B.
Bachelor, a peacock; betrothed, a lion; wedded, an ass. Sp. Pr.
"Bad company," muttered the thief, as he 40 stepped to the gallows between the hangman and a monk. Dut. Pr.
Bad is by its very nature negative, and can do nothing; whatsoever enables us to do anything, is by its very nature good. Carlyle.
Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny. Burke.
Bad men excuse their faults; good men will leave them. Ben Jonson.
Bal abonné—A subscription ball. Fr.
Bal champêtre—A country ball. Fr. 45
Ballon d'essai—A balloon sent up to ascertain the direction of the wind; any test of public feeling. Fr.
Banish the canker of ambitious thoughts. 2 Hen. VI., i. 2.
Bankrupt of life, yet prodigal of ease. Dryden.
Barba bagnata è mezza rasa—A beard well lathered is half shaved. It. Pr.
Barbæ tenus sapientes—Wise as far as the beard 50 goes. Pr.
Barbarism is no longer at our frontiers; it lives side by side with us. Amiel.
Barbarism is the non-appreciation of what is excellent. Goethe.
Barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intelligor ulli—I am a barbarian here, for no one understands what I say. Ovid.
Barbouillage—Scribbling. Fr.
Barking dogs seldom bite. Pr. 55
Bas bleu—A blue-stocking. Fr.
Base envy withers at another's joy, / And hates that excellence it cannot reach. Thomson.
Base in kind, and born to be a slave. Cowper.
Base men, being in love, have then a nobility in their natures more than is native to them. Othello, ii. 1.
Base souls have no faith in great men. Rousseau. 60
Bashfulness is an ornament to youth, but a reproach to old age. Arist.
Bashfulness is but the passage from one season of life to another. Bp. Hurd.
Basis virtutum constantia—Constancy is the basis of all the virtues. M.
Battering the gates of heaven with storms of prayer. Tennyson.
Battle's magnificently stern array. Byron.
Be a philosopher; but, amidst all your philosophy, be still a man. Hume.
Beard was never the true standard of brains. Fuller.
Bear one another's burdens. St. Paul.
Bear wealth, poverty will bear itself. Pr. 5
Be a sinner and sin manfully (fortiter), but believe and rejoice in Christ more manfully still. Luther to Melanchthon.
Be as you would seem to be. Pr.
Beatæ memoriæ—Of blessed memory.
Beati monoculi in regione cæcorum—Blessed are the one-eyed among those who are blind. Pr.
Beatus ille qui procul negotiis, / Ut prisca 10 gens mortalium, / Paterna rura bobus exercet suis, / Solutus omni fœnore—Happy the man who, remote from busy life, is content, like the primitive race of mortals, to plough his paternal lands with his own oxen, freed from all borrowing and lending. Hor.
Beaucoup de mémoire et peu de jugement—A retentive memory and little judgment. Fr. Pr.
Beau idéal—Ideal excellence, or one's conception of perfection in anything. Fr.
Beau monde—The fashionable world. Fr.
Beauté et folie sont souvent en compagnie—Beauty and folly go often together. Fr. Pr.
Beauties in vain their pretty eyes may roll; / 15 Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul. Pope.
Beautiful it is to understand and know that a thought did never yet die; that as thou, the originator thereof, hast gathered it and created it from the whole past, so thou wilt transmit to the whole future. Carlyle.
Beauty blemished once, for ever's lost. Shakespeare.
Beauty can afford to laugh at distinctions; it is itself the greatest distinction. Bovee.
Beauty carries its dower in its face. Dan. Pr.
Beauty depends more on the movement of the 20 face than the form of the features. Mrs. Hall.
Beauty doth varnish age, as if new-born, / And gives the crutch the cradle's infancy. / O, 'tis the sun that maketh all things shine. Love's L's. Lost, iv. 3.
Beauty draws us with a single hair. Pope.
Beauty is a good letter of introduction. Ger. Pr.
Beauty is a hovering, shining, shadowy form, the outline of which no definition holds. Goethe.
Beauty is an all-pervading presence. Channing. 25
Beauty is a patent of nobility. G. Schwab.
Beauty is as summer fruits, which are easy to corrupt and cannot last. Bacon.
Beauty is a witch, / Against whose charms faith melteth into blood. Much Ado, ii. 1.
Beauty is bought by judgment of the eye, / Not utter'd by base sale of chapmen's tongues. Love's L's. Lost, ii. 1.
Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good. 30 Shakespeare.
Beauty is everywhere a right welcome guest. Goethe.
Beauty is never a delusion. Hawthorne.
Beauty is the flowering of virtue. Gr. Pr.
Beauty is the highest principle and the highest aim of art. Goethe.
Beauty is the pilot of the young soul. Emerson. 35
Beauty is the purgation of superfluities. Michael Angelo.
Beauty is truth, truth beauty—that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. Keats.
Beauty is worse than wine; it intoxicates both holder and the beholder. Zimmermann.
Beauty, like wit, to judges should be shown; / Both most are valued where they best are known. Lyttelton.
Beauty lives with kindness. Two Gen. of 40 Ver., iv. 2.
Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold. As You Like It, i. 3.
Beauty should be the dowry of every man and woman. Emerson.
Beauty stands / In the admiration only of weak minds, / Led captive. Milton.
Beauty's tears are lovelier than her smile. Campbell.
Beauty too rich for use; for earth too dear. 45 Rom. and Jul., i. 5.
Beauty, when unadorned, adorned the most. Thomson.
Beauty without expression tires. Emerson.
Beauty without grace is a violet without smell. Pr.
Beaux esprits—Men of wit. Fr.
Be bold, be bold, and everywhere be bold. 50 Spenser.
Be checked for silence, / But never tax'd for speech. All's Well, i. 1.
Be commonplace and cringing, and everything is within your reach. Beaumarchais.
Bedenkt, der Teufel der ist alt, / So werdet alt ihn zu verstehen—Consider, the devil is old; therefore grow old to understand him. Goethe.
Be discreet in all things, and so render it unnecessary to be mysterious about any. Wellington.
Be England what she will, / With all her faults 55 she is my country still. Churchill.
Bees will not work except in darkness; thought will not work except in silence; neither will virtue work except in secrecy. Carlyle.
Before a leaf-bud has burst, its whole life acts; in the full-blown flower there is no more; in the leafless root there is no less. Emerson.
Before every one stands an image (Bild) of what he ought to be; so long as he is not that, his peace is not complete. Rückert.
Before honour is humility. Bible.
Before man made us citizens, great Nature 60 made us men. Lowell.
Before the curing of a strong disease, / Even in the instant of repair and health, / The fit is strongest; evils that take leave, / On their departure most of all show evil. King John, iii. 4.
Before the immense possibilities of man, all mere experience, all past biography, however spotless and sainted, shrinks away. Emerson.
Before the revelations of the soul, Time, Space, and Nature shrink away. Emerson.
Before you trust a man, eat a peck of salt with him. Pr.
Beggars, mounted, run their horse to death. 3 Hen. VI., i. 4.
Beggars must not be choosers. Pr.
Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks. Ham., ii. 2.
Begnügt euch doch ein Mensch zu sein—Let it content thee that thou art a man. Lessing.
Begun is half done. Pr. 5
Behaupten ist nicht beweisen—Assertion is no proof. Ger. Pr.
Behaviour is a mirror in which each one shows his image. Goethe.
Behind a frowning providence / God hides a shining face. Cowper.
Behind us, as we go, all things assume pleasing forms, as clouds do afar off. Emerson.
Behind every individual closes organisation; 10 before him opens liberty. Emerson.
Behind every mountain lies a vale. Dut. Pr.
Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth. St. James.
Beholding heaven and feeling hell. Moore.
Behold now is the accepted time. St. Paul.
Behold the child, by Nature's kindly law, / 15 Pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw. Pope.
Bei den meisten Menschen gründet sich der Unglaube in einer Sache auf blinden Glauben in einer andern—With most men unbelief in one thing is founded on blind belief in another. Lichtenberg.
Bei Geldsachen hört die Gemütlichkeit auf—When money is in question, good day to friendly feeling. D. Hansemann.
Beinahe bringt keine Mücke um—Almost never killed a fly. Ger. Pr.
Being alone when one's belief is firm, is not to be alone. Auerbach.
Being done, / There is no pause. Othello, 20 v. 2.
Being without well-being is a curse; and the greater being, the greater curse. Bacon.
Be in possession, and thou hast the right, and sacred will the many guard it for thee. Schiller.
Be it never so humble, there's no place like home. J. H. Payne.
Bei wahrer Liebe ist Vertrauen—With true love there is trust. Ph. Reger.
Be just and fear not; / Let all the ends thou 25 aim'st at be thy country's, / Thy God's, and truth's. Henry VIII., iii. 2.
Be just before you be generous. Pr.
Beleidigst du einen Mönch, so knappen alle Kuttenzipfel bis nach Rom—Offend but one monk, and the lappets of all cowls will flutter as far as Rome. Ger. Pr.
Bel esprit—A person of genius; a brilliant mind. Fr.
Belief and love,—a believing love, will relieve us of a vast load of care. Emerson.
Belief consists in accepting the affirmations of 30 the soul; unbelief, in denying them. Emerson.
Believe not each accusing tongue, / As most weak persons do; / But still believe that story wrong / Which ought not to be true. Sheridan.
Believe not every spirit. St. John.
Bella! horrida bella!—War! horrid war! Virg.
Bella femmina che ride, vuol dire borsa che piange—The smiles of a pretty woman are the tears of the purse. It. Pr.
Bella matronis detestata—Wars detested by 35 mothers. Hor.
Belle, bonne, riche, et sage, est une femme en quatre étages—A woman who is beautiful, good, rich, and wise, is four stories high. Fr. Pr.
Belle chose est tôt ravie—A fine thing is soon snapt up. Fr. Pr.
Bellet ein alter Hund, so soll man aufschauen—When an old dog barks, one must look out. Ger. Pr.
Bellicæ virtutis præmium—The reward of valour in war. M.
Bellua multorum capitum—The many-headed 40 monster, i.e., the mob.
Bellum internecinum—A war of extermination.
Bellum ita suscipiatur, ut nihil aliud nisi pax quæsita videatur—War should be so undertaken that nothing but peace may seem to be aimed at. Cic.
Bellum nec timendum nec provocandum—War ought neither to be dreaded nor provoked. Plin. the Younger.
Bellum omnium in omnes—A war of all against all.
Bellum, pax rursus—A war, and again a peace. 45 Ter.
[Greek: beltion thanein hapax ê dia bion tremein]—Better die outright than be all one's life long in terror. Æsop.
Bemerke, höre, schweige. Urteile wenig, frage viel—Take note of what you see, give heed to what you hear, and be silent. Judge little, inquire much. Platen.
Be modest without diffidence, proud without presumption. Goethe.
Benchè la bugia sia veloce, la verità l'arriva—Though a lie may be swift, truth overtakes it. It. Pr.
Beneath the loveliest dream there coils a fear. 50 T. Watts.
Beneath the rule of men entirely great, the pen is mightier than the sword. Bulwer Lytton.
Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade, / Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, / Each in his narrow cell for ever laid, / The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. Gray.
Ben è cieco chi non vede il sole—He is very blind who does not see the sun. It. Pr.
Benedetto è quel male che vien solo—Blessed is the misfortune that comes alone. It. Pr.
Bene est cui Deus obtulit / Parca quod satis 55 est manu—Well for him to whom God has given enough with a sparing hand. Hor.
Benefacta male locata, malefacta arbitror—Favours injudiciously conferred I reckon evils. Cic.
Benefacta sua verbis adornant—They enhance their favours by their words. Plin.
Beneficia dare qui nescit injuste petit—He who knows not how to bestow a benefit is unreasonable if he expects one. Pub. Syr.
Beneficia plura recipit qui scit reddere—He receives most favours who knows how to return them. Pub. Syr.
Beneficium accipere libertatem vendere est—To 60 accept a favour is to forfeit liberty. Laber.
Beneficium dignis ubi des, omnes obliges—Where you confer a benefit on those worthy of it, you confer a favour on all. Pub. Syr.
Beneficium invito non datur—There is no conferring a favour (involving obligation) on a man against his will. L. Max.
Beneficus est qui non sua, sed alterius causa benigne facit—He is beneficent who acts kindly, not for his own benefit, but for another's. Cic.
Bene merenti bene profuerit, male merenti par erit—To a well-deserving man God will show favour, to an ill-deserving He will be simply just. Plaut.
Bene merentibus—To the well-deserving. M. 5
Bene nummatum decorat Suedela Venusque—The goddesses of persuasion and of love adorn the train of the well-moneyed man. Hor.
Bene orasse est bene studuisse—To have prayed well is to have striven well.
Bene qui latuit, bene vixit—Well has he lived who has lived well in obscurity. Ovid.
Benevolence is the distinguishing characteristic of man. Mencues.
Benigno numine—By the favour of Providence. 10 M.
Benignus etiam dandi causam cogitat—The benevolent man even weighs the grounds of his liberality. Pr.
Be no one like another, yet every one like the Highest; to this end let each one be perfect in himself. Goethe.
Be not angry that you cannot make others what you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself what you wish to be. Thomas à Kempis.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. St. Paul.
Be not righteous overmuch. Bible. 15
Be not the first by whom the new is tried, / Nor yet the last to lay the old aside. Pope.
Ben trovato—Well invented. It.
Be our joy three-parts pain! Strive, and hold cheap the strain; / Learn, nor account the pang; dare, never grudge the throe! Browning.
Berretta in mano non fece mai danno—Cap in hand never harmed any one. It. Pr.
Bescheiden freue dich des Ruhms, / So bist du 20 wert des Heiligthums—If thou modestly enjoy thy fame, thou art not unworthy to rank with the holy. Goethe.
Bescheidenheit ist eine Zier, / Doch weiter kommt man ohne ihr—Modesty is an ornament, yet people get on better without it. Ger. Pr.
Beseht die Gönner in der Nähe! Halb sind sie kalt, halb sind sie roh—Look closely at those who patronise you. Half are unfeeling, half untaught. Goethe.
Besiegt von einem, ist besiegt von allen—Overpowered by one is overpowered by all. Schiller.
Be silent, or say something better than silence. Sp. Pr.
Be slow in choosing a friend, but slower in 25 changing him. Sc. Pr.
Be sober, be vigilant. St. Peter.
Besser ein Flick als ein Loch—Better a patch than a hole. Ger. Pr.
Besser ein magrer Vergleich als ein fetter Prozess—Better is a lean agreement than a fat lawsuit. Ger. Pr.
Besser frei in der Fremde als Knecht daheim—Better free in a strange land than a slave at home. Ger. Pr.
Besser freundlich versagen als unwillig gewähren—Better 30 a friendly refusal than an unwilling consent (lit. pledge). Ger. Pr.
Besser Rat kommt über Nacht—Better counsel comes over-night. Lessing.
Besser was als gar nichts—Better something than nothing at all. Ger. Pr.
Besser zweimal fragen dann einmal irre gehn—Better ask twice than go wrong once. Ger. Pr.
Be still and have thy will. Tyndal.
Be stirring as the time; be fire with fire; / 35 Threaten the threatner, and outface the brow / Of bragging horror; so shall inferior eyes, / That borrow their behaviours from the great, / Grow great by your example, and put on / The dauntless spirit of resolution. King John, v. 1.
Best men are moulded out of faults. Meas. for Meas., v. 1.
Be strong, and quit yourselves like men. Bible.
Best time is present time. Pr.
Be substantially great in thyself, and more than thou appearest unto others. Sir Thomas Browne.
Be sure you can obey good laws before you 40 seek to alter bad ones. Ruskin.
Be sure your sin will find you out. Bible.
Be swift to hear, slow to speak. Pr.
Bête noir—An eyesore; a bugbear (lit. a black beast). Fr.
Beter eens in den hemel dan tienmaal aan de deur—Better once in heaven than ten times at the door. Dut. Pr.
Be thankful for your ennui; it is your last 45 mark of manhood. Carlyle.
Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Ham., iii. 1.
Be thou assured, if words be made of breath, / And breath of life, I have no life to breathe / What thou hast said to me. Ham., iii. 4.
Be thou faithful unto death. St. John.
Bêtise—Folly; piece of folly. Fr.
Be to her virtues very kind; / Be to her faults 50 a little blind. Prior.
Betrogene Betrüger—The deceiver deceived. Lessing.
Betrügen und betrogen werden, / Nichts ist gewöhnlicher auf Erden—Nothing is more common on earth than to deceive and be deceived. Seume.
Betrug war Alles, Lug, und Schein—All was deception, a lie, and illusion. Goethe.
Bettelsack ist bodenlos—The beggar's bag has no bottom. Ger. Pr.
Better a blush in the face than a blot in the 55 heart. Cervantes.
Better a child should be ignorant of a thousand truths than have consecrated in its heart a single lie. Ruskin.
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one. Chinese Pr.
Better a fortune in a wife than with a wife. Pr.
Better a fremit freend than a freend fremit, i.e., a stranger for a friend than a friend turned stranger. Sc. Pr.
Better a living dog than a dead lion. Pr.
Better an egg to-day than a hen to-morrow. Pr.
Better an end with terror than a terror without 5 end. Schill.
Better a toom (empty) house than an ill tenant. Sc. Pr.
Better a witty fool than a foolish wit. Twelfth Night, i. 5.
Better bairns greet (weep) than bearded men. Sc. Pr.
Better be at the end o' a feast than the beginning o' a fray. Sc. Pr.
Better be a nettle in the side of your friend 10 than his echo. Emerson.
Better be a poor fisherman than have to do with the governing of men. Danton.
Better be disagreeable in a sort than altogether insipid. Goethe.
Better be idle than ill employed. Sc. Pr.
Better bend than break. Pr.
Better be persecuted than shunned. Ebers. 15
Better be poor than wicked. Pr.
Better be unborn than untaught. Gael. Pr.
Better buy than borrow. Pr.
Better deny at once than promise long. Pr.
Better far off, than—near, be ne'er the near'. 20 Rich. II., v. 1.
Better far to die in the old harness than to try to put on another. J. G. Holland.
Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay. Tennyson.
Better go back than go wrong. Pr.
Better go to bed supperless than rise in debt. Sc. Pr.
Better haud (hold on) wi' the hound than rin 25 wi' the hare. Sc. Pr.
Better is an ass that carries us than a horse that throws us. J. G. Holland.
Better it is to be envied than pitied. Pr.
Better keep the deil oot than hae to turn him oot. Sc. Pr.
Better keep weel than mak' weel. Sc. Pr.
Better knot straws than do nothing. Gael. Pr. 30
Better lose a jest than a friend. Pr.
Better mad with all the world than wise all alone. Fr. Pr.
Better my freen's think me fremit as fasheous, i.e., strange rather than troublesome. Sc. Pr.
Better never begin than never make an end. Pr.
Better not be at all / Than not be noble. 35 Tennyson.
Better not read books in which you make the acquaintance of the devil. Niebuhr.
Better one-eyed than stone-blind. Pr.
Better one living word than a hundred dead ones. Ger. Pr.
Better rue sit than rue flit, i.e., regret remaining than regret removing. Sc. Pr.
Better say nothing than nothing to the purpose. 40 Pr.
Better sit still than rise and fa'. Sc. Pr.
Better sma' fish than nane. Sc. Pr.
Better suffer for truth than prosper by falsehood. Dan. Pr.
Better ten guilty escape than one innocent man suffer. Pr.
Better that people should laugh at one while 45 they instruct, than that they should praise without benefiting. Goethe.
Better the ill ken'd than the ill unken'd, i.e., the ill we know than the ill we don't know. Sc. Pr.
Better the world know you as a sinner than God as a hypocrite. Dan. Pr.
Better to ask than go astray. Pr.
Better to get wisdom than gold. Bible.
Better to hunt in fields for health unbought, / 50 Than fee the doctor for a nauseous draught. / The wise for cure on exercise depend; / God never made his work for man to mend. Dryden.
Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven. Milton.
Better to say "Here it is" than "Here it was." Pr.
Better understand the world than condemn it. Gael. Pr.
Better untaught than ill taught. Pr.
Better wear out than rust out. Bishop Cumberland. 55
Better wear shoon (shoes) than sheets. Sc. Pr.
Better wrong with the many than right with the few. Port. Pr.
Between a woman's "Yes" and "No" you may insert the point of a needle. Ger. Pr.
Between saying and doing there's a long road. Pr.
Between the acting of a dreadful thing / And 60 the first motion, all the interim is / Like a phantasma or a hideous dream. Jul. Cæs., ii. 1.
Between the deil and the deep sea. Sc. Pr.
Between us and hell or heaven there is nothing but life, which of all things is the frailest. Pascal.
Beware, my lord, of jealousy; / It is the green-eyed monster that doth mock / The meat it feeds on. Othello, iii. 3.
Beware of a silent dog and still water. Pr.
Beware of a silent man and a dog that does 65 not bark. Pr.
Beware of a talent which you cannot hope to cultivate to perfection. Goethe.
Beware / Of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in, / Bear 't that the opposed may beware of thee. Ham., i. 3.
Beware of false prophets. Jesus.
Beware of "Had I wist." Pr.
Beware of one who has nothing to lose. It. 70 Pr.
Beware of too much good staying in your hand. Emerson.
Beware the fury of a patient man. Dryden.
Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet. Emerson.
Be warned by thy good angel and not ensnared by thy bad one. Bürger.
Be wisely worldly; be not worldly wise. 75 Quarles.
Be wise to-day; 'tis madness to defer. Young.
Be wise with speed; / A fool at forty is a fool indeed. Young.
Bewunderung verdient ein Wunder wohl, / Doch scheint ein Weib kein echtes Weib zu sein, / So bald es nur Bewunderung verdient—What is admirable justly calls forth our admiration, yet a woman seems to be no true woman who calls forth nothing else. Platen.
Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. Jesus.
Bezwingt des Herzens Bitterkeit. Es bringt / 5 Nicht gute Frucht, wenn Hass dem Hass begegnet—Control the heart's bitterness. Nothing good comes of returning hatred for hatred. Schiller.
Bibula charta—Blotting-paper.
Bien dire fait rire; bien faire fait taire—Saying well makes us laugh; doing well makes us silent. Fr. Pr.
Bien est larron qui larron dérobe—He is a thief with a witness who robs another. Fr. Pr.
Bien nourri et mal appris—Well fed but ill taught. Fr. Pr.
Bien perdu bien connu—We know the worth of 10 a thing when we have lost it. Fr.
Bien predica quien bien vive—He preaches well who lives well. Sp. Pr.
Bien sabe el asno en cuya cara rabozna—The ass knows well in whose face he brays. Sp. Pr.
Bien sabe el sabio que no sabe, el nescio piensa que sabe—The wise man knows well that he does not know; the ignorant man thinks he knows. Sp. Pr.
Bien sabe la vulpeja con quien trebeja—The fox knows well with whom he plays tricks. Sp. Pr.
Bien vengas, mal, si vienes solo—Welcome, misfortune, 15 if thou comest alone. Sp. Pr.
Bien vient à mieux, et mieux à mal—Good comes to better and better to bad. Fr. Pr.
Big destinies of nations or of persons are not founded gratis in this world. Carlyle.
Bigotry murders religion, to frighten fools with her ghost. Colton.
Big words seldom accompany good deeds. Dan. Pr.
Billet-doux—A love-letter. Fr. 20
Biography is the most universally pleasant, the most universally profitable, of all reading. Carlyle.
Biography is the only true history. Carlyle.
Birds of a feather flock together. Pr.
Birds of prey do not flock together. Port. Pr.
Birth is much, but breeding is more. Pr. 25
Bis dat qui cito dat—He gives twice who gives quickly. L. Pr.
Bis est gratum quod opus est, si ultro offeras—That help is doubly acceptable which you offer spontaneously when we stand in need. Pub. Syr.
Bis interimitur qui suis armis perit—He dies twice who perishes by his own weapons or devices. Pub. Syr.
Bisogna amar l'amico con i suoi difetti—We must love our friend with all his defects. It. Pr.
Bis peccare in bello non licet—It is not permitted 30 to blunder in war a second time. Pr.
Bist du Amboss, sei geduldig; bist du Hammer, schlage hart—Art thou anvil, be patient; art thou hammer, strike hard. Ger. Pr.
Bist du ein Mensch? so fühle meine Noth—Art thou a man? then feel for my wretchedness. Margaret in "Faust."
Bist du mit dem Teufel du und du, / Und willst dich vor der Flamme scheuen?—Art thou on familiar terms with the devil, and wilt thou shy at the flame? Goethe's "Faust."
Bis vincit qui se vincit in victoria—He conquers twice who, at the moment of victory, conquers (i.e., restrains) himself. Pub. Syr.
Bitin' and scartin' 's Scotch folk's wooing. Sc. 35 Pr.
Black detraction will find faults where they are not. Massinger.
Blame is the lazy man's wages. Dan. Pr.
Blame where you must, be candid where you can, / And be each critic the good-natured man. Goldsmith.
Blanc-bec—A greenhorn. Fr.
Blasen ist nicht flöten; ihr musst die Finger 40 bewegen—To blow on the flute is not to play on it; you must move the fingers as well. Goethe.
Blasphemy is wishing ill to anything, and its outcome wishing ill to God; while Euphemy is wishing well to everything, and its outcome wishing well to—"Ah, wad ye tak' a thocht, and men'." Ruskin.
Blasted with excess of light. Gray.
Bleib nicht allein, denn in der Wüste trat / Der Satansengel selbst dem Herrn des Himmels—Remain not alone, for it was in the desert that Satan came to the Lord of Heaven himself. Schiller.
Bless, and curse not. St. Paul.
Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet 45 have believed. Jesus.
Blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it. Bible.
Blessed be he who first invented sleep; it covers a man all over like a cloak. Cervantes.
Blessed be nothing. Pr.
Blessed is he that considereth the poor. Bible.
Blessed is he that continueth where he is; here 50 let us rest and lay out seed-fields; here let us learn to dwell. Carlyle.
Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed. Swift.
Blessed is he who is made happy by the sound of a rat-tat. Thackeray.
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation. St. James.
Blessed is the voice that, amid dispiritment, stupidity, and contradiction, proclaims to us, Euge! (i.e., Excellent! Bravo!). Carlyle.
Blessedness is a whole eternity older than 55 damnation. Jean Paul.
Blessings are upon the head of the just. Bible.
Blinder Eifer schadet nur—Blind zeal only does harm. M. G. Lichtwer.
Blinder Gaul geht geradezu—A blind horse goes right on. Ger. Pr.
Blindfold zeal can do nothing but harm—harm everywhere, and harm always. Lichtner.
Bloemen zijn geen vruchten—Blossoms are not 60 fruits. Dut. Pr.
Blood is thicker than water. Pr.
Blosse Intelligenz ohne correspondirende Energie des Wollens ist ein blankes Schwert in der Scheide, verächtlich, wenn es nie und nimmer gezückt wird—Mere intelligence without corresponding energy of the will is a polished sword in its scabbard, contemptible, if it is never drawn forth. Lindner.
Blow, blow, thou winter wind, / Thou art not so unkind / As man's ingratitude. As You Like It, ii. 7.
Blow, wind! come, wrack! / At least we'll die with harness on our back. Macb., v. 5.
Blue are the hills that are far from us. Gael. Pr.
Blunt edges rive hard knots. Troil. and Cress., 5 i. 3.
Blushes are badges of imperfection. Wycherley.
Blut ist ein ganz besondrer Saft—Blood is a quite peculiar fluid. Mephisto, in Faust.
Boca de mel, coraçaõ de fel—A tongue of honey, a heart of gall. Port. Pr.
Boca que diz sim, diz naõ—The mouth that can say "Yea," can say "Nay." Port. Pr.
Bodily exercise profiteth little. St. Paul. 10
Bœotum in crasso jurares aëre natum—You would swear he was born in the foggy atmosphere of the Bœotians. Hor.
Bois ont oreilles et champs œillets—Woods have ears and fields eyes. Fr. Pr.
Bole com o rabo o caõ, naõ por ti, senaõ pelo paõ—The dog wags his tail, not for you, but for your bread. Port. Pr.
Bon accord—Good harmony. M.
Bonæ leges malis ex moribus procreantur—Good 15 laws grow out of evil acts. Macrob.
Bona fide—In good faith; in reality.
Bona malis paria non sunt, etiam pari numero; nec lætitia ulla minimo mœrore pensanda—The blessings of life do not equal its ills, even when of equal number; nor can any pleasure, however incense, compensate for even the slightest pain. Pliny.
Bona nemini hora est, ut non alicui sit mala—There is no hour good for one man that is not bad for another. Pub. Syr.
Bonarum rerum consuetudo est pessima—Nothing can be worse than being accustomed to good things. Pub. Syr.
Bona vacantia—Goods that have no owner. L. 20
Bon avocat, mauvais voisin—A good lawyer is a bad neighbour. Fr. Pr.
Bon bourgeois—A substantial citizen. Fr.
Bon chien chasse de race—A good dog hunts from pure instinct. Fr. Pr.
Bon diable—A good-natured fellow. Fr.
Bon droit a besoin d'aide—A good cause needs 25 help. Fr. Pr.
Bon gré, mal gré—Whether willing or not. Fr.
Bon guet chasse maladventure—A good lookout drives ill-luck away. Fr. Pr.
Bonne épée point querelleur—A good swordsman is not given to quarrel. Fr. Pr.
Bonne est la maille que sauve le denier—Good is the farthing that saves the penny. Fr. Pr.
Bonhomie—Good nature. Fr. 30
Boni pastoris est tondere pecus, non deglubere—It is the duty of a good shepherd to shear his sheep, not to flay them. Tiberius Cæsar, in reference to taxation.
Bonis avibus—Under favourable auspices.
Bonis nocet quisquis pepercerit malis—He does injury to the good who spares the bad. Pub. Syr.
Bonis omnia bona—All things are good to the good. M.
Bonis quod benefit haud perit—A kindness done 35 to good men is never thrown away. Plaut.
Bonis vel malis avibus—Under good, or evil, omens.
Bon jour—Good day. Fr.
Bon jour, bonne œuvre—The better the day, the better the deed. Fr. Pr.
Bon marché tire l'argent hors de la bourse—A good bargain is a pick-purse. Fr. Pr.
Bon mot—A witticism or jest. Fr. 40
Bon naturel—Good nature or disposition. Fr.
Bonne—A nurse. Fr.
Bonne bouche—A delicate morsel. Fr.
Bonne et belle assez—Good and handsome enough. Fr. M.
Bonne journée fait qui de fol se délivre—He 45 who rids himself of a fool does a good day's work. Fr. Pr.
Bonne renommée vaut mieux que ceinture dorée—A good name is worth more than a girdle of gold. Fr. Pr.
Bonnet rouge—The cap of liberty. Fr.
Bonnie feathers mak' bonnie fowls. Sc. Pr.
Bon poète, mauvais homme—Good as a poet, bad as a man. Fr.
Bon sang ne peut mentir—Good blood disdains 50 to lie. Fr. Pr.
Bons et máos mantem cidade—Good men and bad make a city. Port. Pr.
Bons mots n'épargnent nuls—Witticisms spare nobody. Fr. Pr.
Bon soir—Good evening. Fr.
Bon ton—The height of fashion. Fr.
Bonum ego quam beatum me esse nimio dici 55 mavolo—I would much rather be called good than well off. Plaut.
Bonum est fugienda aspicere in alieno malo—Well if we see in the misfortune of another what we should shun ourselves. Pub. Syr.
Bonum est, pauxillum amare sane, insane non bonum est—It is good to be moderately sane in love; to be madly in love is not good. Plaut.
Bonum summum quo tendimus omnes—That supreme good at which we all aim. Lucret.
Bonus animus in mala re dimidium est mali—Good courage in a bad affair is half of the evil overcome. Plaut.
Bonus atque fidus / Judex honestum prætulit 60 utili—A good and faithful judge ever prefers the honourable to the expedient. Hor.
Bonus dux bonum reddit militem—The good general makes good soldiers. L. Pr.
Bonus vir semper tiro—A good man is always a learner.
Bon vivant—A good liver. Fr.
Bon voyage—A pleasant journey or voyage. Fr.
Books are divisible into two classes, the books 65 of the hour and the books of all time. Ruskin.
Books are embalmed minds. Bovee.
Books are made from books. Voltaire.
Books cannot always please, however good; / Minds are not ever craving for their food. Crabbe.
Books generally do little else than give our errors names. Goethe.
Books, like friends, should be few and well chosen. Joineriana.
Books still accomplish miracles; they persuade men. Carlyle.
Books, we know, / Are a substantial world, pure and good. Wordsworth.
Boomen die men veel verplant gedijen zelden—Trees 5 you transplant often, seldom thrive. Dut. Pr.
Borgen thut nur einmal wohl—Borrowing does well only once. Ger. Pr.
Born to excel and to command! Congreve.
Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. Cic.
Borrowing is not much better than begging; just as lending on interest is not much better than stealing. Lessing.
Bos alienus subinde prospectat foras—A strange 10 ox every now and then turns its eyes wistfully to the door. Pr.
Böser Brunnen, da man Wasser muss eintragen—It is a bad well into which you must pour water. Ger. Pr.
Böser Pfennig kommt immer wieder—A bad penny always comes back again. Ger. Pr.
Bos in lingua—He has an ox on his tongue, i.e., a bribe to keep silent, certain coins in Athens being stamped with an ox. Pr.
Bos lassus fortius figit pedem—The tired ox plants his foot more firmly. Pr.
Botschaft hör' ich wohl, allein mir fehlt der 15 Glaube—I hear the message indeed, but I want the faith. Goethe's "Faust."
[Greek: bouleuou pro ergôn, hopôs mê môra pelêtai]—Before the act consider, so that nothing foolish may arise out of it. Gr. Pr.
Bought wit is best, i.e., bought by experience. Pr.
Boutez en avant—Push forward. Fr.
Bowels of compassion. St. John.
Brag is a good dog, but Holdfast is better. 20 Pr.
Brain is always to be bought, but passion never comes to market. Lowell.
Brave men are brave from the very first. Corneille.
Bread at pleasure, / Drink by measure. Pr.
Bread is the staff of life. Swift.
Breathes there the man with soul so dead, / 25 Who never to himself hath said, / "This is my own, my native land?" Scott.
Breathe his faults so quaintly, / That they may seem the taints of liberty; / The flash and outbreak of a fiery mind. Ham., ii. 1.
Breed is stronger than pasture. George Eliot.
Brevet d'invention—A patent. Fr.
Breveté—Patented. Fr.
Breve tempus ætatis satis est longum ad bene 30 honesteque vivendum—A short term on earth is long enough for a good and honourable life. Cic.
Brevi manu—Offhand; summarily (lit. with a short hand).
Brevis a natura nobis vita data est: at memoria bene redditæ vitæ est sempiterna—A short life has been given us by Nature, but the memory of a well-spent one is eternal. Cic.
Brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio—When labouring to be concise, I become obscure. Hor.
Brevis ipsa vita est, sed longior malis—Life itself is short, but lasts longer than misfortunes. Pub. Syr.
Brevis voluptas mox doloris est parens—Short-lived 35 pleasure is the parent of pain. Pr.
Brevity is the body and soul of wit. Jean Paul.
Brevity is the soul of wit. Ham., iii. 2.
Bric-à-brac—Articles of vertu or curiosity. Fr.
Bricht ein Ring, so bricht die ganze Katte—A link broken, the whole chain broken. Ger. Pr.
Brief as the lightning in the collied night, / 40 That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth, / And ere a man hath power to say, "Behold!" / The jaws of darkness do devour it up. Mid. N.'s Dream, i. 1.
Briefe gehören unter die wichtigsten Denkmäler die der einzelne Mensch hinterlassen kann—Letters are among the most significant memorials a man can leave behind him. Goethe.
Briller par son absence—To be conspicuous by its absence. Fr.
Bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave. Bible.
Bring forth men-children only! / For thy undaunted mettle should compose / Nothing but males. Macb., i. 7.
Broad thongs may be cut from other people's 45 leather. It. Pr.
Broken friendships may be sowthered (soldered), but never sound. Sc. Pr.
Brouille sera à la maison si la quenouille est maîtresse—There will be disagreement in the house if the distaff holds the reins. Fr. Pr.
Brûler la chandelle par les deux bouts—To burn the candle at both ends. Fr.
Brute force holds communities together as an iron nail, if a little rusted with age, binds pieces of wood; but intelligence binds like a screw, which must be gently turned, not driven. Draper.
Brutum fulmen—A harmless thunderbolt. L. 50
Brutus, thou sleep'st; awake, and see thyself. Jul. Cæs., ii. 1.
Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Cæsar. Jul. Cæs., i. 2.
Bûche tortue fait bon feu—A crooked log makes a good fire. Fr. Pr.
Buen siglo haya quien dijó bolta—Blessings on him that said, Right about face! Sp. Pr.
Buey viejo sulco derecho—An old ox makes a 55 straight furrow. Sp. Pr.
Buffoonery is often want of wit. Bruyère.
Bullies are generally cowards. Pr.
Buon cavallo non ha bisogno di sproni—Don't spur a willing horse. It. Pr.
Burlaos con el loco en casa, burlará con vos en la plaza—Play with the fool in the house and he will play with you in the street. Sp. Pr.
Burnt bairns dread the fire. Sc. Pr. 60
Business dispatched is business well done, but business hurried is business ill done. Bulwer Lytton.
Busy readers are seldom good readers. Wieland.
But a bold peasantry, their country's pride, / When once destroyed, can never be supplied. Goldsmith.
But all was false and hollow; though his tongue / Dropp'd manna, and could make the worse appear / The better reason, to perplex and dash / Maturest counsels. Milton.
But by bad courses may be understood, / That their events can never fall out good. Rich. II., ii. 1.
But Cristes lore, and his apostles twelve, / He taught, but first he folwed it himselve. Chaucer.
But earthlier happy is the rose distilled, / Than 5 that which, withering on the virgin thorn, / Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness. Mid. N's. Dream, i. 1.
But evil is wrought by want of thought / As well as want of heart. Hood.
But facts are chiels that winna ding, / An' douna be disputed. Burns.
But far more numerous was the herd of such / Who think too little and who talk too much. Dryden.
But for women, our life would be without help at the outset, without pleasure in its course, and without consolation at the end. Jouy.
But from the heart of Nature rolled / The burdens 10 of the Bible old. Emerson.
But human bodies are sic fools, / For a' their colleges and schools, / That, when nae real ills perplex them, / They make enow themsels to vex them. Burns.
But hushed be every thought that springs / From out the bitterness of things. Wordsworth.
But I am constant as the northern star, / Of whose true-fixed and resting quality, / There is no fellow in the firmament. Jul. Cæs., iii. 1.
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve / For daws to peck at. Othello, i. 1.
But man, proud man, / Drest in a little brief 15 authority, / Most ignorant of what he's most assured, / His glassy essence,—like an angry ape, / Plays such fantastic tricks before high Heaven / As make the angels weep. Meas. for Meas., ii. 2.
But men may construe things after their fashion, clean from the purpose of the things themselves. Jul. Cæs., i. 3.
But men must work, and women must weep, / Though storms be sudden and waters deep, / And the harbour bar be moaning. C. Kingsley.
But mercy is above this sceptred sway; / It is enthroned in the hearts of kings, / It is an attribute to God Himself, / And earthly power doth then show likest God's / When mercy seasons justice. Mer. of Ven., iv. 1.
But now our fates from unmomentous things / May rise like rivers out of little springs. Campbell.
But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand, / And 20 the sound of a voice that is still. Tennyson.
But O what damned minutes tells he o'er, / Who dotes, yet doubts; suspects, yet strongly loves? Othello, iii. 3.
But pleasures are like poppies spread, / You seize the flower, its bloom is shed; / Or, like the snowfall on the river, / A moment white—then melts for ever. Burns.
But Shakespeare's magic could not copied be; / Within that circle none durst walk but he. Dryden.
But shapes that come not at an earthly call, / Will not depart when mortal voices bid. Wordsworth.
But souls that of His own good life partake, / 25 He loves as His own self; dear as His eye / They are to Him; He'll never them forsake; / When they shall die, then God Himself shall die: / They live, they live in blest eternity. H. More.
But spite of all the criticising elves, / Those that would make us feel, must feel themselves. Churchill.
But there are wanderers o'er eternity, / Whose bark drives on and on, and anchor'd ne'er shall be. Byron.
But there's nothing half so sweet in life / As love's young dream. Moore.
But thought's the slave of life, and life time's fool; / And time, that takes survey of all the world, / Must have a stop. 1 Henry IV., v. 4.
But to see her was to love her—love but her, 30 and love for ever. Burns.
But truths on which depend our main concern, / That 'tis our shame and misery not to learn, / Shine by the side of every path we tread, / With such a lustre, he that runs may read. Cowper.
But war's a game which, were their subjects wise, / Kings would not play at. Cowper.
But were I Brutus, / And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony / Would ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongue / In every wound of Cæsar, that should move / The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny. Jul. Cæs., iii. 2.
But what fate does, let fate answer for. Sheridan.
But whether on the scaffold high, / Or in the 35 battle's van, / The fittest place where man can die / Is where he dies for man. M. J. Barry.
But who would force the soul, tilts with a straw / Against a champion cased in adamant. Wordsworth.
But winter lingering chills the lap of May. Goldsmith.
But words are things, and a small drop of ink, / Falling, like dew, upon a thought, produces / That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think. Byron.
But wouldst thou know what's heaven? I'll tell thee what: / Think what thou canst not think, and heaven is that. Quarles.
But yesterday the word of Cæsar might / 40 Have stood against the world; now lies he there, / And none so poor to do him reverence. Jul. Cæs., iii. 2.
Buying is cheaper than asking. Ger. Pr.
Buy the truth, and sell it not. Bible.
Buy what ye dinna want, an' ye'll sell what ye canna spare. Sc. Pr.
By-and-by is easily said. Ham., iii. 2.
By any ballot-box, Jesus Christ goes just as 45 far as Judas Iscariot. Carlyle.
By blood a king, in heart a clown. Tennyson.
By bravely enduring it, an evil which cannot be avoided is overcome. Pr.
By desiring little, a poor man makes himself rich. Democritus.
By dint of dining out, I run the risk of dying by starvation at home. Rousseau.
By doing nothing we learn to do ill. Pr.
By education most have been misled. Dryden.
By experience we find out a short way by a 5 long wandering. Roger Ascham.
By nature man hates change; seldom will he quit his old home till it has actually fallen about his ears. Carlyle.
By night an atheist half believes a God. Young.
By nothing do men more show what they are than by their appreciation of what is and what is not ridiculous. Goethe.
By others' faults wise men correct their own. Pr.
By persisting in your path, though you forfeit 10 the little, you gain the great. Emerson.
By pious heroic climbing of our own, not by arguing with our poor neighbours, wandering to right and left, do we at length reach the sanctuary—the victorious summit, and see with our own eyes. Carlyle.
By pride cometh contention. Bible.
By robbing Peter he paid Paul... and hoped to catch larks if ever the heavens should fall. Rabelais.
By seeking and blundering we learn. Goethe.
By shallow rivers to whose falls / Melodious 15 birds sing madrigals. Marlowe.
By sports like these are all their cares beguil'd, / The sports of children satisfy the child. Goldsmith.
By strength of heart the sailor fights with roaring seas. Wordsworth.
By the long practice of caricature I have lost the enjoyment of beauty: I never see a face but distorted. Hogarth to a lady who wished to learn caricature.
By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is the noblest; second, by imitation, which is the easiest; and third, by experience, which is the bitterest. Confucius.
By time and counsel do the best we can: / 20 Th' event is never in the power of man. Herrick.