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German Proverbs from the Orient

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2020

Richard Jente
Richard Jente*
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Washington University
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Extract

In his comprehensive work, Das deutsche Lehnsprichwort, Friedrich Seiler traces the apparent origin of a vast number of proverbs and proverbial expressions current in Germany. He finds that the Greek and Roman classics, the Bible and the works of the Church Fathers yield many of the ancient proverbs still in common use. With regard to the large number of proverbs that have seemingly come from the French, Seiler, as he well realizes, treads on uncertain ground, and much of the material that he here gathers together will have to be reëxamined. It is quite evident that many of the proverbs in this latter group are common medieval proverbs, current over a large part of Europe, which first appear in the vernacular literature and collections of proverbs of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. To attribute French source to them often requires more evidence than Seiler presents. In his treatment of this large body of medieval and international proverbs that seem to have arisen during the Middle Ages and the early modern period—proverbs that give him the most difficulty in finding a possible source—Seiler quite overlooks influences that may have come from the oriental languages, through the Arabic via Spain or into southern Europe via North Africa, or, still more probably for many of these proverbs, via the eastern European countries bordering on Tartaric, Arabic, or Turkish territory.

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Research Article
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PMLA , Volume 48 , Issue 1 , March 1933 , pp. 17 - 37
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Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1933

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References

Note 1 in page 17 F. Seiler, Die Entwicklung der deutschen Kultur im Spiegel des deutschen Lehnworts. v. Teil: Das deutsche Lehnsprichwort (Halle, 1921–1924), i, 61–83.

Note 2 in page 18 I am indebted to Professor Archer Taylor of the University of Chicago for calling my attention to several important references, that I have used below, and also for supplying very willingly material that was otherwise not accessible to me.

Note 3 in page 18 Vallés, Libro de Refranes (Saragossa, 1549), p. b5a.

Note 4 in page 18 I quote from Nuñez, Refranes (Lerida, 1621), p. 21.—The edition of 1804, i, 201, shows that it was in that of 1555.

Note 5 in page 18 I quote from the second edition of Oudin, Refranes (Paris, 1609), p. 40.

Note 6 in page 18 Cf. Correas, Vocabulario de Refranes (ca. 1625) (Madrid, 1924), p. 97: Collins, Spanish Proverbs (London, 1823), p. 70; Sbarbi and Garcia, Dicc. de Refranes (Madrid, 1922), i, 146.

Note 7 in page 18 Neither form is listed in: Morawski, Proverbes Français antérieurs au XVe Siècle (Paris, 1925); Le Roux de Lincy, Proverbes Français (Paris, 1859); Quitard, Proverbes sur les Femmes (Paris, 1878).

Note 8 in page 18 Heywood, Proverbs, ed. by J. S. Farmer (London, 1906), p. 82.

Note 9 in page 18 Ray, English Proverbs (Cambridge, 1670), p. 166; cf. Jente, The Proverbs of Shakespeare, Washington University Studies, xiii (1926), p. 419, no. 166; Lean, Collectanea (1904), ii, 302, 304; G. L. Apperson, English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases (L., 1929), p. 278.

Note 10 in page 18 Winsbeke und Winsbekin, ed. by Leitzmann (Halle, 1888), p. 51, 19, 1–4.

Note 11 in page 19 Johann von Freiberg, Das Rädlein, ll. 285–288 in von der Hagen, Gesamtabenteuer, iii, 118, l. 85; cf. Bezzenberger, Frîankes Bescheidenheit (Halle, 1872), p. 243.

Note 12 in page 19 Zingerle, Die deutschen Sprichwörter im Mittelalter (Vienna, 1864), pp. 35, 194, cites several examples: Hugo von Trimberg, “Der Renner,” Stutt. Lit. Ver., ccxlvii, 13, ll. 309–311; Albrecht von Scharffenberg, Der jüngere Titurel (ed. K. A. Hahn, 1842), ll. 4992–94; Diu Heiden (von der Hagen, Gesamtabenteuer, i, 415), ll. 992–3; Der Reiger (ibid., ii, 157), ll. 9–10; Heinrich der Teichner, Sprüche, 311; Diu Klage (ed. Holtzmann), ll. 2038–39; Kolocz. MS. 129, 216; Hans Vintler, Die Pluemen der Tugent (ed. Zingerle), ll. 9423; cf. also H. Wittenweiler, Der Ring (ed. Bechstein, Stutt. Lit. Ver. xxiii, 42), ii b, 20; Heldenbuch (Stutt. Lit. Ver. lxxxvii, 457), ll. 24–27; S. Singer, Alte schweizerische Sprichwörter (Basel, 1916), p. 15, no. 118; Michel Wissenhere, Heinrich der Löwe (ed. Erlach, ii, 290), St. 89 (cf. here Massmann, Denkmäler deutscher Sprache und Literatur, p. 122); Wolfdietrich (ed. Lunzer, Stutt. Litt. Ver. ccxxxix), p. 230, no. 1501 = D viii, 37.

Note 13 in page 19 Fastnachtspiele aus dem 15. Jahrhundert (ed. Keller, Stutt. Lit. Ver. xxx), p. 1375; cf. also p. 1532.

Note 14 in page 19 Altniederländische Sprichwörter, ed. Hoffmann von Fallersleben (Hannover, 1854), p. 48, no. 773.

Note 15 in page 19 Die älteste niederdeutsche Sprichwörtersammlung von Antonius Tunnicius, ed. Hoffmann von Fallersleben (Berlin, 1870), p. 86, no. 1047.

Note 16 in page 20 Die “Proverbia Communia” mittelniederdeutsch, ed. H. Jellinghaus (Kiel, 1880), no. 720.

Note 17 in page 20 Fabri de Werdea, Proverbia metrica, no. 12, l. 31, cited from Heinrich Bebel's Proverbia Germanica, ed. Suringar (Leiden, 1879), p. 305.

Note 18 in page 20 J. Klapper, Die Sprichwörter der Freidankpredigten, Breslau, 1927, Nos. 209, 306.

Note 19 in page 20 The second pair of distichs is found with slight alterations in J. Werner, Lateinische Sprichwörter und Sinnsprüche des Mittelalters (Heidelberg, 1912), p. 47, no, 56, which is taken from a manuscript of about the same date.

Note 20 in page 21 Agricola, Sprichwörter (Nürnberg, 1529), no. 203; Lange kleyder, kurtzer syn. (Agricola uses this proverb to illustrate a story from “Das Buch von den Syben meystern.”); Franck, Sprichwörter (Frankfurt, 1541), i, 81b: Lang kleyder kurtzer můt; Sprichwörter, Klugreden (Frankfurt, 1552), pp. 116b, 340b; cf. Wander, Sprichwörter-Lexikon, ii, 1378 (Kleid, 161, 162, 164); iii, 1702 (Rock, 44, 45).

Note 21 in page 21 Op. cit., pp. 57, 304–306.

Note 22 in page 21 Cf. Wander, op. cit., ii, 221 (s. v. “Haar,” 81, 82); i, 1109 (“Frau,” 97, 120, 440); iii, 799 (“Muth,” 79); v, 45 (“Weib,” 1003, 1004); Petri, Der Teutschen Weisheit (Hamburg, 1605), p. Mmiiia, combines two of the variants: Lange Kleider vnd Haar kurtzer muth vnd Sinn; see also Heyne in Grimm's Wörterbuch, iv, part 2, p. 9; Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, Sprichwörter der germ. und rom. Sprachen (Leipzig, 1872–75), ii, 341, no. 609.

Note 23 in page 21 Die Meisterlieder des Hans Folz, ed. A. L. Mayer (Deutsche Texte des Mittelalters, xii), no. 20, 67. Clark, Mod. Phil. xv (1917), 346, wrongly uses this proverb to show influence of Hans Folz on Sachs. Cf. Hans Folz' Fastnachtspiele (Stutt. Lit. Ver. xxx), 1208.

Note 24 in page 21 Hans Sachs, Fabeln und Schwänke, ed. Goetze (Neudrucke des 16. und 17. Jahrh., 110–117), no. 70, ll. 56–58; cf. also ibid., vol. 207–211, p. 94, no. 662 (anno 1550), ll. 19–21.

Note 25 in page 21 Hans Sachs Werke, ed. Keller-Goetze, ii, 169, 1–2, and frequently, cf. Werke, iv, 332, ll. 29–30; 373, ll. 29–30; xii, 340, ll. 11–12; xiii, 82, l. 34; 95, l. 17; cf. C. H. Handschin, Das Sprichwort bei Hans Sachs (Madison, 1904), p. 36. Thomas Murner also knows the proverb, cf. Anna Risse, “Sprichwörter und Redensarten bei Thomas Murner,” Zeitschr. für deut. Unterricht, xxxi (1917), 300.

Note 26 in page 22 Tobias Stimmers Comedia, ed. J. Oeri (Frauenfeld, 1891), l. 146 (cited by Stosch, Zeitschr. für deut. Phil., xxviii, 430, who also quotes on p. 429 two other examples of our proverb from this period).

Note 27 in page 22 Zimmersche Chronik (Stutt. Lit. Ver. xciv), iv, 327, ll. 25–26; ibid, (xcii), ii, 158, ll. 15–16; 216, l. 19.

Note 28 in page 22 Ayrers Dramen (Stutt. Lit. Ver. lxxvi), p. 554, ll. 2–5; (lxxix), p. 2288, ll. 10–11.

Note 29 in page 22 Fischart, Aller Praktik Grossmutter, ed. Scheible, Das Kloster, 639.

Note 30 in page 22 Harrebomée, Spreekwoordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal (Utrecht, 1858–1870), i, 212, 269.

Note 31 in page 22 Ibid., I, 412; ii, 423.

Note 32 in page 22 Ibid., i, 412, and also found in Gruter (1611) i, 112; de Brune (1636), 273, 475; Tuinman (1726), i, appendix, p. 8; Sprenger van Eijk (1836), p. 88, no. 65.

Note 33 in page 22 Joannes Glandorpius in zijne Latijnsche Disticha als Vertaler van A gricola's Sprichwörter, ed. Suringar (Leiden, 1873–1875), i, 139; ii, 65, 116; cf. F. Latendorf, Agricola's Sprichwörter (Schwerin, 1862), p. 147.

Note 34 in page 22 C. L. Grubb, Penu Proverbiale (Linköping, 1665), p. 678.

Note 35 in page 23 Cited from Mau, Dansk Ordsprogs-Skat (Copenhagen, 1879), i, 575, no. 5162; cf. also Molbeck, Danske Ordsprog (Copenhagen, 1850), p. 174, no. 2715.

Note 36 in page 23 Bresemann, Danske Ordsprog og Mundheld (Copenhagen, 1843), p. 178 has: Qvinder have kun liden Forstand, men lange Haar.

Note 37 in page 23 Kokoelma Suomen Kansan Sananlaskuja, Helsingissä, Suomalaisen Kirjall, Seuran Kirjap, Osakeyhtiö, 1906), p. 203, nos. 63 and 62. The name of the author, A. V. Koskimies, is at the end of the preface. The Finnish Cheremiss of Central Russia have the proverb; cf. Zeitschr. für Volkskunde, xli (1931), p. 99.

Note 38 in page 23 F. C. Čelakovský, Mudrosloví Národu slovanského ve Příslovích (Prague, 1852), 392.

Note 39 in page 23 Heyne in Grimm's Wörterbuch, iv, 2, p. 9; C. Wurzbach, Sprichwörter der Polen, (Vienna, 1852), p. 331, no. 474.

Note 40 in page 23 Wurzbach, ibid., p. 256, no. 197; A. Schleicher, Litauische Märchen, etc. (Weimar, 1857), pp. 163, 185.

Note 41 in page 23 Cf. I. F. Hapgood, The Epic Songs of Russia (London, 1915), p. xi and 93; F. J. Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (Boston), i, 200, note 2, cites the proverb from a Russian epic and refers to Wollner, Volksepik der Grossrussen, pp. 122 f. Jakob Grimm (Kleinere Schriften, v, 139), points to our proverb in Anton Dietrich, Russische Volksmärchen (1831), p. 107, and says: “Auch unter den Böhmen, wie aus einer Stelle des alten Cosmas: Certum est, longos esse crines omnibus sed breves sensus mulieribus.” Our proverb appears also in A. Wesselofsky, “Neue Beiträge zur Geschichte der Salomosage,” Archiv für slavische Philologie, iv (1882), 576, in a Russian tale. R. Altenkirch, “Die Beziehungen zwischen Slaven und Griechen in ihren Sprichwörtern,” Archiv für slavische Philologie, xxx (1909), 322 f., gives several Middle Greek and Slavic examples of our proverb.

Note 42 in page 23 Orient und Occident, i (1862), 129, note 3.

Note 43 in page 24 Schiefner, Heldensagen der minussinischen Tataren, Petersberg, 1859, p. 7, ll. 136–7: Lang zwar ist dein Haar, O Gattin, aber kurz nur deine Klugheit; Orient und Occident, iii (1864), 371 f.: “Ossetisch lautet es: Dem Weibe ist die Flechte lang aber der Verstand kurz” (Schiefner, Mélanges russes, iv, 298, no. 63); cited again from another source by Heyne, Grimm's Wörterbuch, iv, 2, p. 9.

Note 44 in page 24 A. Dirr, Kaukasische Märchen (Jena, 1920), p. 202.

Note 45 in page 24 I. A. Zanne, Proverbele Românilor, ii, 396, no. 4457; cf. also nos. 3008, 3081b, 2726, 4575, 3928.

Note 46 in page 24 Ibid., iii, 183, no. 7168; p. 307, no. 7607 (cf. no. 7682). This type is also cited by M. Gaster, Literatura populara romana (1883), p. 217. Cf. Zeitschr. für roman. Phil., xv (1891), 264, where Gaster contrasts this form with the “long hair” type of the Turks and Serbs.

Note 47 in page 24 E. Margalits, Magyar Közmondások, (Budapest, 1897), p. 23. Similar forms with slight variations are given by A. Fülöp, $AAksziómák gyüjteménye latin és magyar nyelven, etc. (1890), p. 156, no. 1003.

Note 48 in page 24 J. Erdélyi, Magyar Kömondások (Pest, 1862), p. 87; Margalits, op. cit., p. 297.

Note 49 in page 24 Cozzi, “La donna albanese,” Anthropos, vii (1912), 625.

Note 50 in page 24 G. Strafforello, La Sapienza del Mondo (Turin, 1883), i, 252.

Note 51 in page 24 C. Pasqualigo, Proverbi Veneti, 3rd edition (Treviso, 1882), p. 119. The first edition of 1857 contains only the second proverb.

Note 52 in page 24 This proverb is in Aurelio Gotti, Aggiunta ai Proverbi Toscani di Giuseppe Giusti Firenze, 1855), p. 32. Later editions of Giusti include it in the text, cf. ed. of 1884, p. 93.

Note 53 in page 24 The earliest seems to be in Giulio Varrini, Scielta de Proverbi (Venice, 1672), p. 20.

Note 54 in page 24 H. Fischer und J. Bolte, Die Reise der Söhne Giaffers, aus dem Italienischen des Christoforo Armeno übersetzt durch Johann Wetzel, 1583 (Stutt. Lit. Ver. coviii), p. 27.

Note 55 in page 25 Cf. note, ibid., p. 202.

Note 56 in page 25 Eiselein, Die Sprichwörter und Sinnreden des deutschen Volkes (Donauöschingen, 1838), p. 634, mentions without source the Greek of Aristophanes: (mens non inest comis), which has been taken up by Wander, iii, s. v. “Muth,” no. 79. But this verse, taken from “The Knights,” l. 1121, has nothing at all to do with our proverb, as would be clear if the rest of the quotation had been given. Again, according to E. Leistner, Mädchen und Frauen im Sprichwort (Berlin, 1878), p. 202, it would seem that Democritos knew the phrase: Long clothes short wit, but a search of the fragments attributed to the Greek philosopher fails to bear out the assertion.

Note 57 in page 25 A. von LeCoq, Sprichwörter und Lieder aus der Gegend von Turfan (Berlin, 1911), p. 17, no. 70.

Note 58 in page 25 Osmanische Sprichwörter, ed. Oriental Academy in Vienna, 1865, p. 107, no. 327. E. J. Davis, Osmanli Proverbs (London, ca. 1898), p. 300, has: Kadyn kyssimiñ, satchi ùzùn olour, akli kyssā (Womankind are long-haired, short-witted); and p. 245: Satchli ùzùn, akli kyssa (Long haired, short witted). The proverb is given as an oriental one by G. Ebers, Ägypten, ii, 110, and as a Turkish one by Long, Eastern Proverbs (London, 1881), p. 53; cf. also Heyne in Grimms Wörterbuch, iv, 2, p. 9.

Note 59 in page 26 Zeitschr. für deut. Philol., xxviii (1896), 429–430.

Note 60 in page 26 The only voice I have found against this argument is that of R. Altenkirch, loc. cit.: “Trotzdem möchte ich annehmen, dass Entlehnung aus dem Westen vorliegt.”

Note 61 in page 26 The proverb noted by Jakob Grimm, cf. note 41 above, is in Cosmae Chronica Boemorum, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, ed. G. H. Pertz, Scrip torum Tomus ix (Hannover, 1851), p. 35, ll. 26f.

Note 1 in page 26 Wander, op. cit., i, 106 (s.v. “Apfel,” 14). Here he cites from Tillers von Tscherlow, Philosophische Abhandlung von den bekanntesten Sprichwörtern der alten Deutschen (Augsburg, 1777), p. 162; cf. also Wander, v, 782.

Note 2 in page 26 Even in his Supplement, v, 782, there is no mention made of the numerous early examples, which will be cited below. Strange to say, Wander had already found the proverb twice in the works of Abraham a Santa Clara (1644–1709), cf. Wander, Abrahamisches Parömiakon (Breslau, 1838), p. 142, no. 1149; p. 384, no. 3100; cf. also F. Lauchert, Sprichwörter und sprichwörtliche Redensarten bei P. Abraham a S. Clara (Bonn, 1893), p. 5.

Note 3 in page 26 Martha Lenschau, Grimmelshausens Sprichwörter und Redensarten, Deutsche Forschungen, Heft 10, (Frankfurt am Main, 1924), p. 24 f.

Note 4 in page 27 F. Seiler, op. cit., i, 62 and ii, 17. He refers to Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, op. cit., i, no. 105.

Note 5 in page 27 Some of the collections consulted were: Morawski, for the older period; Le Roux de Lincy, Quitard, Duplessis, and Martel. It is also not in C. Rozan, Les Végétaux dans les Proverbes, where we might expect to find it, if it were a French proverb.

Note 6 in page 27 C. Cahier, Quelque Six Mille Proverbes (Paris, 1856), p. 79, no. 1428; J. Dejardin, Dictionnaire des Spots ou Proverbes Wallons (Paris, 1891), ii, 266, no. 2447. First edition 1861.

Note 7 in page 27 Michael Neanders deutsche Sprichwörter, ed. F. Latendorf (Schwerin, 1864), p. 7. Neander's work, from which this is taken, Ethice vetus et sapiens, first appeared in 1585 at Leipzig.

Note 8 in page 27 H. Megiserus, Paroemiologia Polyglottos (Leipzig, 1605), p. 65.

Note 9 in page 27 F. Petri, Der Teutschen Weissheit (Hamburg, 1605), p. Niiii.

Note 10 in page 27 J. Gruter, Florilegium Ethico-Politicum (Frankfurt, 1610–1612), ii, 15.

Note 11 in page 27 J. G. Seybold, Selectoria Adagia Latino-Germanica (Nürnberg, 1669), pp. 217, 236, 319; Viridarium (Nürnberg, 1677), pp. 343, 376, 535, 609, 634.

Note 12 in page 27 Selectoria, p. 235.

Note 13 in page 28 J. Simon, Gnomologia (Leipzig, 1683), p. 324.

Note 14 in page 28 J. Werner, op. cit., p. 94, no. 164.

Note 15 in page 28 A. Kock och C. af Petersens, Östnordiska och Latinska Medeltidsordspråk (Copenhagen, 1889–1894), i, 233, no. 926; cf. i, 111, no. 1023, and H. Reuterdahl, Gamla ordspråk på latin och swenska (Lund, 1840), p. 110, no. 949.

Note 16 in page 28 J. Zupitza, “Lateinisch-Englische Sprüche,” Anglia, i, 285. Zupitza has also pointed out another example in The Owl and the Nightingale, ll 135–138, cf. Archiv, xc, 142.

Note 17 in page 28 M. Förster, Festschrift zum XII. allgemeinen deutschen Philologentage (München, 1906), p. 59.

Note 18 in page 28 From “Der Meisner,” cf. Friedrich von der Hagen, Minnesinger (Leipzig, 1838), iii, 86. Eiselein, op. cit., p. 32, cites it without reference.

Note 19 in page 29 Egberts von Lüttich Fecunda Ratis, ed. E. Voigt (Halle, 1889), l. 112, and Ysengrimus, ed. E. Voigt (Halle, 1884), iii, 566, respectively.

Note 20 in page 29 Andreas Gartner, Proverbialia Dicteria (Frankfurt, 1578), p. 84. Earlier editions of this work may carry it back a few years.

Note 21 in page 29 The Biblical proverb is in Matth. 12, 33 and Luke 6, 44; cf. C. Schulze, Die biblischen Sprichwörter (Göttingen, 1860), p. 146, no. 210.

Note 22 in page 29 Harrebomée, op. cit., i, 17.

Note 23 in page 29 Gruter, op. cit., ii, 131; cf. Harrebomée, op. cit., i, 77, note 15; F. A. Stoett, Nederlandsche Spreekwoorden, etc. (Zutphen, 1923), i, 39.

Note 24 in page 29 Grubb, op. cit., p. 898.

Note 25 in page 29 J. Kok, Danske Ordsprog og Talemåder fra Sønderjylland (Copenhagen, 1870), p. 7; cf. also J. Aasen, Norske Ordsprog (Christiania, 1881), p. 25.

Note 26 in page 29 Pekka Katara, Suomalais-Saksalainen Sanakirja (Porvoo, 1925), p. 444, s.v. “omena.”

Note 27 in page 29 Cf. F. J. Wiedemann, Aus dem inneren und äusseren Leben der Ehsten (St. Petersburg, 1876), pp. 188, 191.

Note 28 in page 29 See the various forms given by Čelakovský, op. cit., p. 404; Snegirev, Russian Proverbs, etc. (Moscow, 1848), p. 473, no. 1.

Note 29 in page 29 E. Margalits, op. cit., p. 13.

Note 30 in page 30 I. A. Zanne, op. cit., i, 216, no. 876b.

Note 31 in page 30 Johann Fischarts Geschichtklitterung (Gargantua) ed. A. Aisleben, Neudrucke deut. Litteraturwerke des xvi. und xvii. Jahrh. 65–71 (Halle, 1891), p. 257.

Note 32 in page 30 A. Negris, A Dictionary of Modern Greek Proverbs (Edinburgh, 1831), p. 128.

Note 33 in page 30 E. J. Davis, op. cit., p. 16.

Note 34 in page 30 Osmanische Sprichwörter, p. 25.

Note 35 in page 30 P. Percival, Tamil Proverbs, 2nd ed. (Madras, 1874), p. 480, no. 5129; cf. also Wander, op. cit., v, 782, no. 14.

Note 1 in page 30 For proverbs with analogous meaning, cf. Haller, Altspanische Sprichwörter, etc. (Regensburg, 1883), i, 7–11; Stoett, op. cit., ii, 204, no. 1920; Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, op. cit., i, no. 133; Seiler, op. cit., i, 37, 229, 225; Düringsfeld, Das Sprichwort als Philosoph (Leipzig, 1863), pp. 125–128.

Note 2 in page 31 Wander, op. cit., iii, 1582, no. 146. This is from Cunrad Dietrich, Buck der Weisheit (Ulm, 1627), ii, 515. The quotation: “Vom Regen in die Traufe kommen,” cited by Eiselein, op. cit., p. 524, from Agricola is wrong. It is not in any of the early editions consulted.

Note 3 in page 31 Wander, loc. cit., s.v. “Regen,” no. 144; cf. also nos. 156, 166. No. 65 is an incorrect translation of the Czech proverb cited from Čelakovský, op. cit., p. 197.

Note 4 in page 31 J. Simon, Gnomologia (Leipzig, 1683), p. 211.

Note 5 in page 31 Cited from K. Rother, Die schlesischen Sprichwörter und Redensarten (Breslau, 1928), p. 17, from a MS. in Breslau dated 1722.

Note 6 in page 31 O. W. Schonheim, Proverbia Illustrata (Leipzig, 1728), p. 51.

Note 7 in page 31 C. C. G. Fischer, Sprichwörter und sittliche Denksprüche zum Gebrauch der Schulen (Halle, 1793), p. 76, no. 95.

Note 8 in page 31 S. C. Wagener, Sprichwörter-Lexicon mit kurzen Erläuterungen (Quedlinburg, 1813), p. 148. Wander, s.v. “Regen,” no. 38, has the first part without reference.

Note 9 in page 32 Cited from Wander, s.v. “Regen,” no. 134, who quotes from the edition of H. Kurz (1862), i, 76, 32; ii, 51, 23; cf. further Wander, loc. cit., no. 150. Even these proverbs may be of oriental origin, cf. the parallels in Polites, op. cit., iii, 250, no. 26.

Note 10 in page 32 Cf. Luthers Sprichwörtersammlung, ed. E. Thiele (Weimar, 1900), pp. 410–411; Wander, loc. cit., s.v. “Regen”, nos. 134, 150; Grimm, loc. cit., s.v. “Regen,” no. 5; J. G. Hauptmann, Collectio Proverbiorum (Frankfurt und Leipzig, 1743), p. 53; Borchardt-Wustmann, op. cit. (ed. 1925), p. 391.

Note 11 in page 32 Wander, loc. cit., no. 143 (from Nigrinus, 1582), also no. 152; Seybold, Adagia Latino-Germanica (Nürnberg, 1669), pp. 59, 98, 133, 154; Seybold, Viridarium (Nürnberg, 1677), pp. 141, 196, 75, 236; J. Meier, Hortulus Adagiorum (Basel, 1677), p. 216.

Note 12 in page 32 Cited from Grimm, loc. cit.; cf. Wander, loc. cit., no. 145; Seiler, “Goethe und das deutsche Sprichwort,” Germanisch-romanische Monatsschrift, x (1922), 333–334.

Note 13 in page 32 Stoett, op. cit., ii, 204, no. 1920; Harrebomée, op. cit., ii, 213a; iii, 320 f.; cf. also i, 158, s.v. “druppel,” and ii, p. xlv. Woordenboek der nederlandsche Taal iii, ii (1916), 3465, has no very early examples. Both Stoett and Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, loc. cit., cite also Frisian forms.

Note 14 in page 32 A. de Cock, Spreekwoorden en Zegswijzen (Gent, 1905), p. 4.

Note 16 in page 32 Mau, op. cit., ii, 160; cf. also Aasen, op. cit. (ed. 1881), p. 117.

Note 16 in page 32 G. A. L.—n, Ordspråk, Sanna Språk (Stockholm, ca. 1889), p. 171.

Note 17 in page 32 I.P. Rodulphus, Proverbia Italica et Latina (Pisa, 1615), p. 159; cf. P. Petrocchi, Novo Dizionario Universalle della Lingua Italiana (Milan, 1887), 1891, s.v. “grondaia”; Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, loc. cit.

Note 18 in page 33 G. Strafforello, op. cit., iii, 265.

Note 19 in page 33 Zanne, op. cit., i, 61 f., no. 231.

Note 20 in page 33 E. J. Davis, op. cit., p. 392; Osmanische Sprichwörter, p. 149, no. 476.

Note 21 in page 33 Polites, op. cit., iii, 313, no. 4. Here further parallels are given.

Note 22 in page 33 Polites, op. cit., iii, 312, no. 3. Here further parallels are given. Apostolius, ed. 1653, cent. ix, no. 26, has:' (Festinavit ne madefieret, et in fossa suffocatus est), cf. P. Martin, Studien auf dem Gebiete des griechischen Sprichwortes (Plauen, 1889), p. 23, no. 20.

Note 23 in page 33 The parallels cited from Ćelakovský by Wander, op. cit., s.v. “Regen,” no. 65, are out of place and not to the point.

Note 24 in page 33 J. L. Burchhardt, Arabic Proverbs (London, 1875), p. 167, no. 474.

Note 25 in page 33 A. Socin, Arabische Sprichwörter und Redensarten, (Tübingen, 1878), p. 11, no. 148, gives also further references. G. W. Freytag, Arabum Proverbia (Bonn, 1839), ii, p. 236, no. 112, cites this as a proverb of Meidani.

Note 26 in page 33 K. L. Tallqvist, Arabische Sprichwörter und Spiele, (Helsingfors, 1897), p. 175, no. 179, gives also other references and parallels.

Note 1 in page 34 M. C. Wahl, Das Sprichwort der hebräisch-aramäischen Literatur (Leipzig, 1871), p. 175, no. 38; i. Bernstein und B. W. Segel, Jüdische Sprichwörter (Warsaw, 1908), p. 259; L. Dukes, Rabbinische Blumenlese (Leipzig, 1844), no. 491; M. Lewin, Aramäische Sprichwörter und Volkssprüche (Berlin, 1895), p. 33, no. 15.

Note 2 in page 34 This form in proverbs is surely ancient. The antithesis of comparing values with gold and silver is found in a proverb of St. Jerome: Virginitas aurum, nuptiae argentum (S. Hieronymus adversus Iovinianum) in A. Eborensis, Sententiae et Exempla (P., 1590), i, 327.

Note 3 in page 34 Georg Büchmann, Geflügelte Worte (Volks-Ausgabe), (Berlin, 1920), p. 23. Quite recently the erroneous statement is made by A. H. Krappe, The Science of Folklore (London, 1930), p. 146: “the well-known saying about silence being gold is derived from an Old Testament passage.”

Note 4 in page 34 Wander, op. cit., iii, 1559, s.v. “Reden,” no. 147. Here are references to v. Gaal, Sprückwörterbuch in sechs Sprachen (Vienna, 1830), no. 1298; J. Neus, Weisheitsregeln aus den gebräuchlichsten Sprichwörtern der Deutschen (Lindau, 1834), p. 12; Eiselein, op. cit., p. 522; Simrock, Sprichwörter (Frankfurt am Main, 1846), no. 8254; D. H. Sanders, Das Volkslebender Neugriechen (Mannheim, 1844), p. 221, no. 7.

Note 5 in page 35 I have been able to locate our proverb before Simrock otherwise only in J. M. Braun, Sechs Tausend deutsche Sprüchwörter, (Stuttgart, 1840), no. 3512. The large collection of W. Körte, Leipzig, 1837, does not know our proverb; the second edition, 1861, p. 372, no. 6258, calls it a Modern Greek proverb.

5a Herders sämtliche Werke, ed. Suphan (Berlin, 1882), xxvi, 374.

5b Ibid. xvi, 3; cf. Notes and Queries, Series vii, Vol. i, p. 75.

Note 6 in page 35 Harrebomée, op. cit., i (1858), 254; ii, 503; Bohn, Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (London, 1857), p. 338.

Note 7 in page 35 Cf. E. B. Mawr, Analogous Proverbs in Ten Languages (London, 1885), p. 74; Robert Christy, Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of all Ages, (London, 1898), ii, 269; Benham, Books of Quotations (London, 1924), p. 837a.

Note 8 in page 35 Sartor Resartus, Bk. iii, Chap, iii; cf. also his Essay on Boswell's Life of Johnson in Misc. Essays (New York, 1900), iii, 85.

Note 9 in page 35 Cahier, op. cit., no. 1262. Oudin, Refranes (Paris, 1609), p. 72, has the proverb from Nuñez. The earliest edition of Nuñez that I have is that of 1621 (cf. p. 38), but it is in that of 1555, as is evident from the alphabetical index to this work published in 1804, cf. ii, p. 26. An earlier example than Nuñez is noted by A. Steiger, “Coleccion de refranes … en el Corbacho,” Boletín de la real Academia Española, x (1923), 290.

Note 10 in page 36 I. A. Zanne, op. cit., ii, 533, no. 5106; 765, no. 6093.

Note 11 in page 36 F. L. Čelakovský, op. cit., p. 78; B. Dal, Russian Proverbs, (Moscow, 1862), pp. 442–443.

Note 12 in page 36 A. Negris, op. cit., p. 13; cf. D. H. Sanders, loc. cit.

Note 13 in page 36 G. W. Freytag, op. cit., iii, 92, no. 548; J. Dejardin, op. cit., ii, 404, no. 2880.

Note 14 in page 36 Ćelakovský, loc. cit.; E. Thomaszik, Sprichwörter und Lebensregeln (Cassel, 1877), 39.

Note 15 in page 36 Johannes Buxtorf, Florilegium Hebraicum (Basel, 1648), pp. 324, 334; cf. Bernstein und Segel, op. cit., p. 259, no. 17.

Note 16 in page 36 Osmanische Sprichwörter, p. 89, no. 267; E. J. Davis, op. cit., p. 239, gives a somewhat different form: Suweylemek ghyùmush eesa, suweylememek àltoun, “Though speech be silver, yet silence is gold”; cf. also Doumani et Dubois, Proverbes et Fables traduits de l'Arabe (Paris, 1899), p. 57.

Note 17 in page 36 A. Socin, op. cit., p. 14, no. 180.

Note 18 in page 36 K. L. Tallqvist, op. cit., p. 157, no. 143; cf. also J. Berggren, Guide Français-Arabe vulgaire (Upsal, 1844), col. 715, s.v. “Silence”; R. F. Burton, Unexplored Syria, i (1872) 50.

Note 19 in page 37 G. Bayan, Armenian Proverbs and Sayings (Venice, 1889), p. 16.

Note 20 in page 37 R. Christy, loc. cit., gives the English translation of a Persian proverb: “Speech is silver, silence golden; who speaks sows, who keeps silent reaps.”