One of the neatest repartees ever made was that which Shaftesbury administered at the feast at which he entertained the Duke of York (James II.). He overheard Lauderdale whispering the duke, "Fools make feasts, and wise men eat them." Ere the sound of the last word had died away, Shaftesbury, responding both to the words and the sense, said, "Witty men make jests, and fools repeat them." "A fat kitchen has poverty for a neighbour" (Italian).[307] "A fat kitchen, a lean will" (German).[308]
Wilful waste makes woeful want.
A small leak will sink a great ship.
Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves.
A fool and his money are soon parted.
He that gets his gear before his wit will be short while master of it.—Scotch.
Gear is easier gained than guided.
A fool may make money, but it needs a wise man to spend it.
"Men," says Fielding (and he was an example of the truth he asserted), "do not become rich by what they get, but by what they keep." "Saving is the first gain" (Italian).[309] "Better is rule than rent" (French).[310]
A penny saved is a penny got.
The best is cheapest.
"One cannot have a good pennyworth of bad ware" (French).[311] "Much worth never cost little" (Spanish).[312] "Cheap bargains are dear" (Spanish).[313]
Misers' money goes twice to market.
Keep a thing seven years and you'll find a use for it.
Store is no sore.[314]
"He that buys by the pennyworth keeps his own house and another man's" (Italian).[315] Partly for this reason it is that
A poor man's shilling is but a penny.
A toom [empty] pantry makes a thriftless gudewife.—Scotch.
Bare walls make giddy housewives.[316]
All is not gain that is put into the purse.
What the goodwife spares the cat eats.
There was a wife that kept her supper for her breakfast, an' she was dead or day.—Scotch.
FOOTNOTES:
[303] Cada uno estiende la pierna como tiene la cubierta.