Divers Proverbs

This book is a fun way to get a sense of proverbs that were circulating in England in the 18th century (this is a reprint of a book first published in 1721): Divers Proverbs by Nathan Bailey. The book features one of those very VERY long titles, as you can see here on the title page:

As promised, each saying has a brief explanation, often with comparative material from other languages. Here's the explanation for the saying A cat may look at a king (made newly famous by its use in Alice in Wonderland).

You can read more about the author, Nathan Bailey, at Wikipedia; he was one of the first English lexicographers. As often, there is a lot of overlap between the making of dictionaries and the collection of proverbs. You can see his An Universal Eymological English Dictionary at the Internet Archive too.

Here are some of my favorites from Bailey's book:

A burnt child dreads the fire.

It is an ill wind that blows nobody good.

One bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

A cat may look upon a king.

I talk of chalk and you of cheese.

Cut yoru coat according to your cloth.

What can't be cured must be endured.

Cursed cows have short horns.

He who has a mind to beat a dog will easily find a stick.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Out of the frying pan into the fire.

He sets the fox to keep his geese.

Every man thinks his own geese swans.

Many hands make light work.

Penny wise and pound foolish.

Reckon not your chickens before they are hatched.

A rolling stone gathers no moss.

It is good to make hay while the sun shines.

The more haste, the worse speed.

When the sky falls we shall catch larks.

'Tis too late to spare when all is spent.

One swalllow does not make a summer.

Too much of one thing is good for nothing.

One good turn deserves another.

He steals a goose and gives the giblets in alms.

If you trust before you try, you may repent before you die.

Nothing venture, nothing have.

Many words will not fill a bushel.