OTHOU Nazarite, go about, go about, and do not come near the vineyard!

The meaning is, that we should avoid the occasions of sin. The Nazarite was forbidden the use of wine; and it was therefore his wisest course to avoid all occasions of trespassing, by even keeping out of the vineyard. In matters of evil it is well to avoid the appearance of it, and the suggestion of it. He who dreads a spark will not play with fire.

Oaks fall when reeds stand.

To yield may sometimes be greater wisdom than to defy the storm; and it is always so when the hand of God goes out against; us.

Then we must either bow or break.

Obedience should be a child’s first lesson.

And it will need to be repeated. If he learns it well as a child, it will be the foundation of his character as a man. Colts must be broken in, or they will be useless horses. All human beings need to be taught obedience; for as Judge Halyburton says — “ Wherever there is authority there is a natural inclination to disobedience.”

Obedience to his master is the wisdom of the disciple.

Thus he learns practically, and if he does not learn practically, he does not learn truly. The apprentice learns his trade by working at it; and even so We must learn Christianity by living like the Lord Jesus Christ. He who will do shall know.

Obedient wives lead their husbands.

Sensible men know when they have good wives, and they are glad to let them manage the house, and lead them on to prosperity. The author of the “Five Talents of Woman” tells the following story: — “As a clergyman was riding through a village in Fifeshire one day, a man came out and stopped him, addressing him in the following remarkable words: ‘D’ye mind, sir, you day, when ye married me, and when I wad insist upon vowing to obey my wife? Weel, ye may now see that I was in the richt. Whether ye wad or no, I hae obeyed my wife; and behold, I am now the only man that has a twa-storey house in the hale town! ‘“ Obey orders if you break owners.

Meaning that the result; of obeying orders is not for the mariner’s consideration. He is a man under authority: his not to reason why.

Obstinacy is absurdity.

There are people who, like pigs, always go the reverse way to that in which they are driven. Ode pig went all the way upstairs by having his tail pulled downwards. So Swift wrote of a woman: — “Lose no time to contradict her, Nor endeavor to convict her, Only take this rule along, Always to advise her wrong, And reprove her when she’s right, She will then grow wise for spite.” We recommend no such method; but with some it might be more successful than good advice. There are men also of this breed; and indeed the English stock has a full share of obstinacy in it; so that one said “The crest of the southern English is a hog, and their motto is, ‘ We wun’t be druv’.”

Of a little spend a little and save a little. Giro a little, too, to consecrate the whole. What we give in alms will prevent covetousness. What is given Stops the leaven.

Of all cocks the worst is a weathercock.

From its turning with every wind. Men who are twisted about by every breeze, and are, not to be depended upon, become the objects of supreme contempt.

Of all crafts honesty is the master craft.

He who is not crafty, but candid and open, will carry the day in the long run against all the cunning in the world. Cunning is folly wearing the mask of prudence, wisdom soured, with falsehood. But plain honesty so puzzles the men of policy that they suspect it is working a scheme of more than ordinary depth, and so it baffles them.

Of all tame beasts I like sluts least.

Nobody can endure them: they make you feel sick. Dirty dishes, foul linen, filthy rooms, and so forth, cause nausea to clean people.

Of all things, men are most fond of their wrong notions. Even as mothers love most their weakest children.

Of bowers and scrapers beware.

Too much politeness is suspicious, When men bow very often, they may be suspected of stooping because they think there is something to pick up.

Of dead and gone speak good or none. De mortuis nil nisi bonun. Which one translates, “Concerning the dead nothing but bones”; another says, “Nothing but a bonus.” Of hard striving comes sure thriving. He that would thrive, His work must drive.

If work drives thee, Right poor thou’lt be.

Of honey eat not thou too fast Lest, it should make thee sick at last.

Human praise is sweet to our pride, but it should be accepted sparingly. The same is true of all earthly pleasures.

Of Lions white and red beware; They always take the lion’s share.

It is curious that these mythical animals should so often be selected as signs for houses of entertainment. Is it because the weary traveler will there find something to lie on? Or because, by means of wines, white and red, many are apt; to make beasts of themselves? A lawyer’s clerk in Manchester, being requested by his employer to show a gentleman the “lions,” took him to all the public-houses designated by the titles of “The Red Lion,” “The Black Lion,” “The White Lion,” etc.; and the gentleman, enjoying the joke, “stood Sam” at each place; the result being, that the clerk returned to the office anyhow but sober. The “lions” had proved too much for him.

Of little meddling comes great ease.

But even a little meddling may destroy all ease. “Hands off” is a good word. It is easier to keep out of a mess than to get oat of one.

Medlars are poor fruit, and so are meddlers.

Of pepper take none in thy nose, However much thy friends oppose.

Friends mean well, even when they do not agree with us; therefore, let us not take offense at them.

Of saving cometh having.

Yet you must “have” first. Some save nothing, and consequently have nothing in the hour of need. Others try to save everything, and even rob themselves of common comforts, and thus really have nothing. May we be saved from both extremes, and have what we have to the glory of God.

Of smoothsayers and soothsayers beware.

Those who prophesy smooth things, and those who prophesy future things at all apart from the Scriptures, are dangerous people.

Modern prophets are unprofitable.

Of the dead say only what is good.

And if nothing good can be spoken, say nothing, but conclude — Seeing he is dead, No more shall be said Of wasting cometh wanting.

Some have wasted roast meat, and have come to long even for the smell of it. How gladly would they now eat the crusts they threw to the hogs! Waste first makes want, and then makes it bitter.

Of what use is a violin to a deaf man?

Them must be a capacity for enjoying, or there will be no enjoyment. It is of no use casting pearls before swine. Here is an amusing instance of the usefulness of literature to the utterly ignorant. An agent for a new cyclopaedia tells this incident: — “Among those to whom I have shown the volumes I found but one young man who did not need the work. He has a cyclopaedia, a number of large volumes; he did not know how many, nor did he know the name of the editor or publisher; but they are very large, heavy volumes. Believing he did not frequently consult them, I asked if he ever used them. ‘ Certainly,’ said he, ‘ I use them every day.’ ‘What can you possibly do with them?’ ‘Why, I press my trousers with them.’” There was some use in the encyclopaedia; but we wonder how the deaf man would use the fiddle.

Offenders never pardon.

It is strangely true that the man who wrongs you hates you far more surely and maliciously than the man whom you have injured. Forgiveness to the injured must belong; For they ne’er pardon who have done the wrong.

Oil and truth will yet, The uppermost get.

There is no keeping truth under. It is from above, and it tends towards its source. Despair not thou! Though truth be beaten oft, In God’s own time she shall be set aloft.

Old age is honorable, but youthful pride is abominable.

Yet there is far too much of the latter. ‘‘ Now every boy’s the old man’s teacher:

The father’s a fool, the child a preacher.” Old age makes the head white, but not always wise.

Yet “with the aged is wisdom.” If years do not teach, what will?

Old birds are hard to pluck.

Meddle not with others at all, but be sure not to take up the cudgels with those whose experience has taught them to take care of themselves. Lay not your hand on the mane of an old lion.

Old birds are seldom caught by chaff, Old rats by wooden trap or gin; And if you dig a pit, my friend, The chances are you’ll tumble in.

Old dogs are in no hurry to bark.

Old hounds do not begin yelping the moment they are out of the kennel, but they only get into full cry when they see the fox.

Practiced preachers do not commence with a loud voice, but wait till they warm to their subject, and then give it tongue.

Old foxes are caught at last.

And generally when they conclude that no one can catch such very sensible, wide-awake people.

Old foxes are not easily caught.

They are wary because of former mishaps; And therefore they fight very shy of your traps. Experience makes men open their eyes and keep them open, and they are not readily imposed upon after a good drilling in the consequences of believing all they hear.

Old foxes want no tutors.

They know too much already. One who has lived long in such a world as this knows a thing or two. “An old Parliamentary hand” knows his way about. Proverbs about foxes are very plentiful; the fact being that the creature so brings up the idea of sport that men like to talk about him. There is a love of animals innate in most people. While the rich are hunting foxes, Poor men mend their rabbit boxes.

Old gold, old hay, old bread, Stand a man in good stead.

He who is always taken with that which is new will soon be caught in a noose. Last year’s stack of hay in the yard is a pretty sight to him who has horses to feed.

Old gold, old truth, and old friend, These are treasures to the end.

Satisfy yourself with the tried and proved, and let others have novelties if they choose.

Old head and young hand.

A good combination: prudence and energy.

Old heads will not suit young shoulders.

It would be hypocrisy for youths to speak with the certainty, caution, and experience of old men. It is neither natural nor desirable that grey heads should grow on green necks.

Old is the boat, but it still keeps afloat.

It is pleasant to see the aged still trying to be useful. We say, “The old ferry-boat will carry us ,over the river yet once more”; and so the worn-out man may yet again serve his God.

Old Lawrence has got, hold of you.

Which means that the man is in the power of the demon of laziness, St. Lawrence being the patron of idleness. Surely that is not the Lawrence who was martyred on a gridiron! And yet perhaps it is; for lazy people will find things rather hot in these days, even if they do not go to the grill-room of utter bankruptcy.

Old men are as anxious to live as the young.

Willingness to depart comes not with years; in fact, the longer men live, the more they cling to life. The man has breakfasted, dined, and supped; and yet he is in no hurry to go to bed. The tree of deepest root is found Unwilling most to quit the ground.

Old ovens are soon heated.

Men long given to sin are soon excited to a repetition of their vicious practices.

Old oxen have stiff horns.

When a man of years makes up his mind, he is not easily prevented from carrying out his purpose.

Old reckonings breed new disputes.

Old accounts smell abominably. There is nothing like clearing up as you go. To-day and to-day we pay and we pay, And this from obstructions cleareth the way.

Old sacks want much patching.

Old bodies want nourishing and doctoring; old businesses need fresh methods to suit the times; old corporations need reforming.

Old shoes are easiest, and old friends are best.

We are used to them; they fit us; and we cannot bear to part with them. Bring me my old slippers when my feet ache, and fetch me my old friend when my heart aches.

Old sins breed new shame.

When they rise in the conscience, or when they are talked of in the world, they bring the blush to the cheek.

Old thanks do not suffice for new gifts.

Gratitude should spring up perpetually. Praises, though rendered a little ago, must be renewed as fresh benefits are received.

Old tunes are sweetest, and old friends surest.

Oh, for the old music, before the fly-away-jack tunes came in! Oh, for the like of the grand old men who are now in heaven! True as steel they were, though nowadays they call them narrow.

Old wounds soon bleed.

Well do I remember a grey horse falling, bleeding terribly, and cutting itself woefully. I could not understand why it was so grievously hurt till I learned that it had been down before, and was now injured in the same place. It is so with old sins. Men are apt to bleed in the old spot.

Omission of good is commission of evil.

In other words, “Omitted duty is committed sin.” How this should humble us when making confession of sin! Who can measure what he might have done and should have done?

Omit ornament if it straitens strength.

A man had a plain strong bow with which he could shoot far and true. He loved his bow so well that he would needs have it curiously carved by a cunning workman. It was done; and at the first trial the bow snapped. We may make our style of speaking so fine that it loses its force. It is foolish to sacrifice strength to elegance.

Omittance is no quittance.

If your creditor does not call for the money, it is just as much his due. Pay it like an honest man; and don’t hint that “You thought he had given it to you.” That is the brogue Of an old rogue.

On a good Bargain think twice.

Or else leave it without a thought. It may not be all it looks; and if you do not need the article, it may be folly to buy it at any price.

Why should people sell you goods under cost price?

On a long journey even a straw is heavy.

Because of the length of time you will have to carry it. The less luggage the better, and the less care the happier you will be.

On his own saddle one rides safest.

Where a man is most at home, he has least fear, and least danger. In one’s own line of things one is least apt to slip.

On Monday morning don’t be looking for Saturday night.

It will be reached soon enough if you work your passage to its shores.

On some men’s Bread Butter will not stick.

Ne’er-do-wells seldom remain in comfort long. If you were to put them into a river they would soon be high and dry in the bed of it.

They attribute it to being born under a twopenny planet; but the fault, dear sillies, is not in your stars, but in yourselves.

On the heels of folly shame will surely tread.

Shame is the estate which is entailed on fools.

On the sea one hath not the sea in his hands.

You must put up with its changes, and manage your vessel accordingly. So in business, we cannot arrange circumstances. The storms of life we can neither raise nor lull.

On the sea sail, on the land settle.

Act as circumstances require, and utilize all opportunities.

On the spree still sober be.

But our London people can scarcely enjoy a holiday without a fiddle and a fuddle.

On their own merits modest men are dumb.

Praise of self from a man’s own lips is loathsome.

Once bit twice shy.

Prudence forbids putting your hand a second time within reach of a dog. He who had his head bitten off by a lion had no chance of putting this proverb in action. A friend of mine had a little clog which had been bitten by a larger dog, and ever afterwards refused to go near the place where this happened. Another dog, which had been scratched by a cat, would not go within a couple of fields of the house where the cat lived. Are not dogs wiser than men?

Once cut the cheese, and the cheese will soon cut. Householders find it so. Only change a pound, And it can’t be found.

Once shot you cannot stop the arrow. “A word once spoken can return no more; A wise man sets a watch before the door. The bird in hand we may at will restrain; But being flown, we call her back in vain.” — Whitney.

One action does not make a habit.

But it may be the beginning of it. We may not say, “Once is never,” but we may hope it is not always. Yet there is fear that one sin may force on another, as Dryden says- “He that once sins, like him who slides on ice, Goes swiftly down the slippery paths of vice.” One always hits himself in a sore place.

Persons think that they are being alluded to, and even insulted in a discourse, when they are not even thought of. They have a sore place, and so they are always being touched upon it. Conscience makes cowards of men.

One barber shaves another.

An infidel critic generally practices his art by cutting up the man who followed the same craft before him.

One barking dog sets all the street a-barking. “Lie down, sir!” We can’t afford to have all dogdom pouring forth its howls in our cars.

One beats the bush, and another gets the birds.

It is often so with inventors, originators, authors, and other persons of genius, who cannot produce their work without outside help.

They have the labor, and others take the profit. The hen lays the egg, but the man eats it.

One body may as well have two souls, as one soul two masters.

One broken wheel spoils the machine.

One grave fault may ruin a character, one weak point may prevent the success of a scheme, and one bad man may hinder the prosperity of a whole church.

One can go a long way after he is tired, Pluck will keep a marl going long after his strength is spent.

Ode can’t hinder the wind from blowing.

Nor gossips from tattling, nor fashions from changing, nor troubles from coming, nor heresies from spreading.

One day may be better than a whole year.

At any rate, there is no time like time present. At certain seasons more can be done in a single day, than at other times in quite a long period. Let us use each passing day energetically, and with a large hopefulness.

One dog can drive a flock of sheep.

One brave man may face a multitude without fear. Alexander said, “One butcher does not fear a herd of cattle.”

One chick keeps a hen busy.

It will need all our care to bring up even a single child.

One drop of ink May make a million think.

Great is the power of the pen. How carefully it should be used!

One enemy is many too many. “The man who has a thousand friends Has not a friend to spare, But he who has one enemy, Will meet him everywhere.” One expense leads to another.

The Sanscrit proverb says, “To protect his rags from the rats he got a cat, to get milk for the cat he bought a cow, to tend the cow he hired a servant, and to manage his servant he procured a wife.” An insolvent said that he was ruined by a new sofa; and he thus explained the mode of his ruin: — “That sofa was the bad beginning — it was too fine for me. It made my old chairs and table look mean, and I had to buy new ones. Then the curtains had to be renewed. Then the furniture in the other rooms had to be sold, and new articles bought to correspond with the parlor. Soon we found the house was not good enough for the furniture, and we removed into a larger mansion. And now, here I am, in the Insolvent Court.”

One eye of the master sees more than four of the servants.

For he has greater influence and control. Trusting to others is not one quarter so effective as looking after the matter your. self.

Where should the eye be but in the head?

One eye-witness is worth more than ten hearsays.

Seeing is good evidence, and carries conviction with it.

One fact is worth a ship-load of opinions.

We don’t want to know how you think it ought to be; but tell us how it is. Religious opinions are fickle as the wind; but the facts of Scripture are firm as a rock.

One false move may lose the game.

It is so in life, although it is no game. Hence the need of great caution. The Chinese have a proverb, which Mr. Scarborough has translated: — For one bad move, if you’re to blame, Be sure that you will lose the game.

One father maintains ten children better than ten children will maintain one father.

For shame! Let us hope this is a calumny; yet have we seen sad instances of unkindness on the part of sons.

One feel in a house is enough in all conscience.

Say rather, “is one too many.” ‘Where is there a family without this piece of furniture? There is no need for us to increase the fraternity.

The Ancient Order of Stupids is very large.

One feel makes many.

By his absurd actions he may win attention, and hold a gaping crowd. His folly may lead others into folly. Crazes are catching.

One foot is better than two crutches.

Better far to be independent and walk on your own legs, than depend on borrowed help. The power of extempore speech is infinitely to be preferred to the best notes.

One frog croaks to another, so doth sorrow to sorrow.

Troubles are many. “ Deep calleth unto deep.” Like the frogs of Egypt, they come into the kneading-trough and the bedchamber; but yet in the Lord’s time they will all be swept away when their purpose is accomplished.

One good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters.

The master’s law compels, but the mother’s love impels. He polishes, but she has the first hand in the fashioning. The man never forgets what he learnt at his mother’s knee. When the conflict between Church and State in Piedmont was at its height, a deputation of noble ladies from Chambery waited on the king, imploring him to revoke the decree by which the nuns of the Sacred Heart were expelled from their city. They declared that they saw no prospect of having their daughters properly educated if the pious sisterhood should be removed. The king listened attentively, and at the close of their appeal most courteously replied: “I believe you are mistaken. I know that there are at this moment in the town of Chambery many ladies much better qualified to educate your children than the Sisters of the Sacred Heart.” The ladies looked surprised, exchanged inquiring glances, and at length begged the king to point out the pious teachers of whose existence they were ignorant, “The pious teachers,” replied Victor Emmanuel, bowing more courteously than before, “are yourselves; your daughters can have no persons better qualified to superintend their education than their own mothers.”

One good stroke does not prove me a woodman.

One happy speech does not warrant a man in setting up as an orator. Balaam’s ass spoke well once, but it never tried it again.

Altogether it differed greatly from its brethren.

One good turn deserves another.

One good yawner makes two. “The adage understates the case. I verily believe that one good yawner might make a hundred such, if he only had a fair field for his operations.” — C. J. Dunphie.

One hair of a woman draws more than a team of horses.

Their tenderness subdues the stubborn heart, and for good or for evil has a mighty force within it. Who cart resist its charms?

One half the world does not know how the other half lives.

But this is not the fault of Mrs. Tattle, for she has done her best to let them know. If without gossip we could know more of each other’s trials it would promote sympathy and charity.

One hand washes another.

Many show kindness in expectation of getting similar help. “Sinners also lend to sinners that they may receive as much again.” Yet it is surely nothing less than nature that those who are members of the one spiritual body should promote the holiness of others, add should be zealous to defend their character.

One hard word brings on another.

Do not open the ball. There is no credit in throwing the first stone, for you may be accountable for all that follow it.

One has need of much wit to deal with a feel.

Because he misunderstands you, and, if trusted, he will lead you into great blunders. It would seem that his folly is catching, for often if there is one feel in a business there is more than one.

One head cannot hold all wisdom.

Therefore we excuse mistakes in others, and do not dare to think ourselves perfectly wise. It is a marvel that some men know so much. Remember the schoolmaster and the peasants- “And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew, That one small head should carry all he knew.” One hour’s sleep before midnight is worth two after.

This is often quoted to get young folks to bed; and we suppose there must be truth in it. One said, “One hour before midnight is worth two after.” “Yes,” said the other “that is why I sit up, for I don’t like to be wasting the best of the hours in sleep.”

One is never so rich as when one moves house.

Then you turn up such a collection of goods, which you had quite forgotten, that you wonder where you will put them all. Old spoons and old rings, And all sorts of things.

One keep-clean is better than ten make-cleans.

Frequent fouling leaves its mark, and the washing wears the material. It is with morals, as with linens.

One lie makes many.

One lie must be thatched with another, or it will soon rain through.

Lies breed like fleas, or aphids.

One lie needs seven lies to wait on it.

And they will not be enough to keep its train off the ground.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, When once we venture to deceive!

One link broken, the whole chain is broken.

An illustration of the great truth, that he who breaks one commandment is guilty of the whole law. If from a chain a single link you strike, Tenth or ten thousandth, breaks the chain alike.

One log does not burn well by itself.

Fellowship in religion is a great stimulus to the heat of piety.

Burning coals heaped together hold the fire, where separate portions die out. Union is force of fervor, as well as of strength.

One loss brings another.

In the Telugu we read, “First, he lost his horse, and then he had to pay for digging a pit in which to bury it.” Merchants and traders know how one link of loss is part of a chain, and draws on other links. When one nine-pin fails it upsets others.

One man is worth a hundred, and a hundred is not worth one.

Many a time a solitary champion has won the victory, and far oftener a band of warriors has been scattered. The concentration of one may surpass the divided force of a hundred. One man with God on his side is more than a match for the whole world.

One man is no man.

Without followers the leader is nothing. One our cannot win the boat race, even though it be the stroke our. One man is invaluable as a captain, yet a captain can do nothing without his crew. It needs many men to man a ship, and many arms to make an army.

One man makes a chair, and another sits in it.

This is division of labor. He that sits in it may have less pleasure in it than he who made it, especially if he be the chairman of a noisy public meeting.

One man may better steal a horse, than another look over the hedge.

The first man has a character, and no one thinks that he will do wrong; the other is too well known to be trusted. No doubt also the world practices gross favoritism, and allows to one person liberties which it denies to another.

One man may lead a horse to the water, but twenty cannot make him drink.

We may preach the gospel, but only God’s grace can lead a man to receive it into his heart. We may lead to the green pastures, but only the Good Shepherd can make the sheep, to lie down therein.

One man may teach another to speak, but none can teach another to hold his peace.

The silent man must in this respect he self-made. He has mastered the greatest point of oratory. That is the true Chrysostom, or golden mouth, which can be kept closed at proper times. To use the tongue in speech is great, But greater to refrain:

Thousands have taught the art to prate, Not one the tongue to rein.

One man with one eye sees more than twenty men without eyes.

Hence, one spiritually enlightened man knows more than a whole nation of worldlings.

One man’s fault should be another man’s lesson.

Instead of which it is too often another man’s gossip. The right use of an observed fault is to talk to yourself about it, and to say nothing to anyone else.

One man’s meat is another man’s poison.

Certainly it is so, if the old saws were ever true which describe the health-giving food of our ancestors; for we should die on such diet.

Take, for instance, the West-country rhyme: Eat leeks in March, and garlic in May, And all the year after physicians may play.

After such odorous and odious food one might well find doctors and everybody else keeping as far off as possible. Another proverb says: Eat an apple going to bed, Make the doctor beg his bread.

We should not like to try the prescription, unless the apple had been well roasted. We prefer the notion that “fruit is gold in the morning, silver at noon, and lead at night.”

One master passion in the breast, Like Aaron’s serpent, swallows up the rest.

One may buy gold too dear.

If you part with principle to procure it, or suffer spiritual loss to gain it. It is not of every place that it could be said, “And the grid of that land is good.”

One may have good eyes, and see nothing.

We have plenty of proofs of this, especially when people have no wish to see, or seeing do not care to perceive.

One may say too much even upon the best subject.

You may make a man sick with the honey which was intended to sweeten his mouth. You may keep on hammering at a nail till you first drive it in, and then drive it out again.

One may tire of eating tarts.

Monotony is wearisome. The repetition of the same thing is tiresome, whether it be in seeing, hearing, or tasting.

One may understand like an angel, and yet live like a devil.

Sad fact. Light in the head may leave the heart in the dark. To know is little, but to practice is great. It involves a terrible responsibility when a man is forced to confess, — “I see the right, and I approve it too, Condemn the wrong, and yet the wrong pursue.” One mild answer quenches more than two buckets of water.

Blessed are those firemen whose gentleness is as a fire engine to the flames of strife. Soft answers are hard to answer. A man cannot quarrel alone. Anger cares not to sing a solo.

One millstone alone, Of meal makes none.

A bachelor is that one alone. Some say he is like one of the legs of a pair of scissors, or a pair of compasses — of no use without the other.

One must never put a hawk into a hen-house.

Nor introduce a bad fellow to your daughters.

One must plough with the horses one has.

It is wisdom to do our best with what comes to hand. Men and women are not perfect, yet God uses them: if they are good enough for him, why should we refuse to work with them?

One of these days is none o£ these days.

Business for which there is no fixed time seldom gets attended to.

One of his hands is unwilling to wash the other for nothing.

This is the mercenary principle in an extreme degree, and doubtless it scarcely exaggerates the spirit of some who will do nothing unless they are to have a wage for it; and hardly then. It reminds me of an old man with a sluggish horse, who, as he struck it with the whip, would say, “Take that; you’re just like a lawyer, you won’t go an inch unless you are well paid.’

One ploughs, another sows:

Who will reap no one knows.

Yet it is ours to sow even if we do not live till harvest; for others sowed, and we entered into their labors.

One pot of beer makes room for another.

Creates a craving for another. Till the first went down, the man was happy without the poison; but now he is not master of himself, and must have another pot to keep the first one company.

One potter loves not another potter.

Two of a trade will not agree. The above proverb is one of the very oldest on record; but we do not suppose that potters are any more cantankerous than other mortals. This is put into rhyme as follows: The potter hates another of the trade, if by his hands a finer dish is made; And thus his envy is betrayed.

One rotten egg will spoil a large pudding.

A grand life may be marred by a single evil deed.

One saddle is enough for one horse.

One office should satisfy one man; it is all that he can properly carry out. Some are saddled from head to tail, but carry little.

One seldom meets a lonely lie.

Lies go in droves. Truth can stand alone, but a lie needs a brother on the right, and another on the left, to keep it up.

One sheep follows another.

It is their sheepish nature; and men are even more sheepish, than sheep. If one of them should go astray, Sure all the flock will tend that way.

Carlyle said that he would like to stop the stream of people in the Strand, and ask every man his history. On reflection he decided, “No, I will not stop them. If I did, I should find they were like a flock of sheep, following in the track of one another.”

One sickly sheep infects the flock.

So spreading is an evil example.

One sin opens the door to another.

Satan puts a little sin in at the window to open the door for a bigger transgression.

One story is good till another is told.

If it be not a good story at all, but a bad one, it is fair to hear what may be said on the other side. It is wonderful in how different a light the same actions may be seen. Be slow to censure. Spare your blame; Rash speech may wound the fairest name.

One swallow makes not a summer.

Nor one woodcock a winter: but it prophesies the coming of it.

One grasshopper makes many springs.

One thing at a time, if upward you’d climb. “A wag asked my lord, how it came to appear Such a great mass of work he got through in a year, Said Chesterfield promptly, ‘ You elderly dunce, By never attempting, sir, two things at once.’” One thread of kindness binds more surely than ten bonds of steel.

Yet men are afraid to try the bonds of love. How well will society be bound together when kindness shall bind man to man!

One to-day is worth a thousand to-morrows.

One tongue is enough for two women.

Are not women unfairly judged in this matter? Are there not many male chatterboxes? It is the men who say these hard things. One of them dares to write — “When man or woman dies, as poets sung, His heart’s the last that stirs; of hers the tongue.” In our judgment, there is little or no truth in the insinuation that the gentler sex talk more than the men. An old bachelor says — “ A woman may be surprised, astonished, amazed, but never dumbfounded.” But then he is a bachelor, and deserves to remain in that horrible condition during the term of his unnatural life.

One trick needs a great many more to make it good.

Thus from one, act a man seems forced to become a trickster. Byand- by one of his tricks fails him, and where is he? Trick upon trick, like brick upon brick:

All comes troubling down right; quick.

One wears white linen, but another did the washing.

The credit is not always, nor even generally, given where it is most deserved.

One would rather be bitten by wolves than by sheep.

Injuries inflicted by men whom we respect, are more keenly felt than those which come from bad men, of whom we expected evil.

One vice is more expensive than many virtues.

Think what lechery, gambling, drinking, and pride cost. All the virtues do not involve so much expense as one of these.

One volunteer is worth two pressed men.

It is certainly so in all holy service. Our God wants none in his armies who do not enter there with all their heart. Yet in another sense all the Lord’s volunteers are conscripts by effectual calling, pressed into the Lord’s service by his love.

One year of blow, Makes three of hoe.

This appears to be an Essex proverb. If thistles and weeds are allowed to ripen, and their seed is blown about for one season, it will take three years to be rid of the mischief. If we allow bad habits to master us for a little while, it will cost us a long time to uproot them. Another form of the proverb is:

One year’s seeding:

Seven years’ weeding.

One’s own hearth is gold’s worth.

The lover of home is the wealthy man. God there gives us more of bliss than all the rest of the world could buy.

Only evil fears the light, God will vindicate the right.

Open doors invite thieves.

Windows and doors badly fastened, or left open, practically say to a burglar, “Come in, and take what you please.”

Open not your door when the devil knocks.

When he finds that he has no response he will go away. Alas! he hardly needs to knock twice in many cases, the door flies open at his first touch. It is not the prince of darkness, but the Lord of Love, who has to cry, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”

Open thy mouth, and God will open his hand. “We have not, because we ask not? A pleading heart on earth soon finds a yielding hand in heaven. The Lord is more ready to give than we are to receive.

Open thy mouth for the dumb.

Let every dumb animal find an eloquent advocate in every one of us. When men cannot speak for themselves, this proverb bids us act as their advocate.

Open thy mouth, that I may know thee.

Till then we can only see as far within a man as his teeth; but speech lets us see further down his throat. We know no man till we have lived with him and heard his communications.

Opportunities do not wait.

We must seize them as they pass us. The tide remains not long at flood. The first occasion offer’d, quickly take, Lest thou repine at what thou didst forsake.

Orators without judgment are horses without bridles.

In such eases their tongues run away with them, and there is no telling where they will go, nor what mischief they will do.

Order well, that you may be well obeyed.

Be dear, thoughtful, and kind in your commands. When the master knows what he wants done, the servants are likely to do it.

Order your dog, but order not me; For I was born before you could see.

A tart reply to one who takes too much upon himself, and would domineer over one older than he is, and independent of him.

Ornament an ass, but it does not make him a horse.

However fine the dress, the man is not altered thereby. An ass is still an ass even if you put on him a Mayor’s chain, or cover him, ears and all, with stars and garters.

Our first breath is the beginning of death.

We have just that one breath the less to draw. “Our life is woven wind” and nothing more. “As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.” The sweetest flowers that scent the sky Are only bona to blush and die.

Our greatest enemy is within ourselves.

With some especially it is so. We know a man of such ability that nobody hinders his usefulness except himself, but self stands in his way very sadly. Self-consciousness is a dreadful hindrance to a minister, missionary, or miss of any sort.

Our homes should be sweet, and airy, and light.

Our clothes should be clean, and never fit tight.

Our idle days are Satan’s busy days.

When our minds lie follow, the wicked one sows them with weeds. “Beware of emptiness. Empty hours, empty hands, empty companions, empty words, empty hearts, draw in evil spirits, as a vacuum draws in air.” — Arnot.

Our mercies are more than our miseries.

Assuredly. God’s deeds of kindness far exceed his acts of judgment. We can count the plagues of Egypt, but who can measure the manna which fell in the wilderness?

Our rust needs a rough file.

Therefore we may expect many afflictions. Till God hath wrought us to his will, The hammer we must suffer still.

Ours is a duck of a climate — for a duck.

And not always that; for one writes of a certain winter’s day, “First it blew, and then it snew, and then it driz , and then it friz .” We have no climate, but only weather.

Out of one quarrel will come a hundred sins.

On all sides angry tempers will be engendered, falsehoods uttered, hard thoughts indulged, peace broken, and holiness grieved. Will it not be better to let it pass?

Oat of the frying-pan into the fire is no gain.

To rush from one form of evil to another and perhaps a worse, is of no avail to salvation. That was a true song of Bunyan’s: — - “What danger is the pilgrim in!

How many are his foes!

How many ways there am to sin, No living mortal knows.

Some of the ditch shy are, yet can Lie tumbling in the mire:

Some, though they shun the frying-pan, Do leap into the fire.” Out of time and place even wisdom is folly.

Out of the path of duty into the path of danger.

Outside the precept is outside the promise.

When we quit the King’s highway of holiness, the King’s protection is no longer guaranteed us.

Overdone is worse than underdone.

You can always do more, But it is not easy to undo what is done.

The following story is told of Dean Swift: — It happened one day that his cook had greatly ever-roasted the only joint he had for dinner. “Cook,” said the Dean in the blandest possible tones, “this leg of mutton is overdone, take it back into the kitchen and do it less.” The cook replied that the thing was impossible. “ But,” said the Dean, “if it had been underdone you could have done it more.”

The cook assented. “Well then, cook” said he, “let this be a lesson to you. If you needs must commit a fault;, at least take care it is one that will admit of a remedy.”

Over-dressed is ill dressed.

When garments attract the eye they disfigure the figure upon which they are hung. Neatness and plainness bear the bell, and make the belle far more beautiful than if gaudily arrayed. A young Grecian painter was rebuked by his master for having decked his Helen with ornaments, because he had not the skill to make her beautiful. It is possible that some think to atone for fire want of beauty by their gorgeous attire, but they make a great mistake. Ugliness bedizened advertises its deformity.

Over-reachers over-reach themselves.

Before long the biter is bitten: the grasper of all is left with nothing but a shadow. He makes a dirt-pie, and has the pleasure of eating it himself.

Over shoes over boots.

So the man plunges deeper into the mire. He is reckless of the worse, because already so used to the bad.

Owls hoot, but the sun shines on.

None of the mole-eyed critics have robbed the Bible of its power or blessing, or Christ of his crown, or God of his glory.

Own thyself foolish, that thou mayst be wise.

Confession of ignorance is the doorstep of knowledge.

Ox, keep to your grass.

Be satisfied with your daily fare. Covet not those luxuries which are not fit for you.

SAYINGS OF A MORE SPIRITUAL SORT.

Offer weekly to the Lord, Even as thou canst afford.

See Paul’s rule of church finance. “On the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him.” — 1 Corinthians 16:2.

If this rule were followed, Christian people would be better off, and the cause of God would have no need of fancy fairs or other fancies.

On earth we roam, Heaven is our home.

May we keep our faces homeward, and, like horses, mend our pace as we see which way the road is going.

On Sinai we learn our duty, but on Calvary we find motives for doing it.

The death of Jesus creates love in our heart, and so we come to obey the Lord. That is not a bad verse: Trust, for salvation comes by Faith alone — But work, as though all Merit were thine own; Live as though Gospel light the world ne’er saw But die as one who is not under Law.

One day in seven is due to heaven.

And when reserved for heaven, it becomes the best possession for ourselves. The Sabbath which is made for God, is the day which, above all others, is said to have been “made for man.”

One hour’s cold will drive out seven years’ heat.

It will do so in the body, and assuredly it has this effect upon the soul. A temporary declension robs us of the advantage of years of earnest spiritual life. Some believers have to complain that holy heat is so soon gone. They go to bed warm and wake up cold. This is a sad experience.

One in a house, of grace possessed, May win for Jesus all the rest.

Get one candle lighted, and all the candles in the house may be made to shine. Grace is not contagious, but yet it is of a spreading character, and brings a blessing to a man’s family.

One touch of grace makes the whole church kin.

The saints in prayer, praise, and any other gracious services and acts appear as one in word, and deed, and mind.

Only those who follow the steps of Jesus are walking with God.

For the way of obedience which Jesus followed is the path of fellowship, and he that wanders from it loses communion with God.

Ordinances without the Spirit are, cisterns without water.

We go to them in vain, and return from them bitterly disappointed when the Holy Ghost does not bless them. But when he works by them they are the appointed conduits of the water of life, and it flows fully and freely through them.

Our churches must not become chapels-of-ease. “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion.”

Our conversation need not always be about grace, but it should always be with grace.

We may add, that books upon religion are needed, but works upon common subjects, written in a religious spirit, are still more needed.

Our God we praise For Sabbath days.

The rest they bring, and the holy occupations they suggest, are matters for constant thankfulness. God must have loved the poor working-man, or he would not have taken such care to give him rest.

Our graces are the children of free grace.

The law did not create them, but they are the outcome of the mighty grace of God which works all good in us.

Our Lord’s last will and testament is fine reading for his heirs.

A man was one day walking to church, reading the New Testament, when a friend who met him said, “Good morning, Mr. Price.” “Good morning, “replied he; “I am reading my Father’s will as I walk along.” “Well, what has he left you?” asked the friend. “ Why, he has bequeathed me a hundredfold more in this life; and in the world to come, life everlasting.” This beautiful reply was the means of comforting his Christian friend, who was at the lime in sorrowful circumstances.

Our love to God arises out of our want: his love to us out of his fullness.

Our salvation begins with self-condemnation.

We must plead “guilty,” or mercy has no ground upon which to deal with us.

Our Savior has a salve for every sore. Herrick wrote, in one of his better verses, To all our wounds, how deep soe’er they be, Christ is the one sufficient remedy.

Our sinful stains Should cause us pains.

Till they are washed out we ought not to give rest to our eyes, nor slumber to our eyelids.

Our sufficiency is in God’s all-sufficiency.

Self-sufficiency is mere self-deceit.

Over the bridge of sighs we pass to the palace of peace.