[1] From Revd. Moscrop’s translation of the song of the Thresher in the “Children of Ceylon”, p. 53. [↑]
[2] From Mr. Bell’s translation in the Archæological Survey of Kegalle, p. 44. [↑]
CHAPTER XVIII.
PROVERBS, RIDDLES AND LOCAL SAYINGS.
A proverbial saying is said to state a fact or express a thought in vivid metaphor while a riddle to describe a person or thing in obscure metaphor calculated as a test of intellectual ability in the person attempting to solve it.
Proverbial sayings are divided, according to their form into direct statements and metaphorical statements.
The following are examples of direct statements:—
The quarrel between the husband and the wife lasts only till the pot of rice is cooked.
A lie is short lived.