UNREGISTERED PROVERBS.
In Mr. Trench's charming little book on Proverbs, 2nd ed., p. 31., he remarks:
"There are not a few (proverbs), as I imagine, which, living on the lips of men, have yet never found their way into books, however worthy to have done so; either because the sphere in which they circulate has continued always a narrow one, or that the occasions which call them out are very rare, or that they, having only lately risen up, have not hitherto attracted the attention of any one who cared to record them. It would be well, if such as take an interest in the subject, and are sufficiently well versed in the proverbial literature of their own country to recognise such unregistered proverbs when they meet them, would secure them from that perishing, which, so long as they remain merely oral, might easily overtake them; and would make them at the same time, what all good proverbs ought certainly to be, the common heritage of all."
"Note.—The pages of the excellent Notes and Queries would no doubt be open to receive such, and in them they might be safely garnered up," &c.
I trust this appeal of Mr. Trench's will be at once responded to by both the editor and correspondents of this periodical. With the former
must rest the responsibility of withholding from reproduction any proverbs, which though sent him as novelties, may be already registered in the recognised collections.
Mr. Trench's first contribution to this bouquet of the wild flowers of proverbial lore is the following, from Ireland:
"'The man on the dyke always hurls well.' The looker on," says Mr. Trench in explanation, "at a game of hurling, seated indolently on the wall, always imagines that he could improve on the strokes of the actual players, and if you will listen to him, would have played the game much better than they, a proverb of sufficiently wide application."—P. 32.
Each proverb sent in should be accompanied with a statement of the class among whom, or the locality in which, it is current. The index to "N. & Q." should contain a reference to every proverb published in its pages, under the head of Unregistered Proverbs, or Proverbs only. Correspondents should bear in mind the essential requisite of a proverb, currency. Curt, sharp sayings might easily be multiplied; what is wanted, however, is a collection of such only as have that prerequisite of admission into the ranks of recognised proverbs. And while contributors should not lose sight of "the stamp of merit," as that which renders the diffusion of proverbs beneficial to mankind, still they should not reject a genuine proverb for want of that characteristic, remembering that,—
"'Tween man and man, they weight not every stamp;
Though light, take pieces for the figure's sake."
And that the mere form of a proverb often affords some indication of its age and climate, even where the matter is spurious. I have a large MS. collection of English proverbs by me, from which I doubt not I shall be able to extract some few which have never yet been admitted into any published collection. Of these at some future time.
C. Mansfield Ingleby.
Birmingham.
[We shall be happy to do all in our power to carry out this very excellent suggestion.—Ed. "N. & Q.">[