In a hundred years' time we shall all be dead, so why should we worry about our present trouble and cares? This contain a sound warning against worrying too much about the present, but, taken too... Read more →
A quarrel is an angry dispute between two persons. Tom cannot quarrel with himself ; nor can he quarrel with Dick if Dick does not wish to quarrel with him. Tom may lose his temper, but as long as... Read more →
We are not all alike. We differ from each other in many ways physically, mentally, and morally. Some of us are good sorts, some of us are bad sorts, and some of us are a bit of each. So we must be... Read more →
In modern English this would read, 'It never rains without pouring.' The meaning is that events, especially misfortunes, always come together. 'What a day it's been ', sighed Mrs Wood. 'First I burnt... Read more →
This couplet was composed by Charles H. Spurgeon, the famous Baptist minister and orator. The leading performer in an orchestra is the first violin. By extension, to play first violin is to take the... Read more →
It is a waste of time to try to revive interest in a worn-out or forgotten subject, or to argue about something that was settled long since. 'I said it at the time and I say it again that when they... Read more →
It is useless to take precautions after something has happened that could have been foreseen and guarded against. The French version is, 'After the death, the doctor.' 'When his father gave Tommy an... Read more →
Another version of this is Nothing is so certain as the unexpected. A similar French proverb is: 'Nothing is certain but uncertainty.' The state of things as they are cannot be relied upon to... Read more →
This teaches the folly of false economy; of failing to achieve one's purpose by trying to save in a small detail; of marring an effect in order to avoid spending a trifling extra amount. A man who... Read more →
It was a great pity that it happened, but there's nothing we can do it about it now. Don't bewail the past. What's done cannot be undone.
