or break them apart. You cannot have a successful and fulfilling marriage when your husband is careless or thoughtless in the words he speaks or the manner in which he speaks them. When a husband speaks hurtful words to his wife, he strikes her soul with a damaging blow far greater than he may realize. If your husband ever does that, pray he will understand his potential to intimidate or even wound. Ask God to help your husband hear what he is saying and the way he says it even before he says it. The book of Proverbs says, “He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction” (13:3). Pray that God will fill your husband’s heart with an abundance of His love, patience, kindness, and goodness so that they overflow in the words he speaks to you and your children. If your husband has never hurt another with his words, then thank God for that and pray he never will. Pray that his gentle spirit will rub off on the other men around him. My Prayer to God LORD, I pray You would lead my husband in the way he speaks to me and our family. Help him to build up with his words and not tear down. Teach him to bless and not curse, to encourage and not discourage, to inspire and not intimidate. I pray when he must speak words that are hard for others to hear, help him speak them from a kind heart. Your Word says that out of the overflow of our hearts we speak (Matthew 12:34). If ever his heart is filled with anger, resentment, or selfishness, I pray he will see that as sin and repent of it. Fill him instead with an abundance of Your love, peace, and joy. Help him to understand that “life and death are in the power of the tongue” and there are consequences to the words he says (Proverbs 18:21). Where my husband has been abusive or hurtful in the words he has spoken to me, I pray You would convict his conscience about that and cause him to see the damage he is doing to me and to our marriage. If I have spoken words to him that have caused harm to our relationship, forgive me. Enable me to speak words that will bring healing. Help us both to think carefully about what we say to each other and to our children and how we say it (Proverbs 15:28). Enable us to always consider the consequences of the words we speak. I know we have a choice about what we say and the way we say it. Help us both to always make the right choice. In Jesus’ name I pray. ~ Stormie Omartian, #NFDB
628:Trees in groves,
Kine in droves,
In ocean sport the scaly herds,
Wedge-like cleave the air the birds,
To northern lakes fly wind-borne ducks,
Browse the mountain sheep in flocks,
Men consort in camp and town,
But the poet dwells alone.
God who gave to him the lyre,
Of all mortals the desire,
For all breathing men's behoof,
Straitly charged him, "Sit aloof;"
Annexed a warning, poets say,
To the bright premium,
Ever when twain together play,
Shall the harp be dumb.
Many may come,
But one shall sing;
Two touch the string,
The harp is dumb.
Though there come a million
Wise Saadi dwells alone.
Yet Saadi loved the race of men,
No churl immured in cave or den,
In bower and hall
He wants them all,
Nor can dispense
With Persia for his audience;
They must give ear,
Grow red with joy, and white with fear,
Yet he has no companion,
Come ten, or come a million,
Good Saadi dwells alone.
Be thou ware where Saadi dwells.
Gladly round that golden lamp
Sylvan deities encamp,
And simple maids and noble youth
Are welcome to the man of truth.
Most welcome they who need him most,
They feed the spring which they exhaust:
For greater need
Draws better deed:
But, critic, spare thy vanity,
Nor show thy pompous parts,
To vex with odious subtlety
The cheerer of men's hearts.
Sad-eyed Fakirs swiftly say
Endless dirges to decay;
Never in the blaze of light
Lose the shudder of midnight;
And at overflowing noon,
Hear wolves barking at the moon;
In the bower of dalliance sweet
Hear the far Avenger's feet;
And shake before those awful Powers
Who in their pride forgive not ours.
Thus the sad-eyed Fakirs preach;
"Bard, when thee would Allah teach,
And lift thee to his holy mount,
He sends thee from his bitter fount,
Wormwood; saying, Go thy ways,
Drink not the Malaga of praise,
But do the deed thy fellows hate,
And compromise thy peaceful state.
Smite the white breasts which thee fed,
Stuff sharp thorns beneath the head
Of them thou shouldst have comforted.
For out of woe and out of crime
Draws the heart a lore sublime."
And yet it seemeth not to me
That the high gods love tragedy;
For Saadi sat in the sun,
And thanks was his contrition;
For haircloth and for bloody whips,
Had active hands and smiling lips;
And yet his runes he rightly read,
And to his folk his message sped.
Sunshine in his heart transferred
Lighted each transparent word;
And well could honoring Persia learn
What Saadi wished to say;
For Saadi's nightly stars did burn
Brighter than Dschami's day.
Whispered the muse in Saadi's cot;
O gentle Saadi, listen not,
Tempted by thy praise of wit,
Or by thirst and appetite
For the talents not thine own,
To sons of contradiction.
Never, sun of eastern morning,
Follow falsehood, follow scorning,
Denounce who will, who will, deny,
And pile the hills to scale the sky;
Let theist, atheist, pantheist,
Define and wrangle how they list,
Fierce conserver, fierce destroyer,
But thou joy-giver and enjoyer,
Unknowing war, unknowing crime,
Gentle Saadi, mind thy rhyme.
Heed not what the brawlers say,
Heed thou only Saadi's lay.
Let the great world bustle on
With war and trade, with camp and town.
A thousand men shall dig and eat,
At forge and furnace thousands sweat,
And thousands sail the purple sea,
And give or take the stroke of war,
Or crowd the market and bazaar.
Oft shall war end, and peace return,
And cities rise where cities burn,
Ere one man my hill shall climb,
Who can turn the golden rhyme;
Let them manage how they may,
Heed thou only Saadi's lay.
Seek the living among the dead:
Man in man is imprisoned.
Barefooted Dervish is not poor,
If fate unlock his bosom's door.
So that what his eye hath seen
His tongue can paint, as bright, as keen,
And what his tender heart hath felt,
With equal fire thy heart shall melt.
For, whom the muses shine upon,
And touch with soft persuasion,
His words like a storm-wind can bring
Terror and beauty on their wing;
In his every syllable
Lurketh nature veritable;
And though he speak in midnight dark,
In heaven, no star; on earth, no spark;
Yet before the listener's eye
Swims the world in ecstasy,
The forest waves, the morning breaks,
The pastures sleep, ripple the lakes,
Leaves twinkle, flowers like persons be,
And life pulsates in rock or tree.
Saadi! so far thy words shall reach;
Suns rise and set in Saadi's speech.
And thus to Saadi said the muse;
Eat thou the bread which men refuse;
Flee from the goods which from thee flee;
Seek nothing; Fortune seeketh thee.
Nor mount, nor dive; all good things keep
The midway of the eternal deep;
Wish not to fill the isles with eyes
To fetch thee birds of paradise;
On thine orchard's edge belong
All the brass of plume and song;
Wise Ali's sunbright sayings pass
For proverbs in the market-place;
Through mountains bored by regal art
Toil whistles as he drives his cart.
Nor scour the seas, nor sift mankind,
A poet or a friend to find;
Behold, he watches at the door,
Behold his shadow on the floor.
Open innumerable doors,
The heaven where unveiled Allah pours
The flood of truth, the flood of good,
The seraph's and the cherub's food;
Those doors are men; the pariah kind
Admits thee to the perfect Mind.
Seek not beyond thy cottage wall
Redeemer that can yield thee all.
While thou sittest at thy door,
On the desert's yellow floor,
Listening to the gray-haired crones,
Foolish gossips, ancient drones,
Saadi, see, they rise in stature
To the height of mighty nature,
And the secret stands revealed
Fraudulent Time in vain concealed,
That blessed gods in servile masks
Plied for thee thy household tasks.
by owner. provided at no charge for educational purposes
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, Saadi
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629: ON THE GIFT-GIVING VIRTUE
1
When Zarathustra had said farewell to the town to
which his heart was attached, and which was named
The Motley Cow, many who called themselves his disciples followed him and escorted him. Thus they came
to a crossroads; then Zarathustra told them that he now
wanted to walk alone, for he liked to walk alone. His
disciples gave him as a farewell present a staff with a
golden handle on which a serpent coiled around the
sun. Zarathustra was delighted with the staff and leaned
on it; then he spoke thus to his disciples:
Tell me: how did gold attain the highest value? Because it is uncommon and useless and gleaming and
gentle in its splendor; it always gives itself. Only as the
image of the highest virtue did gold attain the highest
value. Goldlike gleam the eyes of the giver. Golden
splendor makes peace between moon and sun. Uncommon is the highest virtue and useless; it is gleaming and
gentle in its splendor: a gift-giving virtue is the highest
virtue.
Verily, I have found you out, my disciples: you strive,
as I do, for the gift-giving virtue. What would you have
in common with cats and wolves? This is your thirst: to
75
become sacrifices and gifts yourselves; and that is why
you thirst to pile up all the riches in your soul. Insatiably your soul strives for treasures and gems, because
your virtue is insatiable in wanting to give. You force
all things to and into yourself that they may flow back
out of your well as the gifts of your love. Verily, such
a gift-giving love must approach all values as a robber;
but whole and holy I call this selfishness.
There is also another selfishness, an all-too-poor and
hungry one that always wants to steal-the selfishness
of the sick: sick selfishness. With the eyes of a thief it
looks at everything splendid; with the greed of hunger
it sizes up those who have much to eat; and always it
sneaks around the table of those who give. Sickness
speaks out of such craving and invisible degeneration;
the thievish greed of this selfishness speaks of a diseased
body.
Tell me, my brothers: what do we consider bad and
worst of all? Is it not degeneration?And it is degeneration that we always infer where the gift-giving soul is
lacking. Upward goes our way, from genus to overgenus. But we shudder at the degenerate sense which
says, "Everything for me." Upward flies our sense: thus
it is a parable of our body, a parable of elevation.
Parables of such elevations are the names of the virtues.
Thus the body goes through history, becoming and
fighting. And the spirit-what is that to the body? The
herald of its fights and victories, companion and echo.
All names of good and evil are parables: they do not
define, they merely hint. A fool is he who wants knowledge of them!
Watch for every hour, my brothers, in which your
spirit wants to speak in parables: there lies the origin
of your virtue. There your body is elevated and resurrected; with its rapture it delights the spirit so that it
76
turns creator and esteemer and lover and benefactor of
all things.
When your heart flows broad and full like a river, a
blessing and a danger to those living near: there is the
origin of your virtue.
When you are above praise and blame, and your will
wants to comm and all things, like a lover's will: there is
the origin of your virtue.
When you despise the agreeable and the soft bed and
cannot bed yourself far enough from the soft: there is
the origin of your virtue.
When you will with a single will and you call this
cessation of all need "necessity": there is the origin of
your virtue.
Verily, a new good and evil is she. Verily, a new deep
murmur and the voice of a new well
Power is she, this new virtue; a dominant thought is
she, and around her a wise soul: a golden sun, and
around it the serpent of knowledge.
2
Here Zarathustra fell silent for a while and looked
lovingly at his disciples. Then he continued to speak
thus, and the tone of his voice had changed:
Remain faithful to the earth, my brothers, with the
power of your virtue. Let your gift-giving love and your
knowledge serve the meaning of the earth. Thus I beg
and beseech you. Do not let them fly away from earthly
things and beat with their wings against eternal walls.
Alas, there has always been so much virtue that has
flown away. Lead back to the earth the virtue that flew
away, as I do-back to the body, back to life, that it
may give the earth a meaning, a human meaning.
In a hundred ways, thus far, have spirit as well as
virtue flown away and made mistakes. Alas, all this de-
77
lusion and all these mistakes still dwell in our body:
they have there become body and will.
In a hundred ways, thus far, spirit as well as virtue
has tried and erred. Indeed, an experiment was man.
Alas, much ignorance and error have become body
within us.
Not only the reason of millennia, but their madness
too, breaks out in us. It is dangerous to be an heir. Still
we fight step by step with the giant, accident; and over
the whole of humanity there has ruled so far only nonsense-no sense.
Let your spirit and your virtue serve the sense of the
earth, my brothers; and let the value of all things be
posited newly by you. For that shall you be fighters! For
that shall you be creators!
With knowledge, the body purifies itself; making experiments with knowledge, it elevates itself; in the
lover of knowledge all instincts become holy; in the
elevated, the soul becomes gay.
Physician, help yourself: thus you help your patient
too. Let this be his best help that he may behold with
his eyes the man who heals himself.
There are a thousand paths that have never yet been
trodden-a thousand health and hidden isles of life.
Even now, man and man's earth are unexhausted and
undiscovered.
Wake and listen, you that are lonely! From the future
come winds with secret wing-beats; and good tidings
are proclaimed to delicate ears. You that are lonely today, you that are withdrawing, you shall one day be
the people: out of you, who have chosen yourselves,
there shall grow a chosen people-and out of them, the
overman. Verily, the earth shall yet become a site of
recovery. And even now a new fragrance surrounds it,
bringing salvation-and a new hope.
3
When Zarathustra had said these words he became
silent, like one who has not yet said his last word; long
he weighed his staff in his hand, doubtfully. At last he
spoke thus, and the tone of his voice had changed.
Now I go alone, my disciples. You too go now, alone.
Thus I want it. Verily, I counsel you: go away from me
and resist Zarathustra! And even better: be ashamed of
him! Perhaps he deceived you.
The man of knowledge must not only love his
enemies, he must also be able to hate his friends.
One repays a teacher badly if one always remains
nothing but a pupil. And why do you not want to pluck
at my wreath?
You revere me; but what if your reverence tumbles
one day? Beware lest a statue slay you.
You say you believe in Zarathustra? But what matters
Zarathustra? You are my believers-but what matter all
believers? You had not yet sought yourselves: and you
found me. Thus do all believers; therefore all faith
amounts to so little.
Now I bid you lose me and find yourselves; and only
when you have all denied me will I return to you.
Verily, my brothers, with different eyes shall I then
seek my lost ones; with a different love shall I then love
you.
And once again you shall become my friends and the
children of a single hope-and then shall I be with you
the third time, that I may celebrate the great noon with
you.
And that is the great noon when man stands in the
middle of his way between beast and overman and
celebrates his way to the evening as his highest hope:
for it is the way to a new morning.
79
Then will he who goes under bless himself for being
one who goes over and beyond; and the sun of his
knowledge will stand at high noon for him.
"Dead are all gods: now we want the overman to
live"-on that great noon, let this be our last will.
Thus spoke Zarathustra.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra: Second Part
. . . and only when you have all denied me will
I return to you.
Verily, my brothers, with different eyes shall I
then seek my lost ones; with a different love shall
I then love you. (Zarathustra, "On the Gift-Giving Virtue." 1, p. 78)
TRANSLATOR S NOTES
1. The Child with the Mirror: Transition to Part Two with
its partly new style: "A new speech comes to me.
My spirit no longer wants to walk on worn soles."
2. Upon the Blessed Isles: The creative life versus belief
in God: "God is a conjecture." The polemic against the
opening lines of the final chorus in Goethe's Faust is taken
up again in the chapter "On Poets" (see comments, p. 81 ).
But the lines immediately following in praise of impermanence and creation are thoroughly in the spirit of Goethe.
3. On the Pitying: A return to the style of Part One and
a major statement of Nietzsche's ideas on pity, ressentiment,
and repression.
4. On Priests: Relatively mild, compared to the portrait
of the priest in The Antichrist five years later.
5. On the Virtuous: A typology of different conceptions of
virtue, with vivisectional intent. Nietzsche denounces "the
filth of the words: revenge, punishment, reward, retri bution," which he associates with Christianity; but also
that rigorism for which "virtue is the spasm under
the scourge" and those who "call it virtue when their
vices grow lazy." The pun on "I am just" is, in German:
wenn sie sagen: "ich bin gerecht," so klingt es immer
gleich wie: "ich bin gerdcht!"
6. On the Rabble: The theme of Zarathustra's nausea is
developed ad nauseam in later chapters. La Nausge-to
speak in Sartre's terms-is one of his chief trials, and its
eventual conquest is his greatest triumph. "I often grew
weary of the spirit when I found that even the rabble had
esprit" may help to account for some of Nietzsche's remarks
elsewhere. Generally he celebrates the spirit-not in opposition to the body but as mens sana in corpore sano.
7. On the Tarantulas: One of the central motifs of Nietzsche's philosophy is stated in italics: "that man be delivered
from revenge." In this chapter, the claim of human equality
is criticized as an expression of the ressentiment of the subequal.
8. On the Famous Wise Men: One cannot serve two
masters: the people and the truth. The philosophers of
the past have too often rationalized popular prejudices. But
the service of truth is a passion and martyrdom, for "spirit
is the life that itself cuts into life: with its agony it
increases its own knowledge." The song of songs on the
spirit in this chapter may seem to contradict Nietzsche's
insistence, in the chapter "On the Despisers of the Body,"
that the spirit is a mere instrument. Both themes are
central in Nietzsche's thought, and their apparent contradiction is partly due to the fact that both are stated metaphorically. For, in truth, Nietzsche denies any crude dualism of body and spirit as a popular prejudice. The life of
the spirit and the life of the body are aspects of a single
life. But up to a point the contradiction can also be resolved
metaphorically: life uses the spirit against its present form
to attain a higher perfection. Man's enhancement is
inseparable from the spirit; but Nietzsche denounces the
occasional efforts of the spirit to destroy life instead of
pruning it.
81
9. The Night Song: "Light am I; ah, that I were nightly"
io. The Dancing Song: Life and wisdom as jealous women.
ii.
The Tomb Song: "Invulnerable am I only in the heel."
12. On Self-Overcoming: The first long discussion of the
will to power marks, together with the chapters "On the
Pitying" and "On the Tarantulas," one of the high points
of Part Two. Philosophically, however, it raises many difficulties. (See my Nietzsche, 6, III.)
13.
On Those Who Are Sublime: The doctrine of self-
overcoming is here guarded against misunderstandings: far
from favoring austere heroics, Nietzsche praises humor (and
practices it: witness the whole of Zarathustra, especially
Part Four) and, no less, gracefulness and graciousness.
The three sentences near the end, beginning "And there
is nobody . . .
,"
represent a wonderfully concise statement
of much of his philosophy.
14. On the Land of Education: Against modern eclecticism
and lack of style. "Rather would I be a day laborer in
Hades . . :": in the Odyssey, the shade of Achilles would
rather be a day laborer on the smallest field than king of
all the dead in Hades. Zarathustra abounds in similar
allusions. "Everything deserves to perish," for example, is
an abbreviation of a dictum of Goethe's Mephistopheles.
15. On Immaculate Perception: Labored sexual imagery,
already notable in "The Dancing Song," keeps this critique
of detachment from becoming incisive. Not arid but,
judged by high standards, a mismatch of message and
metaphor. Or put positively: something of a personal document. Therefore the German references to the sun as
feminine have been retained in translation. "Loving and
perishing (Lieben und Untergehn)" do not rhyme in
German either.
16. On Scholars: Nietzsche's, not Zarathustra's, autobiography.
17. On Poets: This chapter is full of allusions to the final
chorus in Goethe's Faust, which might be translated thus:
What is destructible
Is but a parable;
82
What fails ineluctably
The undeclarable,
Here it was seen,
Here it was action;
The Eternal-Feminine
Lures to perfection.
i8. On Great Events: How successful Nietzsche's attempts
at narrative are is at least debatable. Here the story
distracts from his statement of his anti-political attitude.
But the curious mixture of the solemn and frivolous, myth,
epigram, and "bow-wow," is of course entirely intentional.
Even the similarity between the ghost's cry and the words
of the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderl and probably would
not have dismayed Nietzsche in the least.
1g. The Soothsayer: In the chapter "On the Adder's Bite"
a brief parable introduces some of Zarathustra's finest sayings; but here the parable is offered for its own sake, and
we feel closer to Rimbaud than to Proverbs. The soothsayer
reappears in Part Four.
20. On Redemption: In the conception of inverse cripples
and the remarks on revenge and punishment Zarathustra's
moral pathos reappears to some extent; but the mood of
the preceding chapter figures in his subsequent reflections,
which lead up to, but stop short of, Nietzsche's notion of
the eternal recurrence of the same events.
21. On Human Prudence: First: better to be deceived
occasionally than always to watch out for deceivers. Second:
vanity versus pride. Third: men today (1883) are too
concerned about petty evil, but great things are possible
only where great evil is harnessed.
22. The Stillest Hour: Zarathustra cannot yet get himself
to proclaim the eternal recurrence and hence he must
leave in order to "ripen."
83
~ Friedrich Nietzsche, ON THE GIFT-GIVING VIRTUE
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630:The Prophecy Of Famine
A SCOTS PASTORAL INSCRIBED TO JOHN WILKES, ESQ.
Nos patriam fugimus.--VIRGIL.
When Cupid first instructs his darts to fly
From the sly corner of some cook-maid's eye,
The stripling raw, just enter'd in his teens,
Receives the wound, and wonders what it means;
His heart, like dripping, melts, and new desire
Within him stirs, each time she stirs the fire;
Trembling and blushing, he the fair one views,
And fain would speak, but can't--without a Muse.
So to the sacred mount he takes his way,
Prunes his young wings, and tunes his infant lay,
His oaten reed to rural ditties frames,
To flocks and rocks, to hills and rills, proclaims,
In simplest notes, and all unpolish'd strains,
The loves of nymphs, and eke the loves of swains.
Clad, as your nymphs were always clad of yore,
In rustic weeds--a cook-maid now no more-Beneath an aged oak Lardella lies-Green moss her couch, her canopy the skies.
From aromatic shrubs the roguish gale
Steals young perfumes and wafts them through the vale.
The youth, turn'd swain, and skill'd in rustic lays,
Fast by her side his amorous descant plays.
Herds low, flocks bleat, pies chatter, ravens scream,
And the full chorus dies a-down the stream:
The streams, with music freighted, as they pass
Present the fair Lardella with a glass;
And Zephyr, to complete the love-sick plan,
Waves his light wings, and serves her for a fan.
But when maturer Judgment takes the lead,
These childish toys on Reason's altar bleed;
Form'd after some great man, whose name breeds awe,
Whose every sentence Fashion makes a law;
Who on mere credit his vain trophies rears,
And founds his merit on our servile fears;
Then we discard the workings of the heart,
244
And nature's banish'd by mechanic art;
Then, deeply read, our reading must be shown;
Vain is that knowledge which remains unknown:
Then Ostentation marches to our aid,
And letter'd Pride stalks forth in full parade;
Beneath their care behold the work refine,
Pointed each sentence, polish'd every line;
Trifles are dignified, and taught to wear
The robes of ancients with a modern air;
Nonsense with classic ornaments is graced,
And passes current with the stamp of taste.
Then the rude Theocrite is ransack'd o'er,
And courtly Maro call'd from Mincio's shore;
Sicilian Muses on our mountains roam,
Easy and free as if they were at home;
Nymphs, naiads, nereids, dryads, satyrs, fauns,
Sport in our floods, and trip it o'er our lawns;
Flowers which once flourish'd fair in Greece and Rome,
More fair revive in England's meads to bloom;
Skies without cloud, exotic suns adorn,
And roses blush, but blush without a thorn;
Landscapes, unknown to dowdy Nature, rise,
And new creations strike our wondering eyes.
For bards like these, who neither sing nor say,
Grave without thought, and without feeling gay,
Whose numbers in one even tenor flow,
Attuned to pleasure, and attuned to woe;
Who, if plain Common-Sense her visit pays,
And mars one couplet in their happy lays,
As at some ghost affrighted, start and stare,
And ask the meaning of her coming there:
For bards like these a wreath shall Mason bring,
Lined with the softest down of Folly's wing;
In Love's pagoda shall they ever doze,
And Gisbal kindly rock them to repose;
My Lord ----, to letters as to faith most true-At once their patron and example too-Shall quaintly fashion his love-labour'd dreams,
Sigh with sad winds, and weep with weeping streams;
Curious in grief (for real grief, we know,
Is curious to dress up the tale of woe),
From the green umbrage of some Druid's seat
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Shall his own works, in his own way, repeat.
Me, whom no Muse of heavenly birth inspires,
No judgment tempers when rash genius fires;
Who boast no merit but mere knack of rhyme,
Short gleams of sense, and satire out of time;
Who cannot follow where trim fancy leads,
By prattling streams, o'er flower-empurpled meads;
Who often, but without success, have pray'd
For apt Alliteration's artful aid;
Who would, but cannot, with a master's skill,
Coin fine new epithets, which mean no ill:
Me, thus uncouth, thus every way unfit
For pacing poesy, and ambling wit,
Taste with contempt beholds, nor deigns to place
Amongst the lowest of her favour'd race.
Thou, Nature, art my goddess--to thy law
Myself I dedicate! Hence, slavish awe!
Which bends to fashion, and obeys the rules
Imposed at first, and since observed by fools;
Hence those vile tricks which mar fair Nature's hue,
And bring the sober matron forth to view,
With all that artificial tawdry glare
Which virtue scorns, and none but strumpets wear!
Sick of those pomps, those vanities, that waste
Of toil, which critics now mistake for taste;
Of false refinements sick, and labour'd ease,
Which art, too thinly veil'd, forbids to please;
By Nature's charms (inglorious truth!) subdued,
However plain her dress, and 'haviour rude,
To northern climes my happier course I steer,
Climes where the goddess reigns throughout the year;
Where, undisturb'd by Art's rebellious plan,
She rules the loyal laird, and faithful clan.
To that rare soil, where virtues clustering grow,
What mighty blessings doth not England owe!
What waggon-loads of courage, wealth, and sense,
Doth each revolving day import from thence?
To us she gives, disinterested friend!
Faith without fraud, and Stuarts without end.
When we prosperity's rich trappings wear,
Come not her generous sons and take a share?
And if, by some disastrous turn of fate,
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Change should ensue, and ruin seize the state,
Shall we not find, safe in that hallow'd ground,
Such refuge as the holy martyr found?
Nor less our debt in science, though denied
By the weak slaves of prejudice and pride.
Thence came the Ramsays, names of worthy note,
Of whom one paints, as well as t'other wrote;
Thence, Home, disbanded from the sons of prayer
For loving plays, though no dull Dean was there;
Thence issued forth, at great Macpherson's call,
That old, new, epic pastoral, Fingal;
Thence Malloch, friend alike to Church and State,
Of Christ and Liberty, by grateful Fate
Raised to rewards, which, in a pious reign,
All daring infidels should seek in vain;
Thence simple bards, by simple prudence taught,
To this wise town by simple patrons brought,
In simple manner utter simple lays,
And take, with simple pensions, simple praise.
Waft me, some Muse, to Tweed's inspiring stream,
Where all the little Loves and Graces dream;
Where, slowly winding, the dull waters creep,
And seem themselves to own the power of sleep;
Where on the surface lead, like feathers, swims;
There let me bathe my yet unhallow'd limbs,
As once a Syrian bathed in Jordan's flood-Wash off my native stains, correct that blood
Which mutinies at call of English pride,
And, deaf to prudence, rolls a patriot tide.
From solemn thought which overhangs the brow
Of patriot care, when things are--God knows how;
From nice trim points, where Honour, slave to Rule,
In compliment to Folly, plays the fool;
From those gay scenes, where Mirth exalts his power,
And easy Humour wings the laughing hour;
From those soft better moments, when desire
Beats high, and all the world of man's on fire;
When mutual ardours of the melting fair
More than repay us for whole years of care,
At Friendship's summons will my Wilkes retreat,
And see, once seen before, that ancient seat,
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That ancient seat, where majesty display'd
Her ensigns, long before the world was made!
Mean narrow maxims, which enslave mankind,
Ne'er from its bias warp thy settled mind:
Not duped by party, nor opinion's slave,
Those faculties which bounteous nature gave,
Thy honest spirit into practice brings,
Nor courts the smile, nor dreads the frown of kings.
Let rude licentious Englishmen comply
With tumult's voice, and curse--they know not why;
Unwilling to condemn, thy soul disdains
To wear vile faction's arbitrary chains,
And strictly weighs, in apprehension clear,
Things as they are, and not as they appear.
With thee good humour tempers lively wit;
Enthroned with Judgment, Candour loves to sit;
And nature gave thee, open to distress,
A heart to pity, and a hand to bless.
Oft have I heard thee mourn the wretched lot
Of the poor, mean, despised, insulted Scot,
Who, might calm reason credit idle tales,
By rancour forged where prejudice prevails,
Or starves at home, or practises, through fear
Of starving, arts which damn all conscience here.
When scribblers, to the charge by interest led,
The fierce North Briton foaming at their head,
Pour forth invectives, deaf to Candour's call,
And, injured by one alien, rail at all;
On northern Pisgah when they take their stand,
To mark the weakness of that Holy Land,
With needless truths their libels to adorn,
And hang a nation up to public scorn,
Thy generous soul condemns the frantic rage,
And hates the faithful, but ill-natured page.
The Scots are poor, cries surly English pride;
True is the charge, nor by themselves denied.
Are they not, then, in strictest reason clear,
Who wisely come to mend their fortunes here?
If, by low supple arts successful grown,
They sapp'd our vigour to increase their own;
If, mean in want, and insolent in power,
They only fawn'd more surely to devour,
248
Roused by such wrongs, should Reason take alarm,
And e'en the Muse for public safety arm?
But if they own ingenuous virtue's sway,
And follow where true honour points the way,
If they revere the hand by which they're fed,
And bless the donors for their daily bread,
Or, by vast debts of higher import bound,
Are always humble, always grateful found:
If they, directed by Paul's holy pen,
Become discreetly all things to all men,
That all men may become all things to them,
Envy may hate, but Justice can't condemn.
Into our places, states, and beds they creep;
They've sense to get, what we want sense to keep.
Once--be the hour accursed, accursed the place!-I ventured to blaspheme the chosen race.
Into those traps, which men call'd patriots laid,
By specious arts unwarily betray'd,
Madly I leagued against that sacred earth,
Vile parricide! which gave a parent birth:
But shall I meanly error's path pursue,
When heavenly truth presents her friendly clue?
Once plunged in ill, shall I go farther in?
To make the oath, was rash: to keep it, sin.
Backward I tread the paths I trod before,
And calm reflection hates what passion swore.
Converted, (blessed are the souls which know
Those pleasures which from true conversion flow,
Whether to reason, who now rules my breast,
Or to pure faith, like Lyttelton and West),
Past crimes to expiate, be my present aim
To raise new trophies to the Scottish name;
To make (what can the proudest Muse do more?)
E'en faction's sons her brighter worth adore;
To make her glories, stamp'd with honest rhymes,
In fullest tide roll down to latest times.
Presumptuous wretch! and shall a Muse like thine,
An English Muse, the meanest of the Nine,
Attempt a theme like this? Can her weak strain
Expect indulgence from the mighty Thane?
Should he from toils of government retire,
And for a moment fan the poet's fire;
249
Should he, of sciences the moral friend,
Each curious, each important search suspend,
Leave unassisted Hill of herbs to tell,
And all the wonders of a cockleshell;
Having the Lord's good grace before his eyes,
Would not the Home step forth and gain the prize?
Or if this wreath of honour might adorn
The humble brows of one in England born,
Presumptuous still thy daring must appear;
Vain all thy towering hopes whilst I am here.
Thus spake a form, by silken smile and tone,
Dull and unvaried, for the Laureate known,
Folly's chief friend, Decorum's eldest son,
In every party found, and yet of none.
This airy substance, this substantial shade,
Abash'd I heard, and with respect obey'd.
From themes too lofty for a bard so mean,
Discretion beckons to an humbler scene;
The restless fever of ambition laid,
Calm I retire, and seek the sylvan shade.
Now be the Muse disrobed of all her pride,
Be all the glare of verse by truth supplied.
And if plain nature pours a simple strain,
Which Bute may praise, and Ossian not disdain,-Ossian, sublimest, simplest bard of all,
Whom English infidels Macpherson call,-Then round my head shall Honour's ensigns wave,
And pensions mark me for a willing slave.
Two boys, whose birth, beyond all question, springs
From great and glorious, though forgotten, kings-Shepherds, of Scottish lineage, born and bred
On the same bleak and barren mountain's head;
By niggard nature doom'd on the same rocks
To spin out life, and starve themselves and flocks;
Fresh as the morning, which, enrobed in mist,
The mountain's top with usual dulness kiss'd,
Jockey and Sawney to their labours rose;
Soon clad, I ween, where nature needs no clothes;
Where, from their youth inured to winter-skies,
Dress and her vain refinements they despise.
Jockey, whose manly high-boned cheeks to crown,
With freckles spotted, flamed the golden down,
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With meikle art could on the bagpipes play,
E'en from the rising to the setting day;
Sawney as long without remorse could bawl
Home's madrigals, and ditties from Fingal:
Oft at his strains, all natural though rude,
The Highland lass forgot her want of food;
And, whilst she scratch'd her lover into rest,
Sunk pleased, though hungry, on her Sawney's breast.
Far as the eye could reach, no tree was seen;
Earth, clad in russet, scorn'd the lively green:
The plague of locusts they secure defy,
For in three hours a grasshopper must die:
No living thing, whate'er its food, feasts there,
But the cameleon, who can feast on air.
No birds, except as birds of passage, flew;
No bee was known to hum, no dove to coo:
No streams, as amber smooth, as amber clear,
Were seen to glide, or heard to warble here:
Rebellion's spring, which through the country ran,
Furnish'd, with bitter draughts, the steady clan:
No flowers embalm'd the air, but one white rose,
Which on the tenth of June by instinct blows;
By instinct blows at morn, and when the shades
Of drizzly eve prevail, by instinct fades.
One, and but one poor solitary cave,
Too sparing of her favours, nature gave;
That one alone (hard tax on Scottish pride!)
Shelter at once for man and beast supplied.
There snares without, entangling briars spread,
And thistles, arm'd against the invader's head,
Stood in close ranks, all entrance to oppose;
Thistles now held more precious than the rose.
All creatures which, on nature's earliest plan,
Were formed to loathe and to be loathed by man,
Which owed their birth to nastiness and spite,
Deadly to touch, and hateful to the sight;
Creatures which, when admitted in the ark,
Their saviour shunn'd, and rankled in the dark,
Found place within: marking her noisome road
With poison's trail, here crawl'd the bloated toad;
There webs were spread of more than common size,
And half-starved spiders prey'd on half-starved flies;
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In quest of food, efts strove in vain to crawl;
Slugs, pinch'd with hunger, smear'd the slimy wall:
The cave around with hissing serpents rung;
On the damp roof unhealthy vapour hung;
And Famine, by her children always known,
As proud as poor, here fix'd her native throne.
Here, for the sullen sky was overcast,
And summer shrunk beneath a wintry blast-A native blast, which, arm'd with hail and rain,
Beat unrelenting on the naked swain,
The boys for shelter made; behind, the sheep,
Of which those shepherds every day _take keep_,
Sickly crept on, and, with complainings rude,
On nature seem'd to call, and bleat for food.
JOCKEY.
_Sith_ to this cave by tempest we're confined,
And within _ken_ our flocks, under the wind,
Safe from the pelting of this perilous storm,
Are laid _emong_ yon thistles, dry and warm,
What, Sawney, if by shepherds' art we try
To mock the rigour of this cruel sky?
What if we tune some merry roundelay?
Well dost thou sing, nor ill doth Jockey play.
SAWNEY.
Ah! Jockey, ill advisest thou, _I wis_,
To think of songs at such a time as this:
Sooner shall herbage crown these barren rocks,
Sooner shall fleeces clothe these ragged flocks,
Sooner shall want seize shepherds of the south,
And we forget to live from hand to mouth,
Than Sawney, out of season, shall impart
The songs of gladness with an aching heart.
JOCKEY.
Still have I known thee for a silly swain;
Of things past help, what boots it to complain?
Nothing but mirth can conquer fortune's spite;
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No sky is heavy, if the heart be light:
Patience is sorrow's salve: what can't be cured,
So Donald right areads, must be endured.
SAWNEY.
Full silly swain, _I wot_, is Jockey now.
How didst thou bear thy Maggy's falsehood? How,
When with a foreign loon she stole away,
Didst thou forswear thy pipe and shepherd's lay?
Where was thy boasted wisdom then, when I
Applied those proverbs which you now apply?
JOCKEY.
Oh, she was _bonny_! All the Highlands round
Was there a rival to my Maggy found?
More precious (though that precious is to all)
Than the rare medicine which we Brimstone call,
Or that choice plant, so grateful to the nose,
Which, in I know not what far country, grows,
Was Maggy unto me: dear do I rue
A lass so fair should ever prove untrue.
SAWNEY.
Whether with pipe or song to charm the ear,
Through all the land did Jamie find a peer?
Cursed be that year by every honest Scot,
And in the shepherd's calendar forgot,
That fatal year when Jamie, hapless swain!
In evil hour forsook the peaceful plain:
Jamie, when our young laird discreetly fled,
Was seized, and hang'd till he was dead, dead, dead.
JOCKEY.
Full sorely may we all lament that day,
For all were losers in the deadly fray.
Five brothers had I on the Scottish plains,
Well dost thou know were none more hopeful swains;
Five brothers there I lost, in manhood's pride;
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Two in the field, and three on gibbets died.
Ah, silly swains! to follow war's alarms;
Ah! what hath shepherds' life to do with arms?
SAWNEY.
Mention it not--there saw I strangers clad
In all the honours of our ravish'd plaid;
Saw the Ferrara, too, our nation's pride,
Unwilling grace the awkward victor's side.
There fell our choicest youth, and from that day
_Mote_ never Sawney tune the merry lay;
Bless'd those which fell! cursed those which still survive,
To mourn Fifteen renew'd in Forty-five!
Thus plain'd the boys, when, from her throne of turf,
With boils emboss'd, and overgrown with scurf,
Vile humours which, in life's corrupted well
Mix'd at the birth, not abstinence could quell,
Pale Famine rear'd the head; her eager eyes,
Where hunger e'en to madness seem'd to rise,
Speaking aloud her throes and pangs of heart,
Strain'd to get loose, and from their orbs to start:
Her hollow cheeks were each a deep-sunk cell,
Where wretchedness and horror loved to dwell;
With double rows of useless teeth supplied,
Her mouth, from ear to ear, extended wide,
Which, when for want of food her entrails pined,
She oped, and, cursing, swallow'd nought but wind:
All shrivell'd was her skin; and here and there,
Making their way by force, her bones lay bare:
Such filthy sight to hide from human view,
O'er her foul limbs a tatter'd plaid she threw.
Cease, cried the goddess, cease, despairing swains!
And from a parent hear what Jove ordains.
Pent in this barren corner of the isle,
Where partial fortune never deign'd to smile;
Like nature's bastards, reaping for our share
What was rejected by the lawful heir;
Unknown amongst the nations of the earth,
Or only known to raise contempt and mirth;
Long free, because the race of Roman braves
254
Thought it not worth their while to make us slaves;
Then into bondage by that nation brought,
Whose ruin we for ages vainly sought;
Whom still with unslaked hate we view, and still,
The power of mischief lost, retain the will;
Consider'd as the refuse of mankind,
A mass till the last moment left behind,
Which frugal nature doubted, as it lay,
Whether to stamp with life or throw away;
Which, form'd in haste, was planted in this nook,
But never enter'd in Creation's book;
Branded as traitors who, for love of gold,
Would sell their God, as once their king they sold,-Long have we borne this mighty weight of ill,
These vile injurious taunts, and bear them still.
But times of happier note are now at hand,
And the full promise of a better land:
There, like the sons of Israel, having trod,
For the fix'd term of years ordain'd by God,
A barren desert, we shall seize rich plains,
Where milk with honey flows, and plenty reigns:
With some few natives join'd, some pliant few,
Who worship Interest and our track pursue;
There shall we, though the wretched people grieve,
Ravage at large, nor ask the owners' leave.
For us, the earth shall bring forth her increase;
For us, the flocks shall wear a golden fleece;
Fat beeves shall yield us dainties not our own,
And the grape bleed a nectar yet unknown:
For our advantage shall their harvests grow,
And Scotsmen reap what they disdain'd to sow:
For us, the sun shall climb the eastern hill;
For us, the rain shall fall, the dew distil.
When to our wishes Nature cannot rise,
Art shall be task'd to grant us fresh supplies;
His brawny arm shall drudging Labour strain,
And for our pleasure suffer daily pain:
Trade shall for us exert her utmost powers,
Hers all the toil, and all the profit ours:
For us, the oak shall from his native steep
Descend, and fearless travel through the deep:
The sail of commerce, for our use unfurl'd,
255
Shall waft the treasures of each distant world:
For us, sublimer heights shall science reach;
For us, their statesman plot, their churchmen preach:
Their noblest limbs of council we'll disjoint,
And, mocking, new ones of our own appoint.
Devouring War, imprison'd in the North,
Shall, at our call, in horrid pomp break forth,
And when, his chariot-wheels with thunder hung,
Fell Discord braying with her brazen tongue,
Death in the van, with Anger, Hate, and Fear,
And Desolation stalking in the rear,
Revenge, by Justice guided, in his train,
He drives impetuous o'er the trembling plain,
Shall, at our bidding, quit his lawful prey,
And to meek, gentle, generous Peace give way.
Think not, my sons, that this so bless'd estate
Stands at a distance on the roll of fate;
Already big with hopes of future sway,
E'en from this cave I scent my destined prey.
Think not that this dominion o'er a race,
Whose former deeds shall time's last annals grace,
In the rough face of peril must be sought,
And with the lives of thousands dearly bought:
No--fool'd by cunning, by that happy art
Which laughs to scorn the blundering hero's heart,
Into the snare shall our kind neighbours fall
With open eyes, and fondly give us all.
When Rome, to prop her sinking empire, bore
Their choicest levies to a foreign shore,
What if we seized, like a destroying flood,
Their widow'd plains, and fill'd the realm with blood;
Gave an unbounded loose to manly rage,
And, scorning mercy, spared nor sex, nor age?
When, for our interest too mighty grown,
Monarchs of warlike bent possessed the throne,
What if we strove divisions to foment,
And spread the flames of civil discontent,
Assisted those who 'gainst their king made head,
And gave the traitors refuge when they fled?
When restless Glory bade her sons advance,
And pitch'd her standard in the fields of France,
What if, disdaining oaths,--an empty sound,
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By which our nation never shall be bound,-Bravely we taught unmuzzled War to roam,
Through the weak land, and brought cheap laurels home?
When the bold traitors, leagued for the defence
Of law, religion, liberty, and sense,
When they against their lawful monarch rose,
And dared the Lord's anointed to oppose,
What if we still revered the banish'd race,
And strove the royal vagrants to replace;
With fierce rebellions shook the unsettled state,
And greatly dared, though cross'd by partial fate?
These facts, which might, where wisdom held the sway,
Awake the very stones to bar our way,
There shall be nothing, nor one trace remain
In the dull region of an English brain;
Bless'd with that faith which mountains can remove,
First they shall dupes, next saints, last martyrs, prove.
Already is this game of Fate begun
Under the sanction of my darling son;
That son, of nature royal as his name,
Is destined to redeem our race from shame:
His boundless power, beyond example great,
Shall make the rough way smooth, the crooked straight;
Shall for our ease the raging floods restrain,
And sink the mountain level to the plain.
Discord, whom in a cavern under ground
With massy fetters their late patriot bound;
Where her own flesh the furious hag might tear,
And vent her curses to the vacant air;
Where, that she never might be heard of more,
He planted Loyalty to guard the door,
For better purpose shall our chief release,
Disguise her for a time, and call her Peace.
Lured by that name--fine engine of deceit!-Shall the weak English help themselves to cheat;
To gain our love, with honours shall they grace
The old adherents of the Stuart race,
Who, pointed out no matter by what name,
Tories or Jacobites, are still the same;
To soothe our rage the temporising brood
Shall break the ties of truth and gratitude,
Against their saviour venom'd falsehoods frame,
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And brand with calumny their William's name:
To win our grace, (rare argument of wit!)
To our untainted faith shall they commit
(Our faith, which, in extremest perils tried,
Disdain'd, and still disdains, to change her side)
That sacred Majesty they all approve,
Who most enjoys, and best deserves their love.
~ Charles Churchill,#NFDB
631:BY MICHING MALLECHO, Esq.
Is it a party in a parlour,
Crammed just as they on earth were crammed,
Some sipping punchsome sipping tea;
But, as you by their faces see,
All silent, and alldamned!
Peter Bell, by W. Wordsworth.
Ophelia.What means this, my lord?
Hamlet.Marry, this is Miching Mallecho; it means mischief. ~Shakespeare.
PROLOGUE
Peter Bells, one, two and three,
O'er the wide world wandering be.
First, the antenatal Peter,
Wrapped in weeds of the same metre,
The so-long-predestined raiment
Clothed in which to walk his way meant
The second Peter; whose ambition
Is to link the proposition,
As the mean of two extremes
(This was learned from Aldric's themes)
Shielding from the guilt of schism
The orthodoxal syllogism;
The First Peterhe who was
Like the shadow in the glass
Of the second, yet unripe,
His substantial antitype.
Then came Peter Bell the Second,
Who henceforward must be reckoned
The body of a double soul,
And that portion of the whole
Without which the rest would seem
Ends of a disjointed dream.
And the Third is he who has
O'er the grave been forced to pass
To the other side, which is,
Go and try else,just like this.
Peter Bell the First was Peter
Smugger, milder, softer, neater,
Like the soul before it is
Born from that world into this.
The next Peter Bell was he,
Predevote, like you and me,
To good or evil as may come;
His was the severer doom,
For he was an evil Cotter,
And a polygamic Potter.
And the last is Peter Bell,
Damned since our first parents fell,
Damned eternally to Hell
Surely he deserves it well!
PART THE FIRST
DEATH
And Peter Bell, when he had been
With fresh-imported Hell-fire warmed,
Grew seriousfrom his dress and mien
'Twas very plainly to be seen
Peter was quite reformed.
His eyes turned up, his mouth turned down;
His accent caught a nasal twang;
He oiled his hair; there might be heard
The grace of God in every word
Which Peter said or sang.
But Peter now grew old, and had
An ill no doctor could unravel;
His torments almost drove him mad;
Some said it was a fever bad
Some swore it was the gravel.
His holy friends then came about,
And with long preaching and persuasion
Convinced the patient that, without
The smallest shadow of a doubt,
He was predestined to damnation.
They said'Thy name is Peter Bell;
Thy skin is of a brimstone hue;
Alive or deaday, sick or well
The one God made to rhyme with hell;
The other, I think, rhymes with you.'
Then Peter set up such a yell!
The nurse, who with some water gruel
Was climbing up the stairs, as well
As her old legs could climb themfell,
And broke them boththe fall was cruel.
The Parson from the casement lept
Into the lake of Windermere
And many an eelthough no adept
In God's right reason for itkept
Gnawing his kidneys half a year.
And all the rest rushed through the door,
And tumbled over one another,
And broke their skulls.Upon the floor
Meanwhile sat Peter Bell, and swore,
And cursed his father and his mother;
And raved of God, and sin, and death,
Blaspheming like an infidel;
And said, that with his clenchd teeth
He'd seize the earth from underneath,
And drag it with him down to hell.
As he was speaking came a spasm,
And wrenched his gnashing teeth asunder;
Like one who sees a strange phantasm
He lay,there was a silent chasm
Between his upper jaw and under.
And yellow death lay on his face;
And a fixed smile that was not human
Told, as I understand the case,
That he was gone to the wrong place:
I heard all this from the old woman.
Then there came down from Langdale Pike
A cloud, with lightning, wind and hail;
It swept over the mountains like
An ocean,and I heard it strike
The woods and crags of Grasmere vale.
And I saw the black storm come
Nearer, minute after minute;
Its thunder made the cataracts dumb;
With hiss, and clash, and hollow hum,
It neared as if the Devil was in it.
The Devil was in it:he had bought
Peter for half-a-crown; and when
The storm which bore him vanished, nought
That in the house that storm had caught
Was ever seen again.
The gaping neighbours came next day
They found all vanished from the shore:
The Bible, whence he used to pray,
Half scorched under a hen-coop lay;
Smashed glassand nothing more!
PART THE SECOND
THE DEVIL
The Devil, I safely can aver,
Has neither hoof, nor tail, nor sting;
Nor is he, as some sages swear,
A spirit, neither here nor there,
In nothingyet in everything.
He iswhat we are; for sometimes
The Devil is a gentleman;
At others a bard bartering rhymes
For sack; a statesman spinning crimes;
A swindler, living as he can;
A thief, who cometh in the night,
With whole boots and net pantaloons,
Like some one whom it were not right
To mention;or the luckless wight
From whom he steals nine silver spoons.
But in this case he did appear
Like a slop-merchant from Wapping,
And with smug face, and eye severe,
On every side did perk and peer
Till he saw Peter dead or napping.
He had on an upper Benjamin
(For he was of the driving schism)
In the which he wrapped his skin
From the storm he travelled in,
For fear of rheumatism.
He called the ghost out of the corse;
It was exceedingly like Peter,
Only its voice was hollow and hoarse
It had a queerish look of course
Its dress too was a little neater.
The Devil knew not his name and lot;
Peter knew not that he was Bell:
Each had an upper stream of thought,
Which made all seem as it was not;
Fitting itself to all things well.
Peter thought he had parents dear,
Brothers, sisters, cousins, cronies,
In the fens of Lincolnshire;
He perhaps had found them there
Had he gone and boldly shown his
Solemn phiz in his own village;
Where he thought oft when a boy
He'd clomb the orchard walls to pillage
The produce of his neighbour's tillage,
With marvellous pride and joy.
And the Devil thought he had,
'Mid the misery and confusion
Of an unjust war, just made
A fortune by the gainful trade
Of giving soldiers rations bad
The world is full of strange delusion
That he had a mansion planned
In a square like Grosvenor Square,
That he was aping fashion, and
That he now came to Westmoreland
To see what was romantic there.
And all this, though quite ideal,
Ready at a breath to vanish,
Was a state not more unreal
Than the peace he could not feel,
Or the care he could not banish.
After a little conversation,
The Devil told Peter, if he chose,
He'd bring him to the world of fashion
By giving him a situation
In his own serviceand new clothes.
And Peter bowed, quite pleased and proud,
And after waiting some few days
For a new liverydirty yellow
Turned up with blackthe wretched fellow
Was bowled to Hell in the Devil's chaise.
PART THE THIRD
HELL
Hell is a city much like London
A populous and a smoky city;
There are all sorts of people undone,
And there is little or no fun done;
Small justice shown, and still less pity.
There is a Castles, and a Canning,
A Cobbett, and a Castlereagh;
All sorts of caitiff corpses planning
All sorts of cozening for trepanning
Corpses less corrupt than they.
There is a -, who has lost
His wits, or sold them, none knows which;
He walks about a double ghost,
And though as thin as Fraud almost
Ever grows more grim and rich.
There is a Chancery Court; a King;
A manufacturing mob; a set
Of thieves who by themselves are sent
Similar thieves to represent;
An army; and a public debt.
Which last is a scheme of paper money,
And meansbeing interpreted
'Bees, keep your waxgive us the honey,
And we will plant, while skies are sunny,
Flowers, which in winter serve instead.'
There is a great talk of revolution
And a great chance of despotism
German soldierscampsconfusion
Tumultslotteriesragedelusion
Ginsuicideand methodism;
Taxes too, on wine and bread,
And meat, and beer, and tea, and cheese,
From which those patriots pure are fed,
Who gorge before they reel to bed
The tenfold essence of all these.
There are mincing women, mewing,
(Like cats, who amant miser,)
Of their own virtue, and pursuing
Their gentler sisters to that ruin,
Without whichwhat were chastity?
Lawyersjudgesold hobnobbers
Are therebailiffschancellors
Bishopsgreat and little robbers
Rhymesterspamphleteersstock-jobbers
Men of glory in the wars,
Things whose trade is, over ladies
To lean, and flirt, and stare, and simper,
Till all that is divine in woman
Grows cruel, courteous, smooth, inhuman,
Crucified 'twixt a smile and whimper.
Thrusting, toiling, wailing, moiling,
Frowning, preachingsuch a riot!
Each with never-ceasing labour,
Whilst he thinks he cheats his neighbour,
Cheating his own heart of quiet.
And all these meet at levees;
Dinners convivial and political;
Suppers of epic poets;teas,
Where small talk dies in agonies;
Breakfasts professional and critical;
Lunches and snacks so aldermanic
That one would furnish forth ten dinners,
Where reigns a Cretan-tongud panic,
Lest news Russ, Dutch, or Alemannic
Should make some losers, and some winners;
At conversazioniballs
Conventiclesand drawing-rooms
Courts of lawcommitteescalls
Of a morningclubsbook-stalls
Churchesmasqueradesand tombs.
And this is Helland in this smother
All are damnable and damned;
Each one damning, damns the other
They are damned by one another,
By none other are they damned.
'Tis a lie to say, 'God damns!'
Where was Heaven's Attorney General
When they first gave out such flams?
Let there be an end of shams,
They are mines of poisonous mineral.
Statesmen damn themselves to be
Cursed; and lawyers damn their souls
To the auction of a fee;
Churchmen damn themselves to see
God's sweet love in burning coals.
The rich are damned, beyond all cure,
To taunt, and starve, and trample on
The weak and wretched; and the poor
Damn their broken hearts to endure
Stripe on stripe, with groan on groan.
Sometimes the poor are damned indeed
To take,not means for being blessed,
But Cobbett's snuff, revenge; that weed
From which the worms that it doth feed
Squeeze less than they before possessed.
And some few, like we know who,
Damnedbut God alone knows why
To believe their minds are given
To make this ugly Hell a Heaven;
In which faith they live and die.
Thus, as in a town, plague-stricken,
Each man be he sound or no
Must indifferently sicken;
As when day begins to thicken,
None knows a pigeon from a crow,
So good and bad, sane and mad,
The oppressor and the oppressed;
Those who weep to see what others
Smile to inflict upon their brothers;
Lovers, haters, worst and best;
All are damnedthey breathe an air,
Thick, infected, joy-dispelling:
Each pursues what seems most fair,
Mining like moles, through mind, and there
Scoop palace-caverns vast, where Care
In thrond state is ever dwelling.
PART THE FOURTH
SIN
Lo, Peter in Hell's Grosvenor Square,
A footman in the Devil's service!
And the misjudging world would swear
That every man in service there
To virtue would prefer vice.
But Peter, though now damned, was not
What Peter was before damnation.
Men oftentimes prepare a lot
Which ere it finds them, is not what
Suits with their genuine station.
All things that Peter saw and felt
Had a peculiar aspect to him;
And when they came within the belt
Of his own nature, seemed to melt,
Like cloud to cloud, into him.
And so the outward world uniting
To that within him, he became
Considerably uninviting
To those who, meditation slighting,
Were moulded in a different frame.
And he scorned them, and they scorned him;
And he scorned all they did; and they
Did all that men of their own trim
Are wont to do to please their whim,
Drinking, lying, swearing, play.
Such were his fellow-servants; thus
His virtue, like our own, was built
Too much on that indignant fuss
Hypocrite Pride stirs up in us
To bully one another's guilt.
He had a mind which was somehow
At once circumference and centre
Of all he might or feel or know;
Nothing went ever out, although
Something did ever enter.
He had as much imagination
As a pint-pot;he never could
Fancy another situation,
From which to dart his contemplation,
Than that wherein he stood.
Yet his was individual mind,
And new created all he saw
In a new manner, and refined
Those new creations, and combined
Them, by a master-spirit's law.
Thusthough unimaginative
An apprehension clear, intense,
Of his mind's work, had made alive
The things it wrought on; I believe
Wakening a sort of thought in sense.
But from the first 'twas Peter's drift
To be a kind of moral eunuch,
He touched the hem of Nature's shift,
Felt faintand never dared uplift
The closest, all-concealing tunic.
She laughed the while, with an arch smile,
And kissed him with a sister's kiss,
And said'My best Diogenes,
I love you wellbut, if you please,
Tempt not again my deepest bliss.
''Tis you are coldfor I, not coy,
Yield love for love, frank, warm, and true;
And Burns, a Scottish peasant boy
His errors prove itknew my joy
More, learnd friend, than you.
'Bocca bacciata non perde ventura,
Anzi rinnuova come fa la luna:
So thought Boccaccio, whose sweet words might cure a
Male prude, like you, from what you now endure, a
Low-tide in soul, like a stagnant laguna.'
Then Peter rubbed his eyes severe,
And smoothed his spacious forehead down
With his broad palm;'twixt love and fear,
He looked, as he no doubt felt, queer,
And in his dream sate down.
The Devil was no uncommon creature;
A leaden-witted thiefjust huddled
Out of the dross and scum of nature;
A toad-like lump of limb and feature,
With mind, and heart, and fancy muddled.
He was that heavy, dull, cold thing,
The spirit of evil well may be:
A drone too base to have a sting;
Who gluts, and grimes his lazy wing,
And calls lust, luxury.
Now he was quite the kind of wight
Round whom collect, at a fixed aera,
Venison, turtle, hock, and claret,
Good cheerand those who come to share it
And best East Indian madeira!
It was his fancy to invite
Men of science, wit, and learning,
Who came to lend each other light;
He proudly thought that his gold's might
Had set those spirits burning.
And men of learning, science, wit,
Considered him as you and I
Think of some rotten tree, and sit
Lounging and dining under it,
Exposed to the wide sky.
And all the while, with loose fat smile,
The willing wretch sat winking there,
Believing 'twas his power that made
That jovial sceneand that all paid
Homage to his unnoticed chair.
Though to be sure this place was Hell;
He was the Deviland all they
What though the claret circled well,
And wit, like ocean, rose and fell?
Were damned eternally.
PART THE FIFTH
GRACE
Among the guests who often stayed
Till the Devil's petits-soupers,
A man there came, fair as a maid,
And Peter noted what he said,
Standing behind his master's chair.
He was a mighty poetand
A subtle-souled psychologist;
All things he seemed to understand,
Of old or newof sea or land
But his own mindwhich was a mist.
This was a man who might have turned
Hell into Heavenand so in gladness
A Heaven unto himself have earned;
But he in shadows undiscerned
Trusted,and damned himself to madness.
He spoke of poetry, and how
'Divine it wasa lighta love
A spirit which like wind doth blow
As it listeth, to and fro;
A dew rained down from God above;
'A power which comes and goes like dream,
And which none can ever trace
Heaven's light on earthTruth's brightest beam.'
And when he ceased there lay the gleam
Of those words upon his face.
Now Peter, when he heard such talk,
Would, heedless of a broken pate,
Stand like a man asleep, or balk
Some wishing guest of knife or fork,
Or drop and break his master's plate.
At night he oft would start and wake
Like a lover, and began
In a wild measure songs to make
On moor, and glen, and rocky lake,
And on the heart of man
And on the universal sky
And the wide earth's bosom green,
And the sweet, strange mystery
Of what beyond these things may lie,
And yet remain unseen.
For in his thought he visited
The spots in which, ere dead and damned,
He his wayward life had led;
Yet knew not whence the thoughts were fed
Which thus his fancy crammed.
And these obscure remembrances
Stirred such harmony in Peter,
That, whensoever he should please,
He could speak of rocks and trees
In poetic metre.
For though it was without a sense
Of memory, yet he remembered well
Many a ditch and quick-set fence;
Of lakes he had intelligence,
He knew something of heath and fell.
He had also dim recollections
Of pedlars tramping on their rounds;
Milk-pans and pails; and odd collections
Of saws, and proverbs; and reflections
Old parsons make in burying-grounds.
But Peter's verse was clear, and came
Announcing from the frozen hearth
Of a cold age, that none might tame
The soul of that diviner flame
It augured to the Earth:
Like gentle rains, on the dry plains,
Making that green which late was gray,
Or like the sudden moon, that stains
Some gloomy chamber's window-panes
With a broad light like day.
For language was in Peter's hand
Like clay while he was yet a potter;
And he made songs for all the land,
Sweet both to feel and understand,
As pipkins late to mountain Cotter.
And Mr. -, the bookseller,
Gave twenty pounds for some;then scorning
A footman's yellow coat to wear,
Peter, too proud of heart, I fear,
Instantly gave the Devil warning.
Whereat the Devil took offence,
And swore in his soul a great oath then,
'That for his damned impertinence
He'd bring him to a proper sense
Of what was due to gentlemen!'
PART THE SIXTH
DAMNATION
'O that mine enemy had written
A book!'cried Job:a fearful curse,
If to the Arab, as the Briton,
'Twas galling to be critic-bitten:
The Devil to Peter wished no worse.
When Peter's next new book found vent,
The Devil to all the first Reviews
A copy of it slyly sent,
With five-pound note as compliment,
And this short notice'Pray abuse.'
Then seriatim, month and quarter,
Appeared such mad tirades.One said
'Peter seduced Mrs. Foy's daughter,
Then drowned the mother in Ullswater,
The last thing as he went to bed.'
Another'Let him shave his head!
Where's Dr. Willis?Or is he joking?
What does the rascal mean or hope,
No longer imitating Pope,
In that barbarian Shakespeare poking?'
One more, 'Is incest not enough?
And must there be adultery too?
Grace after meat? Miscreant and Liar!
Thief! Blackguard! Scoundrel! Fool! Hell-fire
Is twenty times too good for you.
'By that last book of yours we think
You've double damned yourself to scorn;
We warned you whilst yet on the brink
You stood. From your black name will shrink
The babe that is unborn.'
All these Reviews the Devil made
Up in a parcel, which he had
Safely to Peter's house conveyed.
For carriage, tenpence Peter paid
Untied themread themwent half mad.
'What!' cried he, 'this is my reward
For nights of thought, and days of toil?
Do poets, but to be abhorred
By men of whom they never heard,
Consume their spirits' oil?
'What have I done to them?and who
Is Mrs. Foy? 'Tis very cruel
To speak of me and Betty so!
Adultery! God defend me! Oh!
I've half a mind to fight a duel.
'Or,' cried he, a grave look collecting,
'Is it my genius, like the moon,
Sets those who stand her face inspecting,
That face within their brain reflecting,
Like a crazed bell-chime, out of tune?'
For Peter did not know the town,
But thought, as country readers do,
For half a guinea or a crown,
He bought oblivion or renown
From God's own voice in a review.
All Peter did on this occasion
Was, writing some sad stuff in prose.
It is a dangerous invasion
When poets criticize; their station
Is to delight, not pose.
The Devil then sent to Leipsic fair
For Born's translation of Kant's book;
A world of words, tail foremost, where
Rightwrongfalsetrueand fouland fair
As in a lottery-wheel are shook.
Five thousand crammed octavo pages
Of German psychologics,he
Who his furor verborum assuages
Thereon, deserves just seven months' wages
More than will e'er be due to me.
I looked on them nine several days,
And then I saw that they were bad;
A friend, too, spoke in their dispraise,
He never read them;with amaze
I found Sir William Drummond had.
When the book came, the Devil sent
It to P. Verbovale, Esquire,
With a brief note of compliment,
By that night's Carlisle mail. It went,
And set his soul on fire.
Fire, which ex luce praebens fumum,
Made him beyond the bottom see
Of truth's clear wellwhen I and you, Ma'am,
Go, as we shall do, subter humum,
We may know more than he.
Now Peter ran to seed in soul
Into a walking paradox;
For he was neither part nor whole,
Nor good, nor badnor knave nor fool;
Among the woods and rocks
Furious he rode, where late he ran,
Lashing and spurring his tame hobby;
Turned to a formal puritan,
A solemn and unsexual man,
He half believed White Obi.
This steed in vision he would ride,
High trotting over nine-inch bridges,
With Flibbertigibbet, imp of pride,
Mocking and mowing by his side
A mad-brained goblin for a guide
Over corn-fields, gates, and hedges.
After these ghastly rides, he came
Home to his heart, and found from thence
Much stolen of its accustomed flame;
His thoughts grew weak, drowsy, and lame
Of their intelligence.
To Peter's view, all seemed one hue;
He was no Whig, he was no Tory;
No Deist and no Christian he;
He got so subtle, that to be
Nothing, was all his glory.
One single point in his belief
From his organization sprung,
The heart-enrooted faith, the chief
Ear in his doctrines' blighted sheaf,
That 'Happiness is wrong';
So thought Calvin and Dominic;
So think their fierce successors, who
Even now would neither stint nor stick
Our flesh from off our bones to pick,
If they might 'do their do.'
His morals thus were undermined:
The old Peterthe hard, old Potter
Was born anew within his mind;
He grew dull, harsh, sly, unrefined,
As when he tramped beside the Otter.
In the death hues of agony
Lambently flashing from a fish,
Now Peter felt amused to see
Shades like a rainbow's rise and flee,
Mixed with a certain hungry wish.
So in his Country's dying face
He lookedand, lovely as she lay,
Seeking in vain his last embrace,
Wailing her own abandoned case,
With hardened sneer he turned away:
And coolly to his own soul said;
'Do you not think that we might make
A poem on her when she's dead:
Or, noa thought is in my head
Her shroud for a new sheet I'll take:
'My wife wants one.Let who will bury
This mangled corpse! And I and you,
My dearest Soul, will then make merry,
As the Prince Regent did with Sherry,'
'Ayand at last desert me too.'
And so his Soul would not be gay,
But moaned within him; like a fawn
Moaning within a cave, it lay
Wounded and wasting, day by day,
Till all its life of life was gone.
As troubled skies stain waters clear,
The storm in Peter's heart and mind
Now made his verses dark and queer:
They were the ghosts of what they were,
Shaking dim grave-clothes in the wind.
For he now raved enormous folly,
Of Baptisms, Sunday-schools, and Graves,
'Twould make George Colman melancholy
To have heard him, like a male Molly,
Chanting those stupid staves.
Yet the Reviews, who heaped abuse
On Peter while he wrote for freedom,
So soon as in his song they spy
The folly which soothes tyranny,
Praise him, for those who feed 'em.
'He was a man, too great to scan;
A planet lost in truth's keen rays:
His virtue, awful and prodigious;
He was the most sublime, religious,
Pure-minded Poet of these days.'
As soon as he read that, cried Peter,
'Eureka! I have found the way
To make a better thing of metre
Than e'er was made by living creature
Up to this blessd day.'
Then Peter wrote odes to the Devil;
In one of which he meekly said:
'May Carnage and Slaughter,
Thy niece and thy daughter,
May Rapine and Famine,
Thy gorge ever cramming,
Glut thee with living and dead!
'May Death and Damnation,
And Consternation,
Flit up from Hell with pure intent!
Slash them at Manchester,
Glasgow, Leeds, and Chester;
Drench all with blood from Avon to Trent.
'Let thy body-guard yeomen
Hew down babes and women,
And laugh with bold triumph till Heaven be rent!
When Moloch in Jewry
Munched children with fury,
It was thou, Devil, dining with pure intent.'
PART THE SEVENTH
DOUBLE DAMNATION
The Devil now knew his proper cue.
Soon as he read the ode, he drove
To his friend Lord MacMurderchouse's,
A man of interest in both houses,
And said:'For money or for love,
'Pray find some cure or sinecure;
To feed from the superfluous taxes
A friend of oursa poetfewer
Have fluttered tamer to the lure
Than he.' His lordship stands and racks his
Stupid brains, while one might count
As many beads as he had boroughs,
At length replies; from his mean front,
Like one who rubs out an account,
Smoothing away the unmeaning furrows:
'It happens fortunately, dear Sir,
I can. I hope I need require
No pledge from you, that he will stir
In our affairs;like Oliver,
That he'll be worthy of his hire.'
These words exchanged, the news sent off
To Peter, home the Devil hied,
Took to his bed; he had no cough,
No doctor,meat and drink enough,
Yet that same night he died.
The Devil's corpse was leaded down;
His decent heirs enjoyed his pelf,
Mourning-coaches, many a one,
Followed his hearse along the town:
Where was the Devil himself?
When Peter heard of his promotion,
His eyes grew like two stars for bliss:
There was a bow of sleek devotion
Engendering in his back; each motion
Seemed a Lord's shoe to kiss.
He hired a house, bought plate, and made
A genteel drive up to his door,
With sifted gravel neatly laid,
As if defying all who said,
Peter was ever poor.
But a disease soon struck into
The very life and soul of Peter
He walked aboutslepthad the hue
Of health upon his cheeksand few
Dug betternone a heartier eater.
And yet a strange and horrid curse
Clung upon Peter, night and day;
Month after month the thing grew worse,
And deadlier than in this my verse
I can find strength to say.
Peter was dullhe was at first
Dulloh, so dullso very dull!
Whether he talked, wrote, or rehearsed
Still with this dulness was he cursed
Dullbeyond all conceptiondull.
No one could read his booksno mortal,
But a few natural friends, would hear him;
The parson came not near his portal;
His state was like that of the immortal
Described by Swiftno man could bear him.
His sister, wife, and children yawned,
With a long, slow, and drear ennui,
All human patience far beyond;
Their hopes of Heaven each would have pawned,
Anywhere else to be.
But in his verse, and in his prose,
The essence of his dulness was
Concentred and compressed so close,
'Twould have made Guatimozin doze
On his red gridiron of brass.
A printer's boy, folding those pages,
Fell slumbrously upon one side;
Like those famed Seven who slept three ages.
To wakeful frenzy's vigil-rages,
As opiates, were the same applied.
Even the Reviewers who were hired
To do the work of his reviewing,
With adamantine nerves, grew tired;
Gaping and torpid they retired,
To dream of what they should be doing.
And worse and worse, the drowsy curse
Yawned in him, till it grew a pest
A wide contagious atmosphere,
Creeping like cold through all things near;
A power to infect and to infest.
His servant-maids and dogs grew dull;
His kitten, late a sportive elf;
The woods and lakes, so beautiful,
Of dim stupidity were full,
All grew dull as Peter's self.
The earth under his feetthe springs,
Which lived within it a quick life,
The air, the winds of many wings,
That fan it with new murmurings,
Were dead to their harmonious strife.
The birds and beasts within the wood,
The insects, and each creeping thing,
Were now a silent multitude;
Love's work was left unwroughtno brood
Near Peter's house took wing.
And every neighbouring cottager
Stupidly yawned upon the other:
No jackass brayed; no little cur
Cocked up his ears;no man would stir
To save a dying mother.
Yet all from that charmed district went
But some half-idiot and half-knave,
Who rather than pay any rent,
Would live with marvellous content,
Over his father's grave.
No bailiff dared within that space,
For fear of the dull charm, to enter;
A man would bear upon his face,
For fifteen months in any case,
The yawn of such a venture.
Seven miles abovebelowaround
This pest of dulness holds its sway;
A ghastly life without a sound;
To Peter's soul the spell is bound
How should it ever pass away?
'Composed at Florence, October 1819, and forwarded to Hunt (Nov. 2) to be published by C. & J. Ollier without the author's name; ultimately printed by Mrs. Shelley in the second edition of the Poetical Works, 1839. A skit by John Hamilton Reynolds, Peter Bell, A Lyrical Ballad, had already appeared (April, 1819), a few days before the publication of Wordsworth's Peter Bell, A Tale. These productions were reviewed in Leigh Hunt's Examiner (April 26, May 3, 1819); and to the entertainment derived from his perusal of Hunt's criticisms the composition of Shelley's Peter Bell the Third is chiefly owing.' ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley, Peter Bell The Third
,#NFDB
632:The Victories Of Love. Book I
From Frederick Graham
Mother, I smile at your alarms!
I own, indeed, my Cousin's charms,
But, like all nursery maladies,
Love is not badly taken twice.
Have you forgotten Charlotte Hayes,
My playmate in the pleasant days
At Knatchley, and her sister, Anne,
The twins, so made on the same plan,
That one wore blue, the other white,
To mark them to their father's sight;
And how, at Knatchley harvesting,
You bade me kiss her in the ring,
Like Anne and all the others? You,
That never of my sickness knew,
Will laugh, yet had I the disease,
And gravely, if the signs are these:
As, ere the Spring has any power,
The almond branch all turns to flower,
Though not a leaf is out, so she
The bloom of life provoked in me;
And, hard till then and selfish, I
Was thenceforth nought but sanctity
And service: life was mere delight
In being wholly good and right,
As she was; just, without a slur;
Honouring myself no less than her;
Obeying, in the loneliest place,
Ev'n to the slightest gesture, grace
Assured that one so fair, so true,
He only served that was so too.
For me, hence weak towards the weak,
No more the unnested blackbird's shriek
Startled the light-leaved wood; on high
Wander'd the gadding butterfly,
Unscared by my flung cap; the bee,
242
Rifling the hollyhock in glee,
Was no more trapp'd with his own flower,
And for his honey slain. Her power,
From great things even to the grass
Through which the unfenced footways pass,
Was law, and that which keeps the law,
Cherubic gaiety and awe;
Day was her doing, and the lark
Had reason for his song; the dark
In anagram innumerous spelt
Her name with stars that throbb'd and felt;
'Twas the sad summit of delight
To wake and weep for her at night;
She turn'd to triumph or to shame
The strife of every childish game;
The heart would come into my throat
At rosebuds; howsoe'er remote,
In opposition or consent,
Each thing, or person, or event,
Or seeming neutral howsoe'er,
All, in the live, electric air,
Awoke, took aspect, and confess'd
In her a centre of unrest,
Yea, stocks and stones within me bred
Anxieties of joy and dread.
O, bright apocalyptic sky
O'erarching childhood! Far and nigh
Mystery and obscuration none,
Yet nowhere any moon or sun!
What reason for these sighs? What hope,
Daunting with its audacious scope
The disconcerted heart, affects
These ceremonies and respects?
Why stratagems in everything?
Why, why not kiss her in the ring?
'Tis nothing strange that warriors bold,
Whose fierce, forecasting eyes behold
The city they desire to sack,
Humbly begin their proud attack
By delving ditches two miles off,
Aware how the fair place would scoff
243
At hasty wooing; but, O child,
Why thus approach thy playmate mild?
One morning, when it flush'd my thought
That, what in me such wonder wrought
Was call'd, in men and women, love,
And, sick with vanity thereof,
I, saying loud, ‘I love her,’ told
My secret to myself, behold
A crisis in my mystery!
For, suddenly, I seem'd to be
Whirl'd round, and bound with showers of threads
As when the furious spider sheds
Captivity upon the fly
To still his buzzing till he die;
Only, with me, the bonds that flew,
Enfolding, thrill'd me through and through
With bliss beyond aught heaven can have
And pride to dream myself her slave.
A long, green slip of wilder'd land,
With Knatchley Wood on either hand,
Sunder'd our home from hers. This day
Glad was I as I went her way.
I stretch'd my arms to the sky, and sprang
O'er the elastic sod, and sang
‘I love her, love her!’ to an air
Which with the words came then and there;
And even now, when I would know
All was not always dull and low,
I mind me awhile of the sweet strain
Love taught me in that lonely lane.
Such glories fade, with no more mark
Than when the sunset dies to dark.
They pass, the rapture and the grace
Ineffable, their only trace
A heart which, having felt no less
Than pure and perfect happiness,
Is duly dainty of delight;
A patient, poignant appetite
For pleasures that exceed so much
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The poor things which the world calls such,
That, when these lure it, then you may
The lion with a wisp of hay.
That Charlotte, whom we scarcely knew
From Anne but by her ribbons blue,
Was loved, Anne less than look'd at, shows
That liking still by favour goes!
This Love is a Divinity,
And holds his high election free
Of human merit; or let's say,
A child by ladies call'd to play,
But careless of their becks and wiles,
Till, seeing one who sits and smiles
Like any else, yet only charms,
He cries to come into her arms.
Then, for my Cousins, fear me not!
None ever loved because he ought.
Fatal were else this graceful house,
So full of light from ladies' brows.
There's Mary; Heaven in her appears
Like sunshine through the shower's bright tears;
Mildred's of Earth, yet happier far
Than most men's thoughts of Heaven are;
But, for Honoria, Heaven and Earth
Seal'd amity in her sweet birth.
The noble Girl! With whom she talks
She knights first with her smile; she walks,
Stands, dances, to such sweet effect,
Alone she seems to move erect.
The brightest and the chastest brow
Rules o'er a cheek which seems to show
That love, as a mere vague suspense
Of apprehensive innocence,
Perturbs her heart; love without aim
Or object, like the sunlit flame
That in the Vestals' Temple glow'd,
Without the image of a god.
And this simplicity most pure
She sets off with no less allure
Of culture, subtly skill'd to raise
The power, the pride, and mutual praise
245
Of human personality
Above the common sort so high,
It makes such homely souls as mine
Marvel how brightly life may shine.
How you would love her! Even in dress
She makes the common mode express
New knowledge of what's fit so well
'Tis virtue gaily visible!
Nay, but her silken sash to me
Were more than all morality,
Had not the old, sweet, feverous ill
Left me the master of my will!
So, Mother, feel at rest, and please
To send my books on board. With these,
When I go hence, all idle hours
Shall help my pleasures and my powers.
I've time, you know, to fill my post,
And yet make up for schooling lost
Through young sea-service. They all speak
German with ease; and this, with Greek,
(Which Dr. Churchill thought I knew,)
And history, which I fail'd in too,
Will stop a gap I somewhat dread,
After the happy life I've led
With these my friends; and sweet 'twill be
To abridge the space from them to me.
II
From Mrs. Graham
My Child, Honoria Churchill sways
A double power through Charlotte Hayes.
In minds to first-love's memory pledged
The second Cupid's born full-fledged.
I saw, and trembled for the day
When you should see her beauty, gay
And pure as apple-blooms, that show
Outside a blush and inside snow,
Her high and touching elegance
Of order'd life as free as chance.
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Ah, haste from her bewitching side,
No friend for you, far less a bride!
But, warning from a hope so wild,
I wrong you. Yet this know, my Child:
He that but once too nearly hears
The music of forefended spheres,
Is thenceforth lonely, and for all
His days like one who treads the Wall
Of China, and, on this hand, sees
Cities and their civilities,
And, on the other, lions. Well,
(Your rash reply I thus foretell,)
Good is the knowledge of what's fair,
Though bought with temporal despair!
Yes, good for one, but not for two.
Will it content a wife that you
Should pine for love, in love's embrace,
Through having known a happier grace;
And break with inward sighs your rest,
Because, though good, she's not the best?
You would, you think, be just and kind,
And keep your counsel! You will find
You cannot such a secret keep;
'Twill out, like murder, in your sleep;
A touch will tell it, though, for pride,
She may her bitter knowledge hide;
And, while she accepts love's make-believe,
You'll twice despise what you'd deceive.
I send the books. Dear Child, adieu!
Tell me of all you are and do.
I know, thank God, whate'er it be,
'Twill need no veil 'twixt you and me.
III
From Frederick
The multitude of voices blythe
Of early day, the hissing scythe
Across the dew drawn and withdrawn,
The noisy peacock on the lawn,
247
These, and the sun's eye-gladding gleam,
This morning, chased the sweetest dream
That e'er shed penitential grace
On life's forgetful commonplace;
Yet 'twas no sweeter than the spell
To which I woke to say farewell.
Noon finds me many a mile removed
From her who must not be beloved;
And us the waste sea soon shall part,
Heaving for aye, without a heart!
Mother, what need to warn me so?
I love Miss Churchill? Ah, no, no.
I view, enchanted, from afar,
And love her as I love a star,
For, not to speak of colder fear,
Which keeps my fancy calm, I hear,
Under her life's gay progress hurl'd,
The wheels of the preponderant world,
Set sharp with swords that fool to slay
Who blunders from a poor byway,
To covet beauty with a crown
Of earthly blessing added on;
And she's so much, it seems to me,
Beyond all women womanly,
I dread to think how he should fare
Who came so near as to despair.
IV
From Frederick
Yonder the sombre vessel rides
Where my obscure condition hides.
Waves scud to shore against the wind
That flings the sprinkling surf behind;
In port the bickering pennons show
Which way the ships would gladly go;
Through Edgecumb Park the rooted trees
Are tossing, reckless, in the breeze;
On top of Edgecumb's firm-set tower,
As foils, not foibles, of its power,
248
The light vanes do themselves adjust
To every veering of the gust:
By me alone may nought be given
To guidance of the airs of heaven?
In battle or peace, in calm or storm,
Should I my daily task perform,
Better a thousand times for love,
Who should my secret soul reprove?
Beholding one like her, a man
Longs to lay down his life! How can
Aught to itself seem thus enough,
When I have so much need thereof?
Blest in her place, blissful is she;
And I, departing, seem to be
Like the strange waif that comes to run
A few days flaming near the sun,
And carries back, through boundless night,
Its lessening memory of light.
Oh, my dear Mother, I confess
To a deep grief of homelessness,
Unfelt, save once, before. 'Tis years
Since such a shower of girlish tears
Disgraced me? But this wretched Inn,
At Plymouth, is so full of din,
Talkings and trampings to and fro.
And then my ship, to which I go
To-night, is no more home. I dread,
As strange, the life I long have led;
And as, when first I went to school,
And found the horror of a rule
Which only ask'd to be obey'd,
I lay and wept, of dawn afraid,
And thought, with bursting heart, of one
Who, from her little, wayward son,
Required obedience, but above
Obedience still regarded love,
So change I that enchanting place,
The abode of innocence and grace
And gaiety without reproof,
For the black gun-deck's louring roof,
249
Blind and inevitable law
Which makes light duties burdens, awe
Which is not reverence, laughters gain'd
At cost of purities profaned,
And whatsoever most may stir
Remorseful passion towards her,
Whom to behold is to depart
From all defect of life and heart.
But, Mother, I shall go on shore,
And see my Cousin yet once more!
'Twere wild to hope for her, you say.
l've torn and cast those words away.
Surely there's hope! For life 'tis well
Love without hope's impossible;
So, if I love, it is that hope
Is not outside the outer scope
Of fancy. You speak truth: this hour
I must resist, or lose the power.
What! and, when some short months are o'er,
Be not much other than before?
Drop from the bright and virtuous sphere
In which I'm held but while she's dear?
For daily life's dull, senseless mood,
Slay the fine nerves of gratitude
And sweet allegiance, which I owe
Whether the debt be weal or woe?
Nay, Mother, I, forewarn'd, prefer
To want for all in wanting her.
For all? Love's best is not bereft
Ever from him to whom is left
The trust that God will not deceive
His creature, fashion'd to believe
The prophecies of pure desire.
Not loss, not death, my love shall tire.
A mystery does my heart foretell;
Nor do I press the oracle
For explanations. Leave me alone,
And let in me love's will be done.
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V
From Frederick
Fashion'd by Heaven and by art
So is she, that she makes the heart
Ache and o'erflow with tears, that grace
So lovely fair should have for place,
(Deeming itself at home the while,)
The unworthy earth! To see her smile
Amid this waste of pain and sin,
As only knowing the heaven within,
Is sweet, and does for pity stir
Passion to be her minister:
Wherefore last night I lay awake,
And said, ‘Ah, Lord, for Thy love's sake,
Give not this darling child of Thine
To care less reverent than mine!’
And, as true faith was in my word,
I trust, I trust that I was heard.
The waves, this morning, sped to land,
And shouted hoarse to touch the strand,
Where Spring, that goes not out to sea,
Lay laughing in her lovely glee;
And, so, my life was sunlit spray
And tumult, as, once more to-day,
For long farewell did I draw near
My Cousin, desperately dear.
Faint, fierce, the truth that hope was none
Gleam'd like the lightning in the sun;
Yet hope I had, and joy thereof.
The father of love is hope, (though love
Lives orphan'd on, when hope is dead,)
And, out of my immediate dread
And crisis of the coming hour,
Did hope itself draw sudden power.
So the still brooding storm, in Spring,
Makes all the birds begin to sing.
Mother, your foresight did not err:
I've lost the world, and not won her.
And yet, ah, laugh not, when you think
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What cup of life I sought to drink!
The bold, said I, have climb'd to bliss
Absurd, impossible, as this,
With nought to help them but so great
A heart it fascinates their fate.
If ever Heaven heard man's desire,
Mine, being made of altar-fire,
Must come to pass, and it will be
That she will wait, when she shall see,
This evening, how I go to get,
By means unknown, I know not yet
Quite what, but ground whereon to stand,
And plead more plainly for her hand!
And so I raved, and cast in hope
A superstitious horoscope!
And still, though something in her face
Portended ‘No!’ with such a grace
It burthen'd me with thankfulness,
Nothing was credible but ‘Yes.’
Therefore, through time's close pressure bold,
I praised myself, and boastful told
My deeds at Acre; strain'd the chance
I had of honour and advance
In war to come; and would not see
Sad silence meant, ‘What's this to me.’
When half my precious hour was gone,
She rose to greet a Mr. Vaughan;
And, as the image of the moon
Breaks up, within some still lagoon
That feels the soft wind suddenly,
Or tide fresh flowing from the sea,
And turns to giddy flames that go
Over the water to and fro,
Thus, when he took her hand to-night,
Her lovely gravity of light
Was scatter'd into many smiles
And flattering weakness. Hope beguiles
No more my heart, dear Mother. He,
By jealous looks, o'erhonour'd me.
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With nought to do, and fondly fain
To hear her singing once again,
I stay'd, and turn'd her music o'er;
Then came she with me to the door.
‘Dearest Honoria,’ I said,
(By my despair familiar made,)
‘Heaven bless you!’ Oh, to have back then stepp'd
And fallen upon her neck, and wept,
And said, ‘My friend, I owe you all
‘I am, and have, and hope for. Call
‘For some poor service; let me prove
‘To you, or him here whom you love,
‘My duty. Any solemn task,
‘For life's whole course, is all I ask!’
Then she must surely have wept too,
And said, ‘My friend, what can you do!’
And I should have replied, ‘I'll pray
‘For you and him three times a-day,
‘And, all day, morning, noon, and night,
‘My life shall be so high and right
‘That never Saint yet scaled the stairs
‘Of heaven with more availing prayers!’
But this (and, as good God shall bless
Somehow my end, I'll do no less,)
I had no right to speak. Oh, shame,
So rich a love, so poor a claim!
My Mother, now my only friend,
Farewell. The school-books which you send
I shall not want, and so return.
Give them away, or sell, or burn.
I'll write from Malta. Would I might
But be your little Child to-night,
And feel your arms about me fold,
Against this loneliness and cold!
VI
From Mrs. Graham
The folly of young girls! They doff
Their pride to smooth success, and scoff
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At far more noble fire and might
That woo them from the dust of fight!
But, Frederick, now the storm is past,
Your sky should not remain o'ercast.
A sea-life's dull, and, oh, beware
Of nourishing, for zest, despair.
My Child, remember, you have twice
Heartily loved; then why not thrice,
Or ten times? But a wise man shuns
To cry ‘All's over,’ more than once.
I'll not say that a young man's soul
Is scarcely measure of the whole
Earthly and heavenly universe,
To which he inveterately prefers
The one beloved woman. Best
Speak to the senses' interest,
Which brooks no mystery nor delay:
Frankly reflect, my Son, and say,
Was there no secret hour, of those
Pass'd at her side in Sarum Close,
When, to your spirit's sick alarm,
It seem'd that all her marvellous charm
Was marvellously fled? Her grace
Of voice, adornment, movement, face
Was what already heart and eye
Had ponder'd to satiety;
And so the good of life was o'er,
Until some laugh not heard before,
Some novel fashion in her hair,
Or style of putting back her chair,
Restored the heavens. Gather thence
The loss-consoling inference.
Yet blame not beauty, which beguiles,
With lovely motions and sweet smiles,
Which while they please us pass away,
The spirit to lofty thoughts that stay
And lift the whole of after-life,
Unless you take the vision to wife,
Which then seems lost, or serves to slake
Desire, as when a lovely lake
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Far off scarce fills the exulting eye
Of one athirst, who comes thereby,
And inappreciably sips
The deep, with disappointed lips.
To fail is sorrow, yet confess
That love pays dearly for success!
No blame to beauty! Let's complain
Of the heart, which can so ill sustain
Delight. Our griefs declare our fall,
But how much more our joys! They pall
With plucking, and celestial mirth
Can find no footing on the earth,
More than the bird of paradise,
Which only lives the while it flies.
Think, also, how 'twould suit your pride
To have this woman for a bride.
Whate'er her faults, she's one of those
To whom the world's last polish owes
A novel grace, which all who aspire
To courtliest custom must acquire.
The world's the sphere she's made to charm,
Which you have shunn'd as if 'twere harm.
Oh, law perverse, that loneliness
Breeds love, society success!
Though young, 'twere now o'er late in life
To train yourself for such a wife;
So she would suit herself to you,
As women, when they marry, do.
For, since 'tis for our dignity
Our lords should sit like lords on high,
We willingly deteriorate
To a step below our rulers' state;
And 'tis the commonest of things
To see an angel, gay with wings,
Lean weakly on a mortal's arm!
Honoria would put off the charm
Of lofty grace that caught your love,
For fear you should not seem above
Herself in fashion and degree,
As in true merit. Thus, you see,
'Twere little kindness, wisdom none,
255
To light your cot with such a sun.
VII
From Frederick
Write not, my Mother, her dear name
With the least word or hint of blame.
Who else shall discommend her choice,
I giving it my hearty voice?
Wed me? Ah, never near her come
The knowledge of the narrow home!
Far fly from her dear face, that shows
The sunshine lovelier than the rose,
The sordid gravity they wear
Who poverty's base burthen bear!
(And all are poor who come to miss
Their custom, though a crown be this.)
My hope was, that the wheels of fate,
For my exceeding need, might wait,
And she, unseen amidst all eyes,
Move sightless, till I sought the prize,
With honour, in an equal field.
But then came Vaughan, to whom I yield
With grace as much as any man,
In such cause, to another can.
Had she been mine, it seems to me
That I had that integrity
And only joy in her delight—
But each is his own favourite
In love! The thought to bring me rest
Is that of us she takes the best.
'Twas but to see him to be sure
That choice for her remain'd no more!
His brow, so gaily clear of craft;
His wit, the timely truth that laugh'd
To find itself so well express'd;
His words, abundant yet the best;
His spirit, of such handsome show
You mark'd not that his looks were so;
His bearing, prospects, birth, all these
256
Might well, with small suit, greatly please;
How greatly, when she saw arise
The reflex sweetness of her eyes
In his, and every breath defer
Humbly its bated life to her;
Whilst power and kindness of command,
Which women can no more withstand
Than we their grace, were still unquell'd,
And force and flattery both compell'd
Her softness! Say I'm worthy. I
Grew, in her presence, cold and shy.
It awed me, as an angel's might
In raiment of reproachful light.
Her gay looks told my sombre mood
That what's not happy is not good;
And, just because 'twas life to please,
Death to repel her, truth and ease
Deserted me; I strove to talk,
And stammer'd foolishness; my walk
Was like a drunkard's; if she took
My arm, it stiffen'd, ached, and shook:
A likely wooer! Blame her not;
Nor ever say, dear Mother, aught
Against that perfectness which is
My strength, as once it was my bliss.
And do not chafe at social rules.
Leave that to charlatans and fools.
Clay graffs and clods conceive the rose,
So base still fathers best. Life owes
Itself to bread; enough thereof
And easy days condition love;
And, kindly train'd, love's roses thrive,
No more pale, scentless petals five,
Which moisten the considerate eye
To see what haste they make to die,
But heavens of colour and perfume,
Which, month by month, renew the bloom
Of art-born graces, when the year
In all the natural grove is sere.
Blame nought then! Bright let be the air
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About my lonely cloud of care.
VIII
From Frederick
Religion, duty, books, work, friends,—
'Tis good advice, but there it ends.
I'm sick for what these have not got.
Send no more books: they help me not;
I do my work: the void's there still
Which carefullest duty cannot fill.
What though the inaugural hour of right
Comes ever with a keen delight?
Little relieves the labour's heat;
Disgust oft crowns it when complete;
And life, in fact, is not less dull
For being very dutiful.
‘The stately homes of England,’ lo,
‘How beautiful they stand!’ They owe
How much to nameless things like me
Their beauty of security!
But who can long a low toil mend
By looking to a lofty end?
And let me, since 'tis truth, confess
The void's not fill'd by godliness.
God is a tower without a stair,
And His perfection, love's despair.
'Tis He shall judge me when I die;
He suckles with the hissing fly
The spider; gazes calmly down,
Whilst rapine grips the helpless town.
His vast love holds all this and more.
In consternation I adore.
Nor can I ease this aching gulf
With friends, the pictures of myself.
Then marvel not that I recur
From each and all of these to her.
For more of heaven than her have I
No sensitive capacity.
Had I but her, ah, what the gain
258
Of owning aught but that domain!
Nay, heaven's extent, however much,
Cannot be more than many such;
And, she being mine, should God to me
Say ‘Lo! my Child, I give to thee
All heaven besides,’ what could I then,
But, as a child, to Him complain
That whereas my dear Father gave
A little space for me to have
In His great garden, now, o'erblest,
I've that, indeed, but all the rest,
Which, somehow, makes it seem I've got
All but my only cared-for plot.
Enough was that for my weak hand
To tend, my heart to understand.
Oh, the sick fact, 'twixt her and me
There's naught, and half a world of sea.
IX
From Frederick
In two, in less than two hours more
I set my foot on English shore,
Two years untrod, and, strange to tell,
Nigh miss'd through last night's storm! There fell
A man from the shrouds, that roar'd to quench
Even the billows' blast and drench.
Besides me none was near to mark
His loud cry in the louder dark,
Dark, save when lightning show'd the deeps
Standing about in stony heaps.
No time for choice! A rope; a flash
That flamed as he rose; a dizzy splash;
A strange, inopportune delight
Of mounting with the billowy might,
And falling, with a thrill again
Of pleasure shot from feet to brain;
And both paced deck, ere any knew
Our peril. Round us press'd the crew,
With wonder in the eyes of most.
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As if the man who had loved and lost
Honoria dared no more than that!
My days have else been stale and flat.
This life's at best, if justly scann'd,
A tedious walk by the other's strand,
With, here and there cast up, a piece
Of coral or of ambergris,
Which, boasted of abroad, we ignore
The burden of the barren shore.
I seldom write, for 'twould be still
Of how the nerves refuse to thrill;
How, throughout doubly-darken'd days,
I cannot recollect her face;
How to my heart her name to tell
Is beating on a broken bell;
And, to fill up the abhorrent gulf,
Scarce loving her, I hate myself.
Yet, latterly, with strange delight,
Rich tides have risen in the night,
And sweet dreams chased the fancies dense
Of waking life's dull somnolence.
I see her as I knew her, grace
Already glory in her face;
I move about, I cannot rest,
For the proud brain and joyful breast
I have of her. Or else I float,
The pilot of an idle boat,
Alone, alone with sky and sea,
And her, the third simplicity.
Or Mildred, to some question, cries,
(Her merry meaning in her eyes,)
‘The Ball, oh, Frederick will go;
‘Honoria will be there!’ and, lo,
As moisture sweet my seeing blurs
To hear my name so link'd with hers,
A mirror joins, by guilty chance,
Either's averted, watchful glance!
Or with me, in the Ball-Room's blaze,
Her brilliant mildness thrids the maze;
Our thoughts are lovely, and each word
260
Is music in the music heard,
And all things seem but parts to be
Of one persistent harmony.
By which I'm made divinely bold;
The secret, which she knows, is told;
And, laughing with a lofty bliss
Of innocent accord, we kiss;
About her neck my pleasure weeps;
Against my lip the silk vein leaps;
Then says an Angel, ‘Day or night,
‘If yours you seek, not her delight,
‘Although by some strange witchery
‘It seems you kiss her, 'tis not she;
‘But, whilst you languish at the side
‘Of a fair-foul phantasmal bride,
‘Surely a dragon and strong tower
‘Guard the true lady in her bower.’
And I say, ‘Dear my Lord, Amen!’
And the true lady kiss again.
Or else some wasteful malady
Devours her shape and dims her eye;
No charms are left, where all were rife,
Except her voice, which is her life,
Wherewith she, for her foolish fear,
Says trembling, ‘Do you love me, Dear?’
And I reply, ‘Sweetest, I vow
‘I never loved but half till now.’
She turns her face to the wall at this,
And says, ‘Go, Love, 'tis too much bliss.’
And then a sudden pulse is sent
About the sounding firmament
In smitings as of silver bars;
The bright disorder of the stars
Is solved by music; far and near,
Through infinite distinctions clear,
Their twofold voices' deeper tone
Utters the Name which all things own,
And each ecstatic treble dwells
On one whereof none other tells;
And we, sublimed to song and fire,
Take order in the wheeling quire,
Till from the throbbing sphere I start,
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Waked by the heaving of my heart.
Such dreams as these come night by night,
Disturbing day with their delight.
Portend they nothing? Who can tell!
God yet may do some miracle.
'Tis nigh two years, and she's not wed,
Or you would know! He may be dead,
Or mad, and loving some one else,
And she, much moved that nothing quells
My constancy, or, simply wroth
With such a wretch, accept my troth
To spite him; or her beauty's gone,
(And that's my dream!) and this man Vaughan
Takes her release: or tongues malign,
Confusing every ear but mine,
Have smirch'd her: ah, 'twould move her, sure,
To find I loved her all the more!
Nay, now I think, haply amiss
I read her words and looks, and his,
That night! Did not his jealousy
Show—Good my God, and can it be
That I, a modest fool, all blest,
Nothing of such a heaven guess'd?
Oh, chance too frail, yet frantic sweet,
To-morrow sees me at her feet!
Yonder, at last, the glad sea roars
Along the sacred English shores!
There lies the lovely land I know,
Where men and women lordliest grow;
There peep the roofs where more than kings
Postpone state cares to country things,
And many a gay queen simply tends
The babes on whom the world depends;
There curls the wanton cottage smoke
Of him that drives but bears no yoke;
There laughs the realm where low and high
Are lieges to society.
And life has all too wide a scope,
Too free a prospect for its hope,
For any private good or ill,
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Except dishonour, quite to fill!
—Mother, since this was penn'd, I've read
That ‘Mr. Vaughan, on Tuesday, wed
‘The beautiful Miss Churchill.’ So
That's over; and to-morrow I go
To take up my new post on board
The ‘Wolf,’ my peace at last restored;
My lonely faith, like heart-of-oak,
Shock-season'd. Grief is now the cloak
I clasp about me to prevent
The deadly chill of a content
With any near or distant good,
Except the exact beatitude
Which love has shown to my desire.
Talk not of ‘other joys and higher,’
I hate and disavow all bliss
As none for me which is not this.
Think not I blasphemously cope
With God's decrees, and cast off hope.
How, when, and where can mine succeed?
I'll trust He knows who made my need.
Baseness of men! Pursuit being o'er,
Doubtless her Husband feels no more
The heaven of heavens of such a Bride,
But, lounging, lets her please his pride
With fondness, guerdons her caress
With little names, and turns a tress
Round idle fingers. If 'tis so,
Why then I'm happier of the two!
Better, for lofty loss, high pain,
Than low content with lofty gain.
Poor, foolish Dove, to trust from me
Her happiness and dignity!
From Frederick
I thought the worst had brought me balm:
'Twas but the tempest's central calm.
Vague sinkings of the heart aver
263
That dreadful wrong is come to her,
And o'er this dream I brood and dote,
And learn its agonies by rote.
As if I loved it, early and late
I make familiar with my fate,
And feed, with fascinated will,
On very dregs of finish'd ill.
I think, she's near him now, alone,
With wardship and protection none;
Alone, perhaps, in the hindering stress
Of airs that clasp him with her dress,
They wander whispering by the wave;
And haply now, in some sea-cave,
Where the ribb'd sand is rarely trod,
They laugh, they kiss. Oh, God! oh, God!
There comes a smile acutely sweet
Out of the picturing dark; I meet
The ancient frankness of her gaze,
That soft and heart-surprising blaze
Of great goodwill and innocence,
And perfect joy proceeding thence!
Ah! made for earth's delight, yet such
The mid-sea air's too gross to touch.
At thought of which, the soul in me
Is as the bird that bites a bee,
And darts abroad on frantic wing,
Tasting the honey and the sting;
And, moaning where all round me sleep
Amidst the moaning of the deep,
I start at midnight from my bed—
And have no right to strike him dead.
What world is this that I am in,
Where chance turns sanctity to sin!
'Tis crime henceforward to desire
The only good; the sacred fire
That sunn'd the universe is hell!
I hear a Voice which argues well:
‘The Heaven hard has scorn'd your cry;
‘Fall down and worship me, and I
‘Will give you peace; go and profane
‘This pangful love, so pure, so vain,
264
‘And thereby win forgetfulness
‘And pardon of the spirit's excess,
‘Which soar'd too nigh that jealous Heaven
‘Ever, save thus, to be forgiven.
‘No Gospel has come down that cures
‘With better gain a loss like yours.
‘Be pious! Give the beggar pelf,
‘And love your neighbour as yourself!
‘You, who yet love, though all is o'er,
‘And she'll ne'er be your neighbour more,
‘With soul which can in pity smile
‘That aught with such a measure vile
‘As self should be at all named 'love!'
‘Your sanctity the priests reprove;
‘Your case of grief they wholly miss;
‘The Man of Sorrows names not this.
‘The years, they say, graff love divine
‘On the lopp'd stock of love like thine;
‘The wild tree dies not, but converts.
‘So be it; but the lopping hurts,
‘The graff takes tardily! Men stanch
‘Meantime with earth the bleeding branch,
‘There's nothing heals one woman's loss,
‘And lighten's life's eternal cross
‘With intermission of sound rest,
‘Like lying in another's breast.
‘The cure is, to your thinking, low!
‘Is not life all, henceforward, so?’
Ill Voice, at least thou calm'st my mood.
I'll sleep! But, as I thus conclude,
The intrusions of her grace dispel
The comfortable glooms of hell.
A wonder! Ere these lines were dried,
Vaughan and my Love, his three-days' Bride,
Became my guests. I look'd, and, lo,
In beauty soft as is the snow
And powerful as the avalanche,
She lit the deck. The Heav'n-sent chance!
She smiled, surprised. They came to see
The ship, not thinking to meet me.
265
At infinite distance she's my day:
What then to him? Howbeit they say
'Tis not so sunny in the sun
But men might live cool lives thereon!
All's well; for I have seen arise
That reflex sweetness of her eyes
In his, and watch'd his breath defer
Humbly its bated life to her,
His wife. My Love, she's safe in his
Devotion! What ask'd I but this?
They bade adieu; I saw them go
Across the sea; and now I know
The ultimate hope I rested on,
The hope beyond the grave, is gone,
The hope that, in the heavens high,
At last it should appear that I
Loved most, and so, by claim divine,
Should have her, in the heavens, for mine,
According to such nuptial sort
As may subsist in the holy court,
Where, if there are all kinds of joys
To exhaust the multitude of choice
In many mansions, then there are
Loves personal and particular,
Conspicuous in the glorious sky
Of universal charity,
As Phosphor in the sunrise. Now
I've seen them, I believe their vow
Immortal; and the dreadful thought,
That he less honour'd than he ought
Her sanctity, is laid to rest,
And, blessing them, I too am blest.
My goodwill, as a springing air,
Unclouds a beauty in despair;
I stand beneath the sky's pure cope
Unburthen'd even by a hope;
And peace unspeakable, a joy
Which hope would deaden and destroy,
Like sunshine fills the airy gulf
266
Left by the vanishing of self.
That I have known her; that she moves
Somewhere all-graceful; that she loves,
And is belov'd, and that she's so
Most happy, and to heaven will go,
Where I may meet with her, (yet this
I count but accidental bliss,)
And that the full, celestial weal
Of all shall sensitively feel
The partnership and work of each,
And thus my love and labour reach
Her region, there the more to bless
Her last, consummate happiness,
Is guerdon up to the degree
Of that alone true loyalty
Which, sacrificing, is not nice
About the terms of sacrifice,
But offers all, with smiles that say,
'Tis little, but it is for aye!
XI
From Mrs. Graham
You wanted her, my Son, for wife,
With the fierce need of life in life.
That nobler passion of an hour
Was rather prophecy than power;
And nature, from such stress unbent,
Recurs to deep discouragement.
Trust not such peace yet; easy breath,
In hot diseases, argues death;
And tastelessness within the mouth
Worse fever shows than heat or drouth.
Wherefore take, Frederick, timely fear
Against a different danger near:
Wed not one woman, oh, my Child,
Because another has not smiled!
Oft, with a disappointed man,
The first who cares to win him can;
For, after love's heroic strain,
Which tired the heart and brought no gain,
267
He feels consoled, relieved, and eased
To meet with her who can be pleased
To proffer kindness, and compute
His acquiescence for pursuit;
Who troubles not his lonely mood;
And asks for love mere gratitude.
Ah, desperate folly! Yet, we know,
Who wed through love wed mostly so.
At least, my Son, when wed you do,
See that the woman equals you,
Nor rush, from having loved too high,
Into a worse humility.
A poor estate's a foolish plea
For marrying to a base degree.
A woman grown cannot be train'd,
Or, if she could, no love were gain'd;
For, never was a man's heart caught
By graces he himself had taught.
And fancy not 'tis in the might
Of man to do without delight;
For, should you in her nothing find
To exhilarate the higher mind,
Your soul would deaden useless wings
With wickedness of lawful things,
And vampire pleasure swift destroy
Even the memory of joy.
So let no man, in desperate mood,
Wed a dull girl because she's good.
All virtues in his wife soon dim,
Except the power of pleasing him,
Which may small virtue be, or none!
I know my just and tender Son,
To whom the dangerous grace is given
That scorns a good which is not heaven;
My Child, who used to sit and sigh
Under the bright, ideal sky,
And pass, to spare the farmer's wheat,
The poppy and the meadow-sweet!
He would not let his wife's heart ache
For what was mainly his mistake;
268
But, having err'd so, all his force
Would fix upon the hard, right course.
She's graceless, say, yet good and true,
And therefore inly fair, and, through
The veils which inward beauty fold,
Faith can her loveliness behold.
Ah, that's soon tired; faith falls away
Without the ceremonial stay
Of outward loveliness and awe.
The weightier matters of the law
She pays: mere mint and cumin not;
And, in the road that she was taught,
She treads, and takes for granted still
Nature's immedicable ill;
So never wears within her eyes
A false report of paradise,
Nor ever modulates her mirth
With vain compassion of the earth,
Which made a certain happier face
Affecting, and a gayer grace
With pathos delicately edged!
Yet, though she be not privileged
To unlock for you your heart's delight,
(Her keys being gold, but not the right,)
On lower levels she may do!
Her joy is more in loving you
Than being loved, and she commands
All tenderness she understands.
It is but when you proffer more
The yoke weighs heavy and chafes sore.
It's weary work enforcing love
On one who has enough thereof,
And honour on the lowlihead
Of ignorance! Besides, you dread,
In Leah's arms, to meet the eyes
Of Rachel, somewhere in the skies,
And both return, alike relieved,
To life less loftily conceived.
Alas, alas!
Then wait the mood
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In which a woman may be woo'd
Whose thoughts and habits are too high
For honour to be flattery,
And who would surely not allow
The suit that you could proffer now.
Her equal yoke would sit with ease;
It might, with wearing, even please,
(Not with a better word to move
The loyal wrath of present love);
She would not mope when you were gay,
For want of knowing aught to say;
Nor vex you with unhandsome waste
Of thoughts ill-timed and words ill-placed;
Nor reckon small things duties small,
And your fine sense fantastical;
Nor would she bring you up a brood
Of strangers bound to you by blood,
Boys of a meaner moral race,
Girls with their mother's evil grace,
But not her chance to sometimes find
Her critic past his judgment kind;
Nor, unaccustom'd to respect,
Which men, where 'tis not claim'd, neglect,
Confirm you selfish and morose,
And slowly, by contagion, gross;
But, glad and able to receive
The honour you would long to give,
Would hasten on to justify
Expectancy, however high,
Whilst you would happily incur
Compulsion to keep up with her.
XII
From Frederick
Your letter, Mother, bears the date
Of six months back, and comes too late.
My Love, past all conceiving lost,
A change seem'd good, at any cost,
From lonely, stupid, silent grief,
Vain, objectless, beyond relief,
270
And, like a sea-fog, settled dense
On fancy, feeling, thought, and sense.
I grew so idle, so despised
Myself, my powers, by Her unprized,
Honouring my post, but nothing more,
And lying, when I lived on shore,
So late of mornings: weak tears stream'd
For such slight cause,—if only gleam'd,
Remotely, beautifully bright,
On clouded eves at sea, the light
Of English headlands in the sun,—
That soon I deem'd 'twere better done
To lay this poor, complaining wraith
Of unreciprocated faith:
And so, with heart still bleeding quick,
But strengthen'd by the comfort sick
Of knowing that She could not care,
I turn'd away from my despair,
And told our chaplain's daughter, Jane,—
A dear, good girl, who saw my pain,
And look'd as if she pitied me,—
How glad and thankful I should be
If some kind woman, not above
Myself in rank, would give her love
To one that knew not how to woo.
Whereat she, without more ado,
Blush'd, spoke of love return'd, and closed
With what she thought I had proposed.
And, trust me, Mother, I and Jane,
We suit each other well. My gain
Is very great in this good Wife,
To whom I'm bound, for natural life,
By hearty faith, yet crossing not
My faith towards—I know not what!
As to the ether is the air,
Is her good to Honoria's fair;
One place is full of both, yet each
Lies quite beyond the other's reach
And recognition.
If you say,
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Am I contented? Yea and nay!
For what's base but content to grow
With less good than the best we know?
But think me not from life withdrawn,
By passion for a hope that's gone,
So far as to forget how much
A woman is, as merely such,
To man's affection. What is best,
In each, belongs to all the rest;
And though, in marriage, quite to kiss
And half to love the custom is,
'Tis such dishonour, ruin bare,
The soul's interior despair,
And life between two troubles toss'd,
To me, who think not with the most;
Whatever 'twould have been, before
My Cousin's time, 'tis now so sore
A treason to the abiding throne
Of that sweet love which I have known,
I cannot live so, and I bend
My mind perforce to comprehend
That He who gives command to love
Does not require a thing above
The strength He gives. The highest degree
Of the hardest grace, humility;
The step t'ward heaven the latest trod,
And that which makes us most like God,
And us much more than God behoves,
Is, to be humble in our loves.
Henceforth for ever therefore I
Renounce all partiality
Of passion. Subject to control
Of that perspective of the soul
Which God Himself pronounces good,
Confirming claims of neighbourhood,
And giving man, for earthly life,
The closest neighbour in a wife,
I'll serve all. Jane be much more dear
Than all as she is much more near!
I'll love her! Yea, and love's joy comes
Ever from self-love's martyrdoms!
272
Yet, not to lie for God, 'tis true
That 'twas another joy I knew
When freighted was my heart with fire
Of fond, irrational desire
For fascinating, female charms,
And hopeless heaven in Her mild arms.
Nor wrong I any, if I profess
That care for heaven with me were less
But that I'm utterly imbued
With faith of all Earth's hope renew'd
In realms where no short-coming pains
Expectance, and dear love disdains
Time's treason, and the gathering dross,
And lasts for ever in the gloss
Of newness.
All the bright past seems,
Now, but a splendour in my dreams,
Which shows, albeit the dreamer wakes,
The standard of right life. Life aches
To be therewith conform'd; but, oh,
The world's so stolid, dark, and low!
That and the mortal element
Forbid the beautiful intent,
And, like the unborn butterfly,
It feels the wings, and wants the sky.
But perilous is the lofty mood
Which cannot yoke with lowly good.
Right life, for me, is life that wends
By lowly ways to lofty ends.
I well perceive, at length, that haste
T'ward heaven itself is only waste;
And thus I dread the impatient spur
Of aught that speaks too plain of Her.
There's little here that story tells;
But music talks of nothing else.
Therefore, when music breathes, I say,
(And urge my task,) Away, away!
Thou art the voice of one I knew,
But what thou say'st is not yet true;
Thou art the voice of her I loved,
273
And I would not be vainly moved.
So that which did from death set free
All things, now dons death's mockery,
And takes its place with things that are
But little noted. Do not mar
For me your peace! My health is high.
The proud possession of mine eye
Departed, I am much like one
Who had by haughty custom grown
To think gilt rooms, and spacious grounds,
Horses, and carriages, and hounds,
Fine linen, and an eider bed
As much his need as daily bread,
And honour of men as much or more.
Till, strange misfortune smiting sore,
His pride all goes to pay his debts,
A lodging anywhere he gets,
And takes his family thereto
Weeping, and other relics few,
Allow'd, by them that seize his pelf,
As precious only to himself.
Yet the sun shines; the country green
Has many riches, poorly seen
From blazon'd coaches; grace at meat
Goes well with thrift in what they eat;
And there's amends for much bereft
In better thanks for much that's left!
Jane is not fair, yet pleases well
The eye in which no others dwell;
And features somewhat plainly set,
And homely manners leave her yet
The crowning boon and most express
Of Heaven's inventive tenderness,
A woman. But I do her wrong,
Letting the world's eyes guide my tongue!
She has a handsomeness that pays
No homage to the hourly gaze,
And dwells not on the arch'd brow's height
And lids which softly lodge the light,
Nor in the pure field of the cheek
274
Flow'rs, though the soul be still to seek;
But shows as fits that solemn place
Whereof the window is the face:
Blankness and leaden outlines mark
What time the Church within is dark;
Yet view it on a Festal night,
Or some occasion else for light,
And each ungainly line is seen
A special character to mean
Of Saint or Prophet, and the whole
Blank window is a living scroll.
For hours, the clock upon the shelf,
Has all the talking to itself;
But to and fro her needle runs
Twice, while the clock is ticking once;
And, when a wife is well in reach,
Not silence separates, but speech;
And I, contented, read, or smoke,
And idly think, or idly stroke
The winking cat, or watch the fire,
In social peace that does not tire;
Until, at easeful end of day,
She moves, and puts her work away,
And, saying ‘How cold 'tis,’ or ‘How warm,’
Or something else as little harm,
Comes, used to finding, kindly press'd,
A woman's welcome to my breast,
With all the great advantage clear
Of none else having been so near.
But sometimes, (how shall I deny!)
There falls, with her thus fondly by,
Dejection, and a chilling shade.
Remember'd pleasures, as they fade,
Salute me, and colossal grow,
Like foot-prints in the thawing snow.
I feel oppress'd beyond my force
With foolish envy and remorse.
I love this woman, but I might
Have loved some else with more delight;
And strange it seems of God that He
275
Should make a vain capacity.
Such times of ignorant relapse,
'Tis well she does not talk, perhaps.
The dream, the discontent, the doubt,
To some injustice flaming out,
Were't else, might leave us both to moan
A kind tradition overthrown,
And dawning promise once more dead
In the pernicious lowlihead
Of not aspiring to be fair.
And what am I, that I should dare
Dispute with God, who moulds one clay
To honour and shame, and wills to pay
With equal wages them that delve
About His vines one hour or twelve!
XIII
From Lady Clitheroe To Mary Churchill
I've dreadful news, my Sister dear!
Frederick has married, as we hear,
Oh, such a girl! This fact we get
From Mr. Barton, whom we met
At Abury once. He used to know,
At Race and Hunt, Lord Clitheroe,
And writes that he ‘has seen Fred Graham,
‘Commander of the 'Wolf,'—the same
‘The Mess call'd Joseph,—with his Wife
‘Under his arm.’ He ‘lays his life,
‘The fellow married her for love,
‘For there was nothing else to move.
‘H. is her Shibboleth. 'Tis said
‘Her Mother was a Kitchen-Maid.’
Poor Fred! What will Honoria say?
She thought so highly of him. Pray
Tell it her gently. I've no right,
I know you hold, to trust my sight;
But Frederick's state could not be hid!
And Felix, coming when he did,
276
Was lucky; for Honoria, too,
Was half in love. How warm she grew
On ‘worldliness,’ when once I said
I fancied that, in ladies, Fred
Had tastes much better than his means!
His hand was worthy of a Queen's,
Said she, and actually shed tears
The night he left us for two years,
And sobb'd, when ask'd the cause to tell,
That ‘Frederick look'd so miserable.’
He did look very dull, no doubt,
But such things girls don't cry about.
What weathercocks men always prove!
You're quite right not to fall in love.
I never did, and, truth to tell,
I don't think it respectable.
The man can't understand it, too.
He likes to be in love with you,
But scarce knows how, if you love him,
Poor fellow. When 'tis woman's whim
To serve her husband night and day,
The kind soul lets her have her way!
So, if you wed, as soon you should,
Be selfish for your husband's good.
Happy the men who relegate
Their pleasures, vanities, and state
To us. Their nature seems to be
To enjoy themselves by deputy,
For, seeking their own benefit,
Dear, what a mess they make of it!
A man will work his bones away,
If but his wife will only play;
He does not mind how much he's teased,
So that his plague looks always pleased;
And never thanks her, while he lives,
For anything, but what he gives!
'Tis hard to manage men, we hear!
Believe me, nothing's easier, Dear.
The most important step by far
Is finding what their colours are.
The next is, not to let them know
277
The reason why they love us so.
The indolent droop of a blue shawl,
Or gray silk's fluctuating fall,
Covers the multitude of sins
In me. Your husband, Love, might wince
At azure, and be wild at slate,
And yet do well with chocolate.
Of course you'd let him fancy he
Adored you for your piety.
XIV
From Jane To Her Mother
Dear Mother, as you write, I see
How glad and thankful I should be
For such a husband. Yet to tell
The truth, I am so miserable!
How could he—I remember, though,
He never said he loved me! No,
He is so right that all seems wrong
I've done and thought my whole life long!
I'm grown so dull and dead with fear
That Yes and No, when he is near,
Is all I have to say. He's quite
Unlike what most would call polite,
And yet, when first I saw him come
To tea in Aunt's fine drawing-room,
He made me feel so common! Oh,
How dreadful if he thinks me so!
It's no use trying to behave
To him. His eye, so kind and grave,
Sees through and through me! Could not you,
Without his knowing that I knew,
Ask him to scold me now and then?
Mother, it's such a weary strain
The way he has of treating me
As if 'twas something fine to be
A woman; and appearing not
To notice any faults I've got!
I know he knows I'm plain, and small,
Stupid, and ignorant, and all
278
Awkward and mean; and, by degrees,
I see a beauty which he sees,
When often he looks strange awhile,
Then recollects me with a smile.
I wish he had that fancied Wife,
With me for Maid, now! all my life
To dress her out for him, and make
Her looks the lovelier for his sake;
To have her rate me till I cried;
Then see her seated by his side,
And driven off proudly to the Ball;
Then to stay up for her, whilst all
The servants were asleep; and hear
At dawn the carriage rolling near,
And let them in; and hear her laugh,
And boast, he said that none was half
So beautiful, and that the Queen,
Who danced with him the first, had seen
And noticed her, and ask'd who was
That lady in the golden gauze?
And then to go to bed, and lie
In a sort of heavenly jealousy,
Until 'twas broad day, and I guess'd
She slept, nor knew how she was bless'd.
Pray burn this letter. I would not
Complain, but for the fear I've got
Of going wild, as we hear tell
Of people shut up in a cell,
With no one there to talk to. He
Must never know he is loved by me
The most; he'd think himself to blame;
And I should almost die for shame.
If being good would serve instead
Of being graceful, ah, then, Fred—
But I, myself, I never could
See what's in women's being good;
For all their goodness is to do
Just what their nature tells them to.
Now, when a man would do what's right,
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He has to try with all his might.
Though true and kind in deed and word,
Fred's not a vessel of the Lord.
But I have hopes of him; for, oh,
How can we ever surely know
But that the very darkest place
May be the scene of saving grace!
XV
From Frederick
‘How did I feel?’ The little wight
Fill'd me, unfatherly, with fright!
So grim it gazed, and, out of the sky,
There came, minute, remote, the cry,
Piercing, of original pain.
I put the wonder back to Jane,
And her delight seem'd dash'd, that I,
Of strangers still by nature shy,
Was not familiar quite so soon
With her small friend of many a moon.
But, when the new-made Mother smiled,
She seem'd herself a little child,
Dwelling at large beyond the law
By which, till then, I judged and saw;
And that fond glow which she felt stir
For it, suffused my heart for her;
To whom, from the weak babe, and thence
To me, an influent innocence,
Happy, reparative of life,
Came, and she was indeed my wife,
As there, lovely with love she lay,
Brightly contented all the day
To hug her sleepy little boy,
In the reciprocated joy
Of touch, the childish sense of love,
Ever inquisitive to prove
Its strange possession, and to know
If the eye's report be really so.
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XVI
From Jane To Mrs. Graham
Dear Mother,—such if you'll allow,
In love, not law, I'll call you now,—
I hope you're well. I write to say
Frederick has got, besides his pay,
A good appointment in the Docks;
Also to thank you for the frocks
And shoes for Baby. I, (D.V.,)
Shall soon be strong. Fred goes to sea
No more. I am so glad; because,
Though kinder husband never was,
He seems still kinder to become
The more he stays with me at home.
When we are parted, I see plain
He's dull till he gets used again
To marriage. Do not tell him, though;
I would not have him know I know,
For all the world.
I try to mind
All your advice; but sometimes find
I do not well see how. I thought
To take it about dress; so bought
A gay new bonnet, gown, and shawl;
But Frederick was not pleased at all;
For, though he smiled, and said, ‘How smart!’
I feel, you know, what's in his heart.
But I shall learn! I fancied long
That care in dress was very wrong,
Till Frederick, in his startling way,
When I began to blame, one day,
The Admiral's Wife, because we hear
She spends two hours, or something near,
In dressing, took her part, and said
How all things deck themselves that wed;
How birds and plants grow fine to please
Each other in their marriages;
And how (which certainly is true—
It never struck me—did it you?)
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Dress was, at first, Heaven's ordinance,
And has much Scripture countenance.
For Eliezer, we are told,
Adorn'd with jewels and with gold
Rebecca. In the Psalms, again,
How the King's Daughter dress'd! And, then,
The Good Wife in the Proverbs, she
Made herself clothes of tapestry,
Purple and silk: and there's much more
I had not thought about before!
But Fred's so clever! Do you know,
Since Baby came, he loves me so!
I'm really useful, now, to Fred;
And none could do so well instead.
It's nice to fancy, if I died,
He'd miss me from the Darling's side!
Also, there's something now, you see,
On which we talk, and quite agree;
On which, without pride too, I can
Hope I'm as wise as any man.
I should be happy now, if quite
Sure that in one thing Fred was right.
But, though I trust his prayers are said,
Because he goes so late to bed,
I doubt his Calling. Glad to find
A text adapted to his mind,—
That where St. Paul, in Man and Wife,
Allows a little worldly life,—
He smiled, and said that he knew all
Such things as that without St. Paul!
And once he said, when I with pain
Had got him just to read Romaine,
‘Men's creeds should not their hopes condemn.
‘Who wait for heaven to come to them
‘Are little like to go to heaven,
‘If logic's not the devil's leaven!’
I cried at such a wicked joke,
And he, surprised, went out to smoke.
But to judge him is not for me,
Who myself sin so dreadfully
As half to doubt if I should care
282
To go to heaven, and he not there.
He must be right; and I dare say
I shall soon understand his way.
To other things, once strange, I've grown
Accustom'd, nay, to like. I own
'Twas long before I got well used
To sit, while Frederick read or mused
For hours, and scarcely spoke. When he
For all that, held the door to me,
Pick'd up my handkerchief, and rose
To set my chair, with other shows
Of honour, such as men, 'tis true,
To sweethearts and fine ladies do,
It almost seem'd an unkind jest;
But now I like these ways the best.
They somehow make me gentle and good;
And I don't mind his quiet mood.
If Frederick does seem dull awhile,
There's Baby. You should see him smile!
I'm pretty and nice to him, sweet Pet,
And he will learn no better yet:
Indeed, now little Johnny makes
A busier time of it, and takes
Our thoughts off one another more,
I'm happy as need be, I'm sure!
XVII
From Felix To Honoria
Let me, Beloved, while gratitude
Is garrulous with coming good,
Or ere the tongue of happiness
Be silenced by your soft caress,
Relate how, musing here of you,
The clouds, the intermediate blue,
The air that rings with larks, the grave
And distant rumour of the wave,
The solitary sailing skiff,
The gusty corn-field on the cliff,
The corn-flower by the crumbling ledge,
Or, far-down at the shingle's edge,
283
The sighing sea's recurrent crest
Breaking, resign'd to its unrest,
All whisper, to my home-sick thought,
Of charms in you till now uncaught,
Or only caught as dreams, to die
Ere they were own'd by memory.
High and ingenious Decree
Of joy-devising Deity!
You whose ambition only is
The assurance that you make my bliss,
(Hence my first debt of love to show,
That you, past showing, indeed do so!)
Trust me, the world, the firmament,
With diverse-natured worlds besprent,
Were rear'd in no mere undivine
Boast of omnipotent design,
The lion differing from the snake
But for the trick of difference sake,
And comets darting to and fro
Because in circles planets go;
But rather that sole love might be
Refresh'd throughout eternity
In one sweet faith, for ever strange,
Mirror'd by circumstantial change.
For, more and more, do I perceive
That everything is relative
To you, and that there's not a star,
Nor nothing in't, so strange or far,
But, if 'twere scanned, 'twould chiefly mean
Somewhat, till then, in you unseen,
Something to make the bondage strait
Of you and me more intimate,
Some unguess'd opportunity
Of nuptials in a new degree.
But, oh, with what a novel force
Your best-conn'd beauties, by remorse
Of absence, touch; and, in my heart,
How bleeds afresh the youthful smart
Of passion fond, despairing still
To utter infinite good-will
284
By worthy service! Yet I know
That love is all that love can owe,
And this to offer is no less
Of worth, in kind speech or caress,
Than if my life-blood I should give.
For good is God's prerogative,
And Love's deed is but to prepare
The flatter'd, dear Belov'd to dare
Acceptance of His gifts. When first
On me your happy beauty burst,
Honoria, verily it seem'd
That naught beyond you could be dream'd
Of beauty and of heaven's delight.
Zeal of an unknown infinite
Yet bade me ever wish you more
Beatified than e'er before.
Angelical were your replies
To my prophetic flatteries;
And sweet was the compulsion strong
That drew me in the course along
Of heaven's increasing bright allure,
With provocations fresh of your
Victorious capacity.
Whither may love, so fledged, not fly?
Did not mere Earth hold fast the string
Of this celestial soaring thing,
So measure and make sensitive,
And still, to the nerves, nice notice give
Of each minutest increment
Of such interminable ascent,
The heart would lose all count, and beat
Unconscious of a height so sweet,
And the spirit-pursuing senses strain
Their steps on the starry track in vain!
But, reading now the note just come,
With news of you, the babes, and home,
I think, and say, ‘To-morrow eve
‘With kisses me will she receive;’
And, thinking, for extreme delight
Of love's extremes, I laugh outright.
285
XVIII
From Frederick
Eight wedding-days gone by, and none
Yet kept, to keep them all in one,
Jane and myself, with John and Grace
On donkeys, visited the place
I first drew breath in, Knatchley Wood.
Bearing the basket, stuff'd with food,
Milk, loaves, hard eggs, and marmalade,
I halted where the wandering glade
Divides the thicket. There I knew,
It seem'd, the very drops of dew
Below the unalter'd eglantine.
Nothing had changed since I was nine!
In the green desert, down to eat
We sat, our rustic grace at meat
Good appetite, through that long climb
Hungry two hours before the time.
And there Jane took her stitching out,
And John for birds'-nests pry'd about,
And Grace and Baby, in between
The warm blades of the breathing green,
Dodged grasshoppers; and I no less,
In conscientious idleness,
Enjoy'd myself, under the noon
Stretch'd, and the sounds and sights of June
Receiving, with a drowsy charm,
Through muffled ear and folded arm.
And then, as if I sweetly dream'd,
I half-remember'd how it seem'd
When I, too, was a little child
About the wild wood roving wild.
Pure breezes from the far-off height
Melted the blindness from my sight,
Until, with rapture, grief, and awe,
I saw again as then I saw.
As then I saw, I saw again
The harvest-waggon in the lane,
286
With high-hung tokens of its pride
Left in the elms on either side;
The daisies coming out at dawn
In constellations on the lawn;
The glory of the daffodil;
The three black windmills on the hill,
Whose magic arms, flung wildly by,
Sent magic shadows o'er the rye.
Within the leafy coppice, lo,
More wealth than miser's dreams could show,
The blackbird's warm and woolly brood,
Five golden beaks agape for food;
The Gipsies, all the summer seen
Native as poppies to the Green;
The winter, with its frosts and thaws
And opulence of hips and haws;
The lovely marvel of the snow;
The Tamar, with its altering show
Of gay ships sailing up and down,
Among the fields and by the Town;
And, dearer far than anything,
Came back the songs you used to sing.
(Ah, might you sing such songs again,
And I, your Child, but hear as then,
With conscious profit of the gulf
Flown over from my present self!)
And, as to men's retreating eyes,
Beyond high mountains higher rise,
Still farther back there shone to me
The dazzling dusk of infancy.
Thither I look'd, as, sick of night,
The Alpine shepherd looks to the height,
And does not see the day, 'tis true,
But sees the rosy tops that do.
Meantime Jane stitch'd, and fann'd the flies
From my repose, with hush'd replies
To Grace, and smiles when Baby fell.
Her countenance love visible
Appear'd, love audible her voice.
Why in the past alone rejoice,
Whilst here was wealth before me cast
287
Which, I could feel, if 'twere but past
Were then most precious? Question vain,
When ask'd again and yet again,
Year after year; yet now, for no
Cause, but that heaven's bright winds will blow
Not at our pray'r but as they list,
It brought that distant, golden mist
To grace the hour, firing the deep
Of spirit and the drowsy keep
Of joy, till, spreading uncontain'd,
The holy power of seeing gain'd
The outward eye, this owning even
That where there's love and truth there's heaven.
Debtor to few, forgotten hours
Am I, that truths for me are powers.
Ah, happy hours, 'tis something yet
Not to forget that I forget!
And now a cloud, bright, huge and calm,
Rose, doubtful if for bale or balm;
O'ertoppling towers and bulwarks bright
Appear'd, at beck of viewless might,
Along a rifted mountain range.
Untraceable and swift in change,
Those glittering peaks, disrupted, spread
To solemn bulks, seen overhead;
The sunshine quench'd, from one dark form
Fumed the appalling light of storm.
Straight to the zenith, black with bale,
The Gipsies' smoke rose deadly pale;
And one wide night of hopeless hue
Hid from the heart the recent blue.
And soon, with thunder crackling loud,
A flash reveal'd the formless cloud:
Lone sailing rack, far wavering rim,
And billowy tracks of stormland dim.
We stood, safe group'd beneath a shed.
Grace hid behind Jane's gown for dread,
Who told her, fondling with her hair,
‘The naughty noise! but God took care
288
‘Of all good girls.’ John seem'd to me
Too much for Jane's theology,
Who bade him watch the tempest. Now
A blast made all the woodland bow;
Against the whirl of leaves and dust
Kine dropp'd their heads; the tortured gust
Jagg'd and convuls'd the ascending smoke
To mockery of the lightning's stroke.
The blood prick'd, and a blinding flash
And close coinstantaneous crash
Humbled the soul, and the rain all round
Resilient dimm'd the whistling ground,
Nor flagg'd in force from first to last,
Till, sudden as it came, 'twas past,
Leaving a trouble in the copse
Of brawling birds and tinkling drops.
Change beyond hope! Far thunder faint
Mutter'd its vast and vain complaint,
And gaps and fractures, fringed with light,
Show'd the sweet skies, with squadrons bright
Of cloudlets, glittering calm and fair
Through gulfs of calm and glittering air.
With this adventure, we return'd.
The roads the feet no longer burn'd.
A wholesome smell of rainy earth
Refresh'd our spirits, tired of mirth.
The donkey-boy drew friendly near
My Wife, and, touch'd by the kind cheer
Her countenance show'd, or sooth'd perchance
By the soft evening's sad advance,
As we were, stroked the flanks and head
Of the ass, and, somewhat thick-voiced, said,
‘To 'ave to wop the donkeys so
‘'Ardens the 'art, but they won't go
‘Without!’ My Wife, by this impress'd,
As men judge poets by their best,
When now we reach'd the welcome door,
Gave him his hire, and sixpence more.
289
XIX
From Jane
Dear Mrs. Graham, the fever's past,
And Fred is well. I, in my last,
Forgot to say that, while 'twas on,
A lady, call'd Honoria Vaughan,
One of his Salisbury Cousins, came.
Had I, she ask'd me, heard her name?
'Twas that Honoria, no doubt,
Whom he would sometimes talk about
And speak to, when his nights were bad,
And so I told her that I had.
She look'd so beautiful and kind!
And just the sort of wife my mind
Pictured for Fred, with many tears,
In those sad early married years.
Visiting, yesterday, she said,
The Admiral's Wife, she learn'd that Fred
Was very ill; she begg'd to be,
If possible, of use to me.
What could she do? Last year, his Aunt
Died, leaving her, who had no want,
Her fortune. Half was his, she thought;
But he, she knew, would not be brought
To take his rights at second hand.
Yet something might, she hoped, be plann'd.
What did I think of putting John
To school and college? Mr. Vaughan,
When John was old enough, could give
Preferment to her relative;
And she should be so pleased.—I said
I felt quite sure that dearest Fred
Would be most thankful. Would we come,
And make ourselves, she ask'd, at home,
Next month, at High-Hurst? Change of air
Both he and I should need, and there
At leisure we could talk, and then
Fix plans, as John was nearly ten.
290
It seemed so rude to think and doubt,
So I said, Yes. In going out,
She said, ‘How strange of Frederick, Dear,’
(I wish he had been there to hear,)
‘To send no cards, or tell me what
‘A nice new Cousin I had got!’
Was not that kind?
When Fred grew strong,
I had, I found, done very wrong.
Anger was in his voice and eye.
With people born and bred so high
As Fred and Mrs. Vaughan and you,
It's hard to guess what's right to do;
And he won't teach me!
Dear Fred wrote,
Directly, such a lovely note,
Which, though it undid all I had done,
Was, both to me and Mrs. Vaughan,
So kind! His words, I can't say why,
Like soldiers' music, made me cry.
~ Coventry Patmore,#NFDB
6 Poetry
6 Integral Yoga
5 Christianity
2 Psychology
2 Philosophy
2 Occultism
2 Fiction
1 Philsophy
1 Alchemy
7 Saint John of Climacus
4 Nolini Kanta Gupta
2 Saint Augustine of Hippo
2 Plato
7 The Ladder of Divine Ascent
3 The Bible
3 Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02
2 City of God
00.02 - Mystic Symbolism, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
The Mystics all over the world and in all ages have clothed their sayings in proverbs and parables, in figures and symbols. To speak in symbols seems to be in their very nature; it is their characteristic manner, their inevitable style. Let us see what is the reason behind it. But first who are the Mystics? They are those who are in touch with supra-sensual things, whose experiences are of a world different from the common physical world, the world of the mind and the senses.
These other worlds are constituted in other ways than ours. Their contents are different and the laws that obtain there are also different. It would be a gross blunder to attempt a chart of any of these other systems, to use an Einsteinian term, with the measures and conventions of the system to which our external waking consciousness belongs. For, there "the sun shines not, nor the moon, nor the stars, neither these lightnings nor this fire." The difficulty is further enhanced by the fact that there are very many unseen worlds and they all differ from the seen and from one another in manner and degree. Thus, for example, the Upanishads speak of the swapna, the suupta, and the turya, domains beyond the jgrat which is that where the rational being with its mind and senses lives and moves. And there are other systems and other ways in which systems exist, and they are practically innumerable.
02.02 - Rishi Dirghatama, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Indeed the darkness and the blindness seem to have been the Divine's grace upon him, for his eyes turned inward to other domains and saw strange truths and stranger facts. We remember in this connection another blind old poet who even though fallen on such evil days composed the world famous epic poem (I am referring obviously to Milton and his Paradise Lost). We remember also here the deaf incomparable master of music Beethoven. Many of the sayings of Dirghatama have become so current that they are now familiar even to the common man. They are mottoes and proverbs we all quote at all times. "Truth is one, the wise call it in different ways"the mantra is from Dirghatama. "Heaven is my father, Earth my mother"this is also from Dirghatama. The famous figure of two birds with beautiful wing dwelling on the same tree comes also from Dirghatama. There are a good many sayings of this kind that have become intimate companions to our lips of which the source we do not know. When we read the mantras of Dirghatama we are likely to exclaim even as the villager did when he first saw Hamlet played in London, "It is full of quotations."
You must have already noticed that the utterance of Dirghatama carries a peculiar turn, even perhaps a twist. In fact his mantras are an enigma, a riddle to which it is sometimes difficult to find the fitting key. For example when he says, "What is above is moving downward and what is down is moving upward; yes, they who are below are indeed up above, and they who are up are here below," or again, "He who knows the father below by what is above, and he who knows the father who is above by what is below is called the poet (the seer creator)", we are, to say the least, not a little puzzled.
02.12 - Mysticism in Bengali Poetry, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 02, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Bengali poetry was born some time towards the end of an era of decline in the Indian consciousness, almost towards the close of what is called the Buddhist period, but it was born with a veritable crown on its head. For it was sheer mystic poetry, mystic in substance, mystic in manner and expression. The poets were themselves mystics, that is to say spiritual seekers, sadhaks they were called Siddhas or Siddhacharyas. They told of their spiritual, rather occult experiences in an occult or oblique manner, the very manner of the ancient Vedic Rishis, in figures and symbols and similes. It was a form of beauty, not merely of truthof abstract metaphysical truth that rose all on a sudden, as it were, out of an enveloping darkness. It shone for a time and then faded slowly, perhaps spread itself out in the common consciousness of the people and continued to exist as a backwash in popular songs and fables and proverbs. But it was there and came up again a few centuries later and the crest is seen once more in a more elevated, polished and dignified form with a content of mental illumination. I am referring to Chandidasa, who was also a sadhak poet and is usually known as the father of Bengali poetry, being the creator of modern Bengali poetry. He flourished somewhere in the fourteenth century. That wave too subsided and retired into the background, leaving in interregnum again of a century or more till it showed itself once more in another volume of mystic poetry in the hands of a new type of spiritual practitioners. They were the Yogis and Fakirs, and although of a popular type, yet possessing nuggets of gold in their utterances, and they formed a large family. This almost synchronised with the establishment and consolidation of the Western Power, with its intellectual and rational enlightenment, in India. The cultivation and superimposition of this Western or secular light forced the native vein of mysticism underground; it was necessary and useful, for it added an element which was missing before; a new synthesis came up in a crest with Tagore. It was a neo-mysticism, intellectual, philosophical, broad-based, self-conscious. Recently however we have been going on the downward slope, and many, if not the majority among us, have been pointing at mysticism and shouting: "Out, damned spot!" But perhaps we have struck the rock-bottom and are wheeling round.
For in the present epoch we are rising on a new crest and everywhere, in all literatures, signs are not lacking of a supremely significant spiritual poetry being born among us.
1.01 - On renunciation of the world, #The Ladder of Divine Ascent, #Saint John of Climacus, #unset
1 proverbs iv, 28.
2 Numbers xx, 57.
1.05 - THE HOSTILE BROTHERS - ARCHETYPES OF RESPONSE TO THE UNKNOWN, #Maps of Meaning, #Jordan Peterson, #Psychology
The cow that died is the one that gave twice the milk. [Sometimes he even cited proverbs!] And our
people dont like holidays. They like to work.
1.15 - On incorruptible purity and chastity to which the corruptible attain by toil and sweat., #The Ladder of Divine Ascent, #Saint John of Climacus, #unset
2 proverbs xiv, 6.
3 1 Corinthians iv, 7.
1.22 - ON THE GIFT-GIVING VIRTUE, #Thus Spoke Zarathustra, #Friedrich Nietzsche, #Philosophy
we feel closer to Rimbaud than to proverbs. The soothsayer
reappears in Part Four.
1.23 - On mad price, and, in the same Step, on unclean and blasphemous thoughts., #The Ladder of Divine Ascent, #Saint John of Climacus, #unset
2 proverbs xvi, 5.
3 St. Augustine says that God allows the proud to fall into sin to humble them.
1.25 - On the destroyer of the passions, most sublime humility, which is rooted in spiritual feeling., #The Ladder of Divine Ascent, #Saint John of Climacus, #unset
5 proverbs xvi, 5.
13. May your soul not be a pond of the river of life, a pond which is sometimes full and sometimes dried up from the heat of glory and exaltation, but may it become a fountain of dispassion ever welling up into a river of poverty.1
1.26 - On discernment of thoughts, passions and virtues, #The Ladder of Divine Ascent, #Saint John of Climacus, #unset
2 proverbs xxiv, 6. Cf. xx, 18.
3 Corinthians xiv, 40.
1.27 - On holy solitude of body and soul., #The Ladder of Divine Ascent, #Saint John of Climacus, #unset
4 proverbs xxiv, 27.
5 Psalm cxiv, 5.
1.30 - Concerning the linking together of the supreme trinity among the virtues., #The Ladder of Divine Ascent, #Saint John of Climacus, #unset
2 proverbs xv, 13.
3 Cf. Exodus xxxiv; 2 Corinthians iii, 14.
1.44 - Serious Style of A.C., or the Apparent Frivolity of Some of my Remarks, #Magick Without Tears, #Aleister Crowley, #Philosophy
"Actions speak louder than words." (I positively leak proverbs this afternoon country air, I suppose): and where actions are the issue, devil a joke from Aleister!
Do you see what is my mark? It is you that I am going to put in the dock about "being serious;" and that will take a separate letter part of the answer to yours received March 10th, 1944 and in general to your entire course of conduct since you came to me now over a year ago.[84]
1955-06-01 - The aesthetic conscience - Beauty and form - The roots of our life - The sense of beauty - Educating the aesthetic sense, taste - Mental constructions based on a revelation - Changing the world and humanity, #Questions And Answers 1955, #The Mother, #Integral Yoga
In fact, beauty is something very elusive. It is a kind of harmony which you experience much more than think, and the true suprarational relation with beauty is not at all a reasonable relation (Sri Aurobindo will tell you this at the end), it completely overpasses reason, it is a contact in a higher realm. But what precisely he tells us in this paragraph is that when it is an instinct it is found mixed with movements of ignorance and a lack of culture and refinement. So this instinct is sometimes very gross and very imperfect in its expression. One can experience an aesthetic pleasure (let us call it that) in seeing something which is truly beautiful and at the same time something else which is not beautiful, but which gives one some sort of pleasure, because it is mixed, because ones aesthetic instinct is not pure, it is mixed with all kinds of sensations which are very crude and untrained. So it is here, as he says, that reason has its role, that it comes in to explain why a thing is beautiful, to educate the taste; but it is not final, and reason is not the final judge; it can very well make mistakes, only it is a little higher, as judgment, than that of a completely infrarational being who has no reason and no understanding of things. It is a stage. It is a stage, thats what he says, it is a stage. But if you want to realise true beauty, you must go beyond that, very far beyond this stage. In what follows in our reading he will explain it. But this is the summary of what he has said in this paragraph. At first your sense of beauty is instinctive, impulsive, infrarational, lacking light, wanting reason, simply without any true understanding, and so, because the origin of the aesthetic sense is infrarational, it is understood, one always says this: Theres no disputing tastes and colours. You know, there are all kinds of popular proverbs which say that the appreciation of the beautiful is not a matter of reasoning, everyone likes a particular thing he doesnt know why, he takes pleasure in looking at a thing, and this pleasure cannot be discussed. Well, this is the infrarational stage of the aesthetic sense.
Sweet Mother, last time, at the end of the class you were going to tell us something, but you stopped because we had no time.
1f.lovecraft - The Mound, #Lovecraft - Poems, #unset, #Zen
The Indians had one or two old proverbs about these phenomena, saying
that men very old, make very big spirit; not so old, not so big; older
1.fs - The Proverbs Of Confucius, #Schiller - Poems, #Friedrich Schiller, #Poetry
object:1.fs - The proverbs Of Confucius
author class:Friedrich Schiller
1.jwvg - Book Of Proverbs, #Goethe - Poems, #Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, #Poetry
object:1.jwvg - Book Of proverbs
author class:Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1.pbs - Peter Bell The Third, #Shelley - Poems, #Percy Bysshe Shelley, #Fiction
Of saws, and proverbs; and reflections
Old parsons make in burying-grounds.
1.rwe - Saadi, #Emerson - Poems, #Ralph Waldo Emerson, #Philosophy
For proverbs in the market-place;
Through mountains bored by regal art
1.tm - A Practical Program for Monks, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
Original Language English 1 Each one shall sit at table with his own cup and spoon, and with his own repentance. Each one's own business shall be his most important affair, and provide his own remedies. They have neglected bowl and plate. Have you a wooden fork? Yes, each monk has a wooden fork as well as a potato. 2 Each one shall wipe away tears with his own saint, when three bells hold in store a hot afternoon. Each one is supposed to mind his own heart, with its conscience, night and morning. Another turn on the wheel: ho hum! And observe the Abbot! Time to go to bed in a straw blanket. 3 Plenty of bread for everyone between prayers and the psalter: will you recite another? Merci, and Miserere. Always mind both the clock and the Abbot until eternity. Miserere. 4 Details of the Rule are all liquid and solid. What canon was the first to announce regimentation before us? Mind the step on the way down! Yes, I dare say you are right, Father. I believe you; I believe you. I believe it is easier when they have ice water and even a lemon. Each one can sit at table with his own lemon, and mind his own conscience. 5 Can we agree that the part about the lemon is regular? In any case, it is better to have sheep than peacocks, and cows rather than a chained leopard says Modest, in one of his proverbs. The monastery, being owner of a communal rowboat, is the antechamber of heaven. Surely that ought to be enough. 6 Each one can have some rain after Vespers on a hot afternoon, but ne quid nimis, or the purpose of the Order will be forgotten. We shall send you hyacinths and a sweet millennium. Everything the monastery provides is very pleasant to see and to sell for nothing. What is baked smells fine. There is a sign of God on every leaf that nobody sees in the garden. The fruit trees are there on purpose, even when no one is looking. Just put the apples in the basket. In Kentucky there is also room for a little cheese. Each one shall fold his own napkin, and neglect the others. 7 Rain is always very silent in the night, under such gentle cathedrals. Yes, I have taken care of the lamp, Miserere. Have you a patron saint, and an angel? Thank you. Even though the nights are never dangerous, I have one of everything. [1499.jpg] -- from Selected Poems of Thomas Merton, by Thomas Merton <
2.18 - January 1939, #Evening Talks With Sri Aurobindo, #unset, #Zen
The Roman poet says: "The Titans fall by their own mass." There is a similar idea in India when it is said: "The Asuras are too heavy for the earth to bear their weight." But some Asuras are clever enough to flourish in spite of proverbs.
Disciple: Can it be said that the Asuras by their action contradict the law of evolution or that they contradict something fundamental in human nature?
30.01 - World-Literature, #Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol 07, #Nolini Kanta Gupta, #Integral Yoga
Literary creation starts with proverbs and fairy tales. Another stage sets in when men do not relish merely the simple narration but want to narrate in a lucid and artistic manner. Not only that, they do not want to indulge in any ordinary subject but want to speak of something momentous and significant. And here is the foundation of true literature. But still there is the admixture of popular, plebeian manners, modes of rustic consciousness. The touch of spirituality, i.e.Soulfulness, the savour of a bliss found elsewhere in seclusion and isolation and the wide universal experiences of a true seer have not yet penetrated there. The great poet exceeds not only his surroundings - his own people and land; he is able to acquaint us with other climes and times, and he succeeds even in expressing .the thoughts of humanity at large; but in the parochial poet who may speak of such things there is still a reflection of narrowness, similar to tall talk In the mouths of children. Here there is not much selection, no restraint, no constructiveness, no high seriousness - there is instead an abundance, a prolixity, almost a confusion and an irresponsibility, as it were, and as in the ordinary life there is a pull towards the physical, the external and the small. The Ballads of the English and the Romantic Songs of the French fall under this category. Likewise, however deep in spiritual significance may be our kirtansor the songs of the religious wanderers of our country, they can, without injustice, be classed with those Ballads and Romances of the West.
But since the advent of Chaucer in English literature, the day we heard him say about his dearest Italian poet Petrarch "Whose rethorike swete"
6.0 - Conscious, Unconscious, and Individuation, #The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, #Carl Jung, #Psychology
signify matter. In connection with Adam Belial the text refers to proverbs 6:12:
"A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth" (AV).
Book of Imaginary Beings (text), #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
stands for the whore of the proverbs (Her feet go down to
death, her steps take hold on hell); in the Anglo-Saxon bestiary it stands for the Devil and Evil. These same symbolic
Book of Proverbs, #The Bible, #Anonymous, #Various
object:Book of proverbs
subject class:Christianity
--
The Book of proverbs is one of the Wisdom Books of Hebrew Scripture, along with Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs (Song of Solomon). The Greek Septuagint also includes the Books of Wisdom and Sirach. The Wisdom Literature is followed by the Prophets beginning with the Prophet Isaiah in the Greek Septuagint, Latin Vulgate, and the Christian Old Testament of the Bible.
The primary purpose of the book is to teach wisdom, not only to the young and inexperienced but also to the learned. proverbs personifies wisdom as an idealistic woman.
The Book of proverbs provides profound insights and exceptional wisdom on how to live a happy and peaceful life, by honoring and respecting God as all-good and all-powerful. The guiding principles of the Book are to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart" ( proverbs 3:5), and that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (1:7, 9:10).
The Book of proverbs - - was begun during the time of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, prior to the Babylonian exile. The account of his legendary wisdom was noted in I Kings 4:29-34. Solomon's name is mentioned three times in proverbs, at the beginning of the Book, and at the beginning of two Collections expressly attributed to Solomon (10:1 and 25:1). It is noted at the beginning of the second collection that his sayings were collected by the men of King Hezekiah, who reigned from 715 to 687 BC. Other collections are the Sayings of the Wise (beginning 22:17), the Words of Agur (30:1), and Lemuel (31:1). The entire Book of proverbs is a composite work collected over time.
The Book offers excellent advice, such as to avoid "the adulteress with her smooth words who has abandoned the companion of her youth" (2:16-17); how to conduct one's life, such as "the fool immediately shows his anger, but the shrewd man passes over an insult" (12:16); and observations, such as "just as one face differs from another, so does one human heart from another" (27:19).
Christ and the Apostles directly quoted the proverbs (John 7:38, Romans 12:20, and James 4:6) or repeated their teaching.
This selection highlights Chapter 1, the introduction; Chapter 3, Honor and Trust in God; Chapter 8, the personification of Wisdom; Chapter 10, the beginning of the first collection of the proverbs of Solomon; and Chapter 25, the beginning of the second collection of the proverbs of Solomon. Scriptures from Chapters 1, 3, 8, 10, and 25 are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984
--- THE BOOK OF proverbs
CHAPTER 1
Purpose of the proverbs
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for attaining wisdom and discipline;
--
6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.
--
First Collection of the proverbs of Solomon
The proverbs of Solomon:
A wise son brings joy to his father,
--
Second Collection of the proverbs of Solomon
1 These are more proverbs of Solomon, copied by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
Book of Psalms, #The Bible, #Anonymous, #Various
The Psalms begin the Writings or Hagiographa in the three-fold division of the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and Writings of Hebrew Scripture. In the four-fold division of the Greek Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, and the Christian Old Testament of the Bible, the Psalms are part of the Wisdom Literature, which includes in the following order: the Books of Job, Psalms, proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. The Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate also included the Books of Wisdom and Sirach.
The Hebrew Psalms number 150, while the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as the Greek Septuagint Old Testament both contain Psalm 151 of David. The numbering of Psalms often differ by one, the Hebrew Psalter being one more than the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate. The numbering here follows the original Hebrew. The Psalms are generally of three types: laments, both individual and communal; hymns; and songs of thanksgiving. Others are classified as royal psalms, some wisdom psalms, and others defy classification.
BOOK XVIII. - A parallel history of the earthly and heavenly cities from the time of Abraham to the end of the world, #City of God, #Saint Augustine of Hippo, #Christianity
When Zedekiah reigned over the Hebrews, and Tarquinius Priscus, the successor of Ancus Martius, over the Romans, the Jewish people was led captive into Babylon, Jerusalem and the temple built by Solomon being overthrown. For the prophets, in chiding them for their iniquity and impiety, predicted that these things should come to pass, especially Jeremiah, who even stated the number of years. Pittacus of Mitylene, another of the sages, is reported to have lived at that time. And Eusebius writes that, while the people of God were held captive in Babylon, the five other sages lived, who must be added to Thales, whom we mentioned above, and Pittacus, in order to make up the seven. These are Solon of Athens, Chilo of Lacedmon, Periander of Corinth, Cleobulus of Lindus, and Bias of Priene. These flourished after the theological poets, and were called sages, because they excelled other men in a certain laudable line of life, and summed up some moral precepts in epigrammatic sayings. But they left posterity no literary[Pg 246] monuments, except that Solon is alleged to have given certain laws to the Athenians, and Thales was a natural philosopher, and left books of his doctrine in short proverbs. In that time of the Jewish captivity, Anaximander, Anaximenes, and Xenophanes, the natural philosophers, flourished. Pythagoras also lived then, and at this time the name philosopher was first used.
26. That at the time when the captivity of the Jews was brought to an end, on the completion of seventy years, the Romans also were freed from kingly rule.
BOOK XVII. - The history of the city of God from the times of the prophets to Christ, #City of God, #Saint Augustine of Hippo, #Christianity
"They that were full of bread," she says, "are diminished, and the hungry have gone beyond the earth." Who are to be understood as full of bread except those same who were as if mighty, that is, the Israelites, to whom were committed the oracles of God?[357] But among that people the children of the bond maid were diminished,by which word minus, although it is Latin, the idea is well expressed that from being greater they were made less,because, even in the very bread, that is, the divine oracles, which the Israelites alone of all nations have received, they savour earthly things. But the nations to whom that law was not given, after they have come through the New Testament to these oracles, by thirsting much have gone beyond the earth, because in them they have savoured not earthly, but heavenly things. And the reason why this is done is as it were sought; "for the barren," she says, "hath born seven, and she that hath many children is waxed feeble." Here all that had been prophesied hath shone forth to those who understood the number seven, which signifies the perfection of the universal Church. For which reason also the Apostle John writes to the seven churches,[358] showing in that way that he writes to the totality of the one Church; and in the proverbs of Solomon it is said[Pg 174] aforetime, prefiguring this, "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath streng thened her seven pillars."[359] For the city of God was barren in all nations before that child arose whom we see.[360] We also see that the temporal Jerusalem, who had many children, is now waxed feeble. Because, whoever in her were sons of the free woman were her strength; but now, forasmuch as the letter is there, and not the spirit, having lost her strength, she is waxed feeble.
"The Lord killeth and maketh alive:" He has killed her who had many children, and made this barren one alive, so that she has born seven. Although it may be more suitably understood that He has made those same alive whom He has killed. For she, as it were, repeats that by adding, "He bringeth down to hell, and bringeth up." To whom truly the apostle says, "If ye be dead with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God."[361] Therefore they are killed by the Lord in a salutary way, so that he adds, "Savour things which are above, not things on the earth;" so that these are they who, hungering, have passed beyond the earth. "For ye are dead," he says: behold how God savingly kills! Then there follows, "And your life is hid with Christ in God:" behold how God makes the same alive! But does He bring them down to hell and bring them up again? It is without controversy among believers that we best see both parts of this work fulfilled in Him, to wit, our Head, with whom the apostle has said our life is hid in God. "For when He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,"[362] in that way, certainly, He has killed Him. And forasmuch as He raised Him up again from the dead, He has made Him alive again. And since His voice is acknowledged in the prophecy, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,"[363] He has brought Him down to hell and brought Him up again. By this poverty of His we are made rich;[364] for "the Lord maketh poor and maketh rich." But that we may know what this is, let us hear what follows: "He bringeth low and lifteth up;" and truly He humbles the[Pg 175] proud and exalts the humble. Which we also read elsewhere, "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble."[365] This is the burden of the entire song of this woman whose name is interpreted "His grace."
--
David therefore reigned in the earthly Jerusalem, a son of the heavenly Jerusalem, much praised by the divine testimony; for even his faults are overcome by great piety, through the most salutary humility of his repentance, that he is altogether one of those of whom he himself says, "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered."[475] After him Solomon his son reigned over the same whole people, who, as was said before, began to reign while his father was still alive. This man, after good beginnings, made a bad end. For indeed "prosperity, which wears out the minds of the wise,"[476] hurt him more than that wisdom profited him, which even yet is and shall hereafter be renowned, and was then praised far and wide. He also is found to have prophesied in his books, of which three are received as of canonical authority, proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. But it has been customary to ascribe to Solomon other two, of which one is called Wisdom, the other Ecclesiasticus, on account of some resemblance of style,but the more learned have no doubt that they are not his; yet of old the Church, especially the Western, received them into authority,in the one of which, called the Wisdom of Solomon, the passion of Christ is most openly prophesied. For indeed His impious murderers are quoted as saying, "Let us lie in wait for the righteous, for he is unpleasant to us, and contrary to our works; and he upbraideth us with our transgressions of the law, and objecteth to our disgrace the transgressions of our education. He professeth to have the knowledge of God, and he calleth himself the Son of God. He was made to reprove our thoughts. He is grievous for us even to behold; for his[Pg 210] life is unlike other men's, and his ways are different. We are esteemed of him as counterfeits; and he abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness. He extols the latter end of the righteous; and glorieth that he hath God for his Father. Let us see, therefore, if his words be true; and let us try what shall happen to him, and we shall know what shall be the end of him. For if the righteous be the Son of God, He will undertake for him, and deliver him out of the hand of those that are against him. Let us put him to the question with contumely and torture, that we may know his reverence, and prove his patience. Let us condemn him to the most shameful death; for by His own sayings He shall be respected. These things did they imagine, and were mistaken; for their own malice hath quite blinded them."[477] But in Ecclesiasticus the future faith of the nations is predicted in this manner: "Have mercy upon us, O God, Ruler of all, and send Thy fear upon all the nations: lift up Thine hand over the strange nations, and let them see Thy power. As Thou wast sanctified in us before them, so be Thou sanctified in them before us, and let them acknowledge Thee, according as we also have acknowledged Thee; for there is not a God beside Thee, O Lord."[478] We see this prophecy in the form of a wish and prayer fulfilled through Jesus Christ. But the things which are not written in the canon of the Jews cannot be quoted against their contradictions with so great validity.
But as regards those three books which it is evident are Solomon's, and held canonical by the Jews, to show what of this kind may be found in them pertaining to Christ and the Church demands a laborious discussion, which, if now entered on, would leng then this work unduly. Yet what we read in the proverbs of impious men saying, "Let us unrighteously hide in the earth the righteous man; yea, let us swallow him up alive as hell, and let us take away his memory from the earth: let us seize his precious possession,"[479] is not so obscure that it may not be understood, without laborious exposition, of Christ and His possession the Church. Indeed, the gospel parable about the wicked husbandmen shows that our Lord Jesus Himself said something like it: "This is the heir; come,[Pg 211] let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours."[480] In like manner also that passage in this same book, on which we have already touched[481] when we were speaking of the barren woman who hath born seven, must soon after it was uttered have come to be understood of only Christ and the Church by those who knew that Christ was the Wisdom of God. "Wisdom hath builded her an house, and hath set up seven pillars; she hath sacrificed her victims, she hath mingled her wine in the bowl; she hath also furnished her table. She hath sent her servants summoning to the bowl with excellent proclamation, saying, Who is simple, let him turn aside to me. And to the void of sense she hath said, Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled for you."[482] Here certainly we perceive that the Wisdom of God, that is, the Word co-eternal with the Father, hath builded Him an house, even a human body in the virgin womb, and hath subjoined the Church to it as members to a head, hath slain the martyrs as victims, hath furnished a table with wine and bread, where appears also the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, and hath called the simple and the void of sense, because, as saith the apostle, "He hath chosen the weak things of this world that He might confound the things which are mighty."[483] Yet to these weak ones she saith what follows, "Forsake simplicity, that ye may live; and seek prudence, that ye may have life."[484] But to be made partakers of this table is itself to begin to have life. For when he says in another book, which is called Ecclesiastes, "There is no good for a man, except that he should eat and drink,"[485] what can he be more credibly understood to say, than what belongs to the participation of this table which the Mediator of the New Testament Himself, the Priest after the order of Melchizedek, furnishes with His own body and blood? For that sacrifice has succeeded all the sacrifices of the Old Testament, which were slain as a shadow of that which was to come; wherefore also we recognise the voice in the 40th Psalm as that of the same Mediator speaking through prophesy, "Sacrifice and offering[Pg 212] Thou didst not desire; but a body hast Thou perfected for me."[486] Because, instead of all these sacrifices and oblations, His body is offered, and is served up to the partakers of it. For that this Ecclesiastes, in this sentence about eating and drinking, which he often repeats, and very much commends, does not savour the dainties of carnal pleasures, is made plain enough when he says, "It is better to go into the house of mourning than to go into the house of feasting."[487] And a little after He says, "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, and the heart of the simple in the house of feasting."[488] But I think that more worthy of quotation from this book which relates to both cities, the one of the devil, the other of Christ, and to their kings, the devil and Christ: "Woe to thee, O land," he says, "when thy king is a youth, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in season, in fortitude, and not in confusion!"[489] He has called the devil a youth, because of the folly and pride, and rashness and unruliness, and other vices which are wont to abound at that age; but Christ is the Son of nobles, that is, of the holy patriarchs, of those belonging to the free city, of whom He was begotten in the flesh. The princes of that and other cities are eaters in the morning, that is, before the suitable hour, because they do not expect the seasonable felicity, which is the true, in the world to come, desiring to be speedily made happy with the renown of this world, but the princes of the city of Christ patiently wait for the time of a blessedness that is not fallacious. This is expressed by the words, "in fortitude, and not in confusion," because hope does not deceive them, of which the apostle says, "But hope maketh not ashamed."[490] A psalm also saith, "For they that hope in Thee shall not be put to shame."[491] But now the Song of Songs is a certain spiritual pleasure of holy minds, in the marriage of that King and Queen-city, that is, Christ and the Church. But this pleasure is wrapped up in allegorical veils, that the Bridegroom may be more ardently desired, and more joyfully unveiled, and may appear; to whom it is said in this same song, "Equity hath delighted Thee;"[Pg 213][492] and the bride who those hears, "Charity is in thy delights."[493] We pass over many things in silence, in our desire to finish this work.
21. Of the kings after Solomon, both in Judah and Israel.
Gorgias, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
The 'accustomed irony' of Socrates adds a corollary to the argument:'Would you punish your enemy, you should allow him to escape unpunished'this is the true retaliation. (Compare the obscure verse of proverbs, 'Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him,' etc., quoted in Romans.)
Men are not in the habit of dwelling upon the dark side of their own lives: they do not easily see themselves as others see them. They are very kind and very blind to their own faults; the rhetoric of self-love is always pleading with them on their own behalf. Adopting a similar figure of speech, Socrates would have them use rhetoric, not in defence but in accusation of themselves. As they are guided by feeling rather than by reason, to their feelings the appeal must be made. They must speak to themselves; they must argue with themselves; they must paint in eloquent words the character of their own evil deeds. To any suffering which they have deserved, they must persuade themselves to submit. Under the figure there lurks a real thought, which, expressed in another form, admits of an easy application to ourselves. For do not we too accuse as well as excuse ourselves? And we call to our aid the rhetoric of prayer and preaching, which the mind silently employs while the struggle between the better and the worse is going on within us. And sometimes we are too hard upon ourselves, because we want to restore the balance which self-love has overthrown or disturbed; and then again we may hear a voice as of a parent consoling us. In religious diaries a sort of drama is often enacted by the consciences of men 'accusing or else excusing them.' For all our life long we are talking with ourselves:What is thought but speech? What is feeling but rhetoric? And if rhetoric is used on one side only we shall be always in danger of being deceived. And so the words of Socrates, which at first sounded paradoxical, come home to the experience of all of us.
Symposium translated by B Jowett, #Symposium, #Plato, #Philosophy
And this is what I and many others have suffered from the flute-playing of this satyr. Yet hear me once more while I show you how exact the image is, and how marvellous his power. For let me tell you; none of you know him; but I will reveal him to you; having begun, I must go on. See you how fond he is of the fair? He is always with them and is always being smitten by them, and then again he knows nothing and is ignorant of all thingssuch is the appearance which he puts on. Is he not like a Silenus in this? To be sure he is: his outer mask is the carved head of the Silenus; but, O my companions in drink, when he is opened, what temperance there is residing within! Know you that beauty and wealth and honour, at which the many wonder, are of no account with him, and are utterly despised by him: he regards not at all the persons who are gifted with them; mankind are nothing to him; all his life is spent in mocking and flouting at them. But when I opened him, and looked within at his serious purpose, I saw in him divine and golden images of such fascinating beauty that I was ready to do in a moment whatever Socrates commanded: they may have escaped the observation of others, but I saw them. Now I fancied that he was seriously enamoured of my beauty, and I thought that I should therefore have a grand opportunity of hearing him tell what he knew, for I had a wonderful opinion of the attractions of my youth. In the prosecution of this design, when I next went to him, I sent away the attendant who usually accompanied me (I will confess the whole truth, and beg you to listen; and if I speak falsely, do you, Socrates, expose the falsehood). Well, he and I were alone together, and I thought that when there was nobody with us, I should hear him speak the language which lovers use to their loves when they are by themselves, and I was delighted. Nothing of the sort; he conversed as usual, and spent the day with me and then went away. Afterwards I challenged him to the palaestra; and he wrestled and closed with me several times when there was no one present; I fancied that I might succeed in this manner. Not a bit; I made no way with him. Lastly, as I had failed hitherto, I thought that I must take stronger measures and attack him boldly, and, as I had begun, not give him up, but see how matters stood between him and me. So I invited him to sup with me, just as if he were a fair youth, and I a designing lover. He was not easily persuaded to come; he did, however, after a while accept the invitation, and when he came the first time, he wanted to go away at once as soon as supper was over, and I had not the face to detain him. The second time, still in pursuance of my design, after we had supped, I went on conversing far into the night, and when he wanted to go away, I pretended that the hour was late and that he had much better remain. So he lay down on the couch next to me, the same on which he had supped, and there was no one but ourselves sleeping in the apartment. All this may be told without shame to any one. But what follows I could hardly tell you if I were sober. Yet as the proverb says, 'In vino veritas,' whether with boys, or without them (In allusion to two proverbs.); and therefore I must speak. Nor, again, should I be justified in concealing the lofty actions of Socrates when I come to praise him. Moreover I have felt the serpent's sting; and he who has suffered, as they say, is willing to tell his fellow-sufferers only, as they alone will be likely to understand him, and will not be extreme in judging of the sayings or doings which have been wrung from his agony. For I have been bitten by a more than viper's tooth; I have known in my soul, or in my heart, or in some other part, that worst of pangs, more violent in ingenuous youth than any serpent's tooth, the pang of philosophy, which will make a man say or do anything. And you whom I see around me, Phaedrus and Agathon and Eryximachus and Pausanias and Aristodemus and Aristophanes, all of you, and I need not say Socrates himself, have had experience of the same madness and passion in your longing after wisdom. Therefore listen and excuse my doings then and my sayings now. But let the attendants and other profane and unmannered persons close up the doors of their ears.
When the lamp was put out and the servants had gone away, I thought that I must be plain with him and have no more ambiguity. So I gave him a shake, and I said: 'Socrates, are you asleep?' 'No,' he said. 'Do you know what I am meditating? 'What are you meditating?' he said. 'I think,' I replied, 'that of all the lovers whom I have ever had you are the only one who is worthy of me, and you appear to be too modest to speak. Now I feel that I should be a fool to refuse you this or any other favour, and therefore I come to lay at your feet all that I have and all that my friends have, in the hope that you will assist me in the way of virtue, which I desire above all things, and in which I believe that you can help me better than any one else. And I should certainly have more reason to be ashamed of what wise men would say if I were to refuse a favour to such as you, than of what the world, who are mostly fools, would say of me if I granted it.' To these words he replied in the ironical manner which is so characteristic of him:'Alcibiades, my friend, you have indeed an elevated aim if what you say is true, and if there really is in me any power by which you may become better; truly you must see in me some rare beauty of a kind infinitely higher than any which I see in you. And therefore, if you mean to share with me and to exchange beauty for beauty, you will have greatly the advantage of me; you will gain true beauty in return for appearancelike Diomede, gold in exchange for brass. But look again, sweet friend, and see whether you are not deceived in me. The mind begins to grow critical when the bodily eye fails, and it will be a long time before you get old.' Hearing this, I said: 'I have told you my purpose, which is quite serious, and do you consider what you think best for you and me.' 'That is good,' he said; 'at some other time then we will consider and act as seems best about this and about other matters.' Whereupon, I fancied that he was smitten, and that the words which I had uttered like arrows had wounded him, and so without waiting to hear more I got up, and throwing my coat about him crept under his threadbare cloak, as the time of year was winter, and there I lay during the whole night having this wonderful monster in my arms. This again, Socrates, will not be denied by you. And yet, notwithstanding all, he was so superior to my solicitations, so contemptuous and derisive and disdainful of my beautywhich really, as I fancied, had some attractionshear, O judges; for judges you shall be of the haughty virtue of Socratesnothing more happened, but in the morning when I awoke (let all the gods and goddesses be my witnesses) I arose as from the couch of a father or an elder brother.
Talks With Sri Aurobindo 1, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
in spite of proverbs!
PURANI: Can it be affirmed that the Asuras by their action meddle too much
The Act of Creation text, #The Act of Creation, #Arthur Koestler, #Psychology
from the proverbs of Solomon: 'I am fast runner, not slow runner',
*I not old boy, new boy', etc. The use of such paired antithetic state-
The Dwellings of the Philosophers, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
few proverbs. Barely do we notice, once in a great while, a proper application of this fallen
art, frequently directed to advertising purposes. Thus a large modem firm, specializing in the
the Eternal Wisdom, #unset, #Arthur C Clarke, #Fiction
5) I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence and find out knowledge of witty inventions.... Counsel is mine and sound knowledge. I am understanding. I am strength. By me Kings reign and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me. And those that seek me shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment, that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.... I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning before ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills were, I was brought forth. ~ proverbs
6) I am the mother of pure love and of science and of sacred hope. ~ Ecclesiastious
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9) How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver! ~ proverbs
10) To have wisdom is worth more than pearls. ~ Job
11) Happy is the man that findeth wisdom and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is everyone that retaineth her. ~ proverbs
12) The possession of wisdom leadeth to true happiness. ~ Porphyry
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17) Wisdom is a well-spring of life unto him that hath it. ~ proverbs
18) Who loves her loves life and they that keep vigil to find her shall enjoy her peace. Whosoever possesses her, shall have life for his inheritance. ~ Ecclesiastious
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34) Behold the beginning of wisdom; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding. Exalt her and she shall promote thee. She shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. ~ proverbs
35) Thou shalt invest thyself with her as with a raiment of glory and thou shalt put her on thy head as a crown of joy. Say unto wisdom, ~ Ecclesiastious
36) "Thou art my sister", and call understanding thy kinswoman. ~ proverbs
37) For wisdom shall enter into thine heart and knowledge be pleasant unto thy soul. ~ proverbs
38) Having thought of these things, meditating on them in my heart and having considered that I shall find immortality in the union with wisdom, I went in search of her on all sides, that I might take her for my companion. ~ Book of Wisdom
--
4) He that walketh with the wise, shall be wise. ~ proverbs XIII 20
5) For in them there is a source of intelligence, a fountain of wisdom and a flood of knowledge. ~ Esdras
--
29) Lend thine ear, hear the words of the wise, apply thy heart to knowledge. ~ proverbs XXII. 17
30) Scorn not-the discourse of the wise, for thou shalt learn from them wisdom. ~ Ecclesiasticus
--
3) The desire of the slothful killeth him. ~ proverbs XXI. 25
4) Idleness like rust destroys much more than work uses up; a key in use is always clean. ~ Franklin
--
13) Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. ~ proverbs XVII. 6
The Psychology of Social Development - IV View Similar The Guardians of the Eight
--
13) Put away from thee a forward mouth and perverse lips put away from thee. ~ proverbs IV 24
14) Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile. ~ Psalms XXXIV. 13
--
1) To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. ~ proverbs XXL 3
2) Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. ~ Matthew V. 6
--
12) He that soweth iniquity, shall reap vanity. ~ proverbs XXII
13) They that plough iniquity and sow wickedness, reap the same. ~ ol IV.8
--
3) A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. ~ proverbs XVII. 22
4) Give not up thy heart to sorrow, for it is a sister to distrust and wrath. ~ The Shepherd of Hermas
--
18) A calm heart is the life of the body. ~ proverbs XIV. 30
19) A man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. ~ proverbs XVII. 27
20) The good man remains calm and serene. ~ Chi-king
--
26) A just man falleth seven times and riseth up again. ~ proverbs XXIV. 16
27) If thy first endeavour to find the Eternal bears no fruit, lose not courage. Persevere and at last thou shalt obtain the divine grace. ~ Ramakrishna
--
2) A man's pride shall bring him low, but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. ~ proverbs XXIX. 23
3) Pride goeth before destruction, but before honour is humility. ~ proverbs XVI. 18: XVII. 12
4) Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. ~ Luke XIV. 11
--
29) Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him. ~ proverbs XXVI. 12
30) Be not proud in thy riches, nor in thy strength, nor in thy wisdom. ~ Phocylides
--
23) Vex not thyself to be rich; cease from thy own wisdom. Wilt thou set thy eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings. ~ proverbs XXIII. 4-5
24) Thou whom all respect, impoverish thyself that thou mayst enter the abode of the supreme riches. ~ Baha-ullah
--
35) Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. ~ proverbs IV. 23
36) Keep thyself from all evil in thought, in word, in act. If thou transgress not these three frontiers of wisdom, thou shalt find the way pursued by the saints. ~ Magghima Nikaya
--
13) He that hath no rule over his own spirit, is like a city that is broken down and without walls. ~ proverbs XXV. 28
14) One should guard oneself like a frontier citadel well defended-without and within. ~ Dhammapada
--
3)Better is he that rulethhis spirit than he that taketh a city. ~ proverbs XVI
4) The greatest man in the world is not the conqueror, but the man who has domination over his own being. ~ Schopenhauer
--
14) My son, give me thy heart and let thine eyes observe my ways. ~ proverbs XXIII. 26
15) Leave hereafter iniquity and accomplish righteousness. ~ Buddhist Texts
--
7) There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. ~ proverbs XIV. 12
8) In the way of righteousness is life: and in the pathway thereof there is no death. ~ proverbs XII
9) As righteousness tendeth to life, so he that pursueth evil, pursueth it to his own death. ~ proverbs XI.19
10) Heedlessness is the road of death. ~ Buddhist Texts
--
12) The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding, shall remain in the congregation of the dead. ~ proverbs XXI. 16
13) That man whose mind attaches itself only to sensible objects, death carries away like a torrent dragging with it a sleeping village. ~ Dhammapada
--
21) The way of life is above to the wise that he may depart from hell which is beneath. ~ proverbs XV 24
22) When the wicked turneth away from his wickedness and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. ~ Ezekiel XVIII 27. 28
--
30) Forsake your ignorance and live. ~ proverbs IX. 6
31) If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. ~ Romans VIII. 13
--
12) Deliver them that are drawn unto death. ~ proverbsXXXIV
13) Thou shalt not kill. ~ Mat-thew. XIX. 18
--
14) The charm of a man is in his kindness. ~ proverbs XII 22
Thou Shalt not Kill View Similar No Hatred
--
6) He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding. ~ proverbs XIV. 22
7) But now put off all these, wrath, anger, malice, calumny, filthy communications out of your mouth. ~ Colossians III. 8
--
3) The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water; therefore leave off contention before it be meddled with. ~ proverbs XVII. 14
4) The disciple lives as a reconciler of those that are divided, uniting more closely those that are friends, establishing peace, preparing peace, rich in peace, pronouncing always words of peace ~ Metta Sutta
The Gospel According to John, #The Bible, #Anonymous, #Various
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. 25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. 28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. 31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? 32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
--- Overview of noun proverbs
The noun proverbs has 1 sense (no senses from tagged texts)
1. Proverbs, Book of Proverbs ::: (an Old Testament book consisting of proverbs from various Israeli sages (including Solomon))
--- Overview of noun proverb
The noun proverb has 1 sense (first 1 from tagged texts)
1. (3) proverb, adage, saw, byword ::: (a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people)
--- Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun proverbs
1 sense of proverbs
Sense 1
Proverbs, Book of Proverbs
INSTANCE OF=> book
=> section, subdivision
=> writing, written material, piece of writing
=> written communication, written language, black and white
=> communication
=> abstraction, abstract entity
=> entity
=> music
=> auditory communication
=> communication
=> abstraction, abstract entity
=> entity
Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun proverb
1 sense of proverb
Sense 1
proverb, adage, saw, byword
=> saying, expression, locution
=> speech, speech communication, spoken communication, spoken language, language, voice communication, oral communication
=> auditory communication
=> communication
=> abstraction, abstract entity
=> entity
--- Hyponyms of noun proverbs
Hyponyms of noun proverb
--- Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun proverbs
1 sense of proverbs
Sense 1
Proverbs, Book of Proverbs
INSTANCE OF=> book
Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun proverb
1 sense of proverb
Sense 1
proverb, adage, saw, byword
=> saying, expression, locution
--- Coordinate Terms (sisters) of noun proverbs
1 sense of proverbs
Sense 1
Proverbs, Book of Proverbs
-> book
HAS INSTANCE=> Genesis, Book of Genesis
HAS INSTANCE=> Exodus, Book of Exodus
HAS INSTANCE=> Leviticus, Book of Leviticus
HAS INSTANCE=> Numbers, Book of Numbers
HAS INSTANCE=> Deuteronomy, Book of Deuteronomy
HAS INSTANCE=> Joshua, Josue, Book of Joshua
HAS INSTANCE=> Judges, Book of Judges
HAS INSTANCE=> Ruth, Book of Ruth
HAS INSTANCE=> I Samuel, 1 Samuel
HAS INSTANCE=> II Samuel, 2 Samuel
HAS INSTANCE=> I Kings, 1 Kings
HAS INSTANCE=> II Kings, 2 Kings
HAS INSTANCE=> I Chronicles, 1 Chronicles
HAS INSTANCE=> II Chronicles, 2 Chronicles
HAS INSTANCE=> Ezra, Book of Ezra
HAS INSTANCE=> Nehemiah, Book of Nehemiah
HAS INSTANCE=> Esther, Book of Esther
HAS INSTANCE=> Job, Book of Job
HAS INSTANCE=> Psalms, Book of Psalms
HAS INSTANCE=> Proverbs, Book of Proverbs
HAS INSTANCE=> Ecclesiastes, Book of Ecclesiastes
HAS INSTANCE=> Song of Songs, Song of Solomon, Canticle of Canticles, Canticles
HAS INSTANCE=> Isaiah, Book of Isaiah
HAS INSTANCE=> Jeremiah, Book of Jeremiah
HAS INSTANCE=> Lamentations, Book of Lamentations
HAS INSTANCE=> Ezekiel, Ezechiel, Book of Ezekiel
HAS INSTANCE=> Daniel, Book of Daniel, Book of the Prophet Daniel
HAS INSTANCE=> Hosea, Book of Hosea
HAS INSTANCE=> Joel, Book of Joel
HAS INSTANCE=> Amos, Book of Amos
HAS INSTANCE=> Obadiah, Abdias, Book of Obadiah
HAS INSTANCE=> Jonah, Book of Jonah
HAS INSTANCE=> Micah, Micheas, Book of Micah
HAS INSTANCE=> Nahum, Book of Nahum
HAS INSTANCE=> Habakkuk, Habacuc, Book of Habakkuk
HAS INSTANCE=> Zephaniah, Sophonias, Book of Zephaniah
HAS INSTANCE=> Haggai, Aggeus, Book of Haggai
HAS INSTANCE=> Zechariah, Zacharias, Book of Zachariah
HAS INSTANCE=> Malachi, Malachias, Book of Malachi
HAS INSTANCE=> Matthew, Gospel According to Matthew
HAS INSTANCE=> Mark, Gospel According to Mark
HAS INSTANCE=> Luke, Gospel of Luke, Gospel According to Luke
HAS INSTANCE=> John, Gospel According to John
HAS INSTANCE=> Acts of the Apostles, Acts
=> Epistle
HAS INSTANCE=> Revelation, Revelation of Saint John the Divine, Apocalypse, Book of Revelation
HAS INSTANCE=> Additions to Esther
HAS INSTANCE=> Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Children
HAS INSTANCE=> Susanna, Book of Susanna
HAS INSTANCE=> Bel and the Dragon
HAS INSTANCE=> Baruch, Book of Baruch
HAS INSTANCE=> Letter of Jeremiah, Epistle of Jeremiah
HAS INSTANCE=> Tobit, Book of Tobit
HAS INSTANCE=> Judith, Book of Judith
HAS INSTANCE=> I Esdra, 1 Esdras
HAS INSTANCE=> II Esdras, 2 Esdras
HAS INSTANCE=> Ben Sira, Sirach, Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach
HAS INSTANCE=> Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom
HAS INSTANCE=> I Maccabees, 1 Maccabees
HAS INSTANCE=> II Maccabees, 2 Maccabees
Coordinate Terms (sisters) of noun proverb
1 sense of proverb
Sense 1
proverb, adage, saw, byword
-> saying, expression, locution
=> Beatitude
=> logion
=> calque, calque formation, loan translation
=> advice and consent
=> ambiguity
=> euphemism
=> dysphemism
=> shucks
=> tongue twister
=> anatomical reference, anatomical
=> southernism
=> motto, slogan, catchword, shibboleth
=> maxim, axiom
=> epigram, quip
=> proverb, adage, saw, byword
=> idiom, idiomatic expression, phrasal idiom, set phrase, phrase
=> agrapha
=> sumpsimus
--- Grep of noun proverbs
book of proverbs
proverbs
Grep of noun proverb
proverb
proverbs
Wikipedia - Adagia -- Collection of Greek and Latin proverbs, compiled by Erasmus of Rotterdam
Wikipedia - All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy -- Proverb suggesting that lack of free time encourages lack of spirit
Wikipedia - As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly -- Biblical proverb
Wikipedia - Book of Proverbs -- Book of the Bible
Wikipedia - Cart before the horse -- Idiom or proverb
Wikipedia - Category:Proverbs
Wikipedia - Fortune favours the bold -- Translation of a Latin proverb
Wikipedia - French proverbs -- Wikiquote redirect
Wikipedia - Homo homini lupus -- Latin proverb
Wikipedia - If wishes were horses, beggars would ride -- English proverb and nursery rhyme
Wikipedia - Like sheep to the slaughter -- A proverb regarding the Jewish Holocaust
Wikipedia - List of German proverbs -- Wikipedia list article
Wikipedia - List of proverbial phrases -- Wikimedia list article
Wikipedia - Netherlandish Proverbs -- Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Wikipedia - No friends but the mountains -- Kurdish proverb
Wikipedia - Paremiography -- The study of the collection and writing of proverbs
Wikipedia - Paremiology -- The collection and study of proverbs
Wikipedia - Proverbia Grecorum
Wikipedia - Proverbs of Hell
Wikipedia - proverb
Wikipedia - Proverb -- Short traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth
Wikipedia - Russian proverbs
Wikipedia - Songs and Proverbs of William Blake -- music by Benjamin Britten
Wikipedia - Tegelspreuken -- Decorative tiles inscribed with proverbs or aphorisms, often in blue-and-white Delftware style
Wikipedia - The Durham Proverbs
Wikipedia - The enemy of my enemy is my friend -- Ancient proverb
Wikipedia - The Moon is made of green cheese -- A fanciful belief used as a metaphor and proverb
Wikipedia - The pot calling the kettle black -- Proverbial idiom referring to an example of hypocrisy
Wikipedia - Trust, but verify -- Russian proverb
Wikipedia - Wellerism -- Saying that makes fun of an established proverb
Wikipedia - When life gives you lemons, make lemonade -- Proverb
Wikipedia - When two tigers fight -- Chinese proverb
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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28177957-the-proverbs-of-middle-earth
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https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Bible_(American_Standard)/Proverbs
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Bible_(King_James)/Proverbs
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Bible_(World_English)/Proverbs
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Book_of_Proverbs
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Midrash_Proverbs
https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Proverb
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/BookOfProverbs
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ProverbialWisdom
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aachen_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Afghan_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Afrikaans_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albanian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Altenburg_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Altmark_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Amrumer_Mundart_Frisian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Appenzell_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arabic_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aramaic_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Armenian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Attendorn_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Azerbaijani_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bad_Driburg_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bahamian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bari_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Basque_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bavarian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Belarusian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bergamasque_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bhojpuri_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bible/Proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bolognese_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Book_of_Proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bosnian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bremen_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Breslau_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Breton_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bulgarian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Burggrafenamt_Tyrolean_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Catalan_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Catania_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Category:Indian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Category:Proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Category:Proverbs_by_language
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Category_talk:Indian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Category_talk:Proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Champenois_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cheremis_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chinese_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Colognian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Corsican_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Corsican_Settentrionale_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Croatian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Czech_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Danish_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dren_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dutch_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/East_Frisian_Low_Saxon_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eifel_and_Hunsrck_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emilian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/English_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/English_proverbs_(alphabetically_by_proverb)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Esperanto_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Estonian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Faroese_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Filipino_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Finnish_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Flemish_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/French_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Frisian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Galician_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gascon_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Georgian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/German_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Greek_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Haitian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hamburg_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hannover_Gttingen_and_Grubenhagen_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hannover_Verden_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hawaiian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hebraic_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Highland_Romansch_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hindi_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Holstein_Anglia_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Holstein_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hungarian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Icelandic_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ila_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Indian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Indonesian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Irish_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Italian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jamaican_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Japanese_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jever_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jewish_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kannada_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karelian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kikuyu_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kleve_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Klingon_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Korean_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Krio_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lach_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Landsberg_am_Lech_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Languedocien_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lappish_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Latin_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Latvian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lecce_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ligurian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/List_of_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lithuanian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Livonian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Logudorese_Sardinian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lombard_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lower_Austria_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lugbara_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Luxembourgish_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Macedonian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maltese_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mambwe-Lungu_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Manx_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maori_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marathi_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mark_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mecklenburgisch-Schwerin_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Medieval_Latin_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Middle_Franconian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Milanese_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mizo_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Moers_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mnchengladbach_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mongolian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Montenegrin_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mordvin_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Moringer_Mundart_Frisian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mnsterlndisch_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Namur_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nassau_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ndebele_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Neapolitan_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nigerian_Proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Norman_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Northern_Catalan_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Northern_Italian_proverbs
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/North_Provenal_proverbs
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Miracle Beach(1992) - A romantically hapless young man named Scott has his life changed when he finds the proverbial genie-in-a-bottle, in this case a very comely lass named Jeannie. With Jeannie granting wishes left and right, Scott soon has a fine house, a wonderful car, and a chance to impress the girl of his dreams....
The Air I Breathe(2007) - A drama based on an ancient Chinese proverb that breaks life down into four emotional cornerstones: happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love. A businessman bets his life on a horse race; a gangster sees the future; a pop star falls prey to a crime boss; a doctor must save the love of his life.
The Air I Breathe (2007) ::: 6.8/10 -- R | 1h 35min | Crime, Drama, Thriller | 17 October 2008 (Mexico) -- A drama based on an ancient Chinese proverb that breaks life down into four emotional cornerstones: happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love. A businessman bets his life on a horse race; a gangster sees the future; a pop star falls prey to a crime boss; a doctor must save the love of his life. Director: Jieho Lee
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Klingon_proverb
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Proverb
https://whitewolf.fandom.com/wiki/Proverbial_Monsters
https://worldhealer.fandom.com/wiki/Proverbs
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Proverbs
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The Durham Proverbs
The Proverbs of Alfred
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