{"id":6618,"date":"2020-09-16T18:15:49","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T23:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/?p=6618"},"modified":"2026-10-01T15:49:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T20:49:41","slug":"eighteenth-century-proverbial-sayings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/eighteenth-century-proverbial-sayings\/","title":{"rendered":"Eighteenth Century Proverbial Sayings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The definition of &#8220;proverb&#8221; is &#8220;a short, pithy saying stating a general truth or piece of advice.&#8221; Proverbs are meant to convey common wisdom or prudent counsel about how the world usually works. <\/p>\n<p>A proverb is most often a phrase or saying that gives advice in an obscure way. The phrase usually has an allegorical type of message behind that when first heard may seem a little odd. Usually a proverb is very well known because of its popular use in colloquial language.<\/p>\n<p>A proverb (from Latin: proverbium) is a simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or experience. <\/p>\n<p>An adage is a saying that sets forth a general truth and that has gained credit through long use or a pithy saying in current use; a brief familiar proverb; an expression of popular wisdom, generally figurative, in a single phrase or sentence, and of remote origin.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"linedlist\">\n<li>Actions speak louder than words.<\/li>\n<li>Beggars must not be choosers.<\/li>\n<li>A fool and his money are soon parted.<\/li>\n<li>No news is good news.<\/li>\n<li>It never rains but it pours.<\/li>\n<li>When in Rome, do as the Romans do.<\/li>\n<li>Birds of a feather flock together.<\/li>\n<li>The proof of the pudding is in the eating.<\/li>\n<li>A man\u2019s home is his castle.<\/li>\n<li>Of two evils, choose the lesser.<\/li>\n<li>Money does not grow on trees.<\/li>\n<li>He that dances must pay the fiddler.<\/li>\n<li>He that goes a-borrowing goes a-sorrowing.<\/li>\n<li>A burnt child dreads the fire.<\/li>\n<li>He who cannot do as he would must do what he can.<\/li>\n<li>The end justifies the means.<\/li>\n<li>Fortune favors the bold.<\/li>\n<li>Make hay while the sun shines.<\/li>\n<li>Faint heart never won fair lady.<\/li>\n<li>Give him an inch and he\u2019ll take a mile.<\/li>\n<li>Man proposes, but God disposes.<\/li>\n<li>Misfortunes never come singly.<\/li>\n<li>An ounce of prudence is worth a pound of wit.<\/li>\n<li>Be not a baker if your head be made of butter.<\/li>\n<li>What can\u2019t be cured must be endured.<\/li>\n<li>He that is born to be hanged will never be drowned.<\/li>\n<li>It is easier to lead men than to drive them.<\/li>\n<li>Necessity is the mother of invention.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6676\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6676\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a class=\"boxer\" title=\"18th Century Proverbs\" href=\"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Featured-Images-18th-C-Proverbs-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Featured-Images-18th-C-Proverbs-1.jpg\" alt=\"18th Century Proverbs\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6676\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Featured-Images-18th-C-Proverbs-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Featured-Images-18th-C-Proverbs-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Featured-Images-18th-C-Proverbs-1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6676\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">18th Century Proverbs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The definition of &#8220;proverb&#8221; is &#8220;a short, pithy saying stating a general truth or piece of advice.&#8221; Proverbs are meant to convey common wisdom or prudent counsel about how the world usually works. A proverb is most often a phrase or saying that gives advice in an obscure way. The phrase usually has an allegorical&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,87],"tags":[88],"class_list":["post-6618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colonial-life","category-the-genealogists-toolbox","tag-daily-life"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3viLY-1IK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6602,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/revolutionary-war-vocabulary\/","url_meta":{"origin":6618,"position":0},"title":"Revolutionary War Vocabulary","author":"Karen","date":"January 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I've got a few Revolutionary War ancestors, namely Moza Hurt, Philemon Hurt, Frederick Boyer, Cornelius Bogart, and Conrad Mehrkam. Sometimes when I'm reading an account of their service, I wonder to myself, what the heck are they talking about? Some of the terms are opaque to modern people. This list\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;History&quot;","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Featured-Images-Rev-War-Vocabulary.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Featured-Images-Rev-War-Vocabulary.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Featured-Images-Rev-War-Vocabulary.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Featured-Images-Rev-War-Vocabulary.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6472,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/chester-bethel-cemetery-wilmington-delaware\/","url_meta":{"origin":6618,"position":1},"title":"Chester Bethel Cemetery, Wilmington, Delaware","author":"Karen","date":"December 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I visited the Chester Bethel Church and Cemetery this week to shoot some photos of gravestones for FindAGrave.com. I gave myself an hour to photograph three grave sites. Of course, it didn't work out as planned! The cemetery was larger than I thought and I couldn't find the headstones in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Churches &amp; Cemeteries&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Churches &amp; Cemeteries","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/places\/churches-cemeteries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Chester Bethel Church, original, 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Chester-Bethel-Church-original-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Chester-Bethel-Church-original-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Chester-Bethel-Church-original-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Chester-Bethel-Church-original-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Chester-Bethel-Church-original-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Chester-Bethel-Church-original-1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9454,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/reading-old-handwriting-a-genealogists-guide-to-colonial-script\/","url_meta":{"origin":6618,"position":2},"title":"Reading Old Handwriting: A Genealogist\u2019s Guide to Colonial Script","author":"Karen","date":"September 18, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Anyone who spends enough time researching family history eventually encounters a document that seems almost impossible to read. Wills, deeds, church registers, court records, letters, and family papers may contain unfamiliar letter forms, obsolete abbreviations, inconsistent spelling, and handwriting styles very different from those used today. The study of old\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;The Genealogists Toolbox&quot;","block_context":{"text":"The Genealogists Toolbox","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/the-genealogists-toolbox\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Feather-Pen-and-Ink-Writing-Paper.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Feather-Pen-and-Ink-Writing-Paper.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Feather-Pen-and-Ink-Writing-Paper.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Feather-Pen-and-Ink-Writing-Paper.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Feather-Pen-and-Ink-Writing-Paper.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Feather-Pen-and-Ink-Writing-Paper.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3709,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/remember-me-mourning-in-the-19th-century-chester-county-pa\/","url_meta":{"origin":6618,"position":3},"title":"Remember Me: Mourning in the 19th Century, Chester County, PA","author":"Karen","date":"February 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"These are screen shots from an exhibit at the Chester County Historical Society in 2001 called Remember Me: Mourning in the 19th Century. The objects on display included funeral attire, antique jewelry, portraits, painted miniatures, and memorial needlework. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Chester County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Chester County","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/places\/united-states\/pennsylvania\/chester-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Remember Me: Mourning","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/RememberMe-Mourning01.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/RememberMe-Mourning01.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/RememberMe-Mourning01.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7019,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/glossary-of-colonial-terms\/","url_meta":{"origin":6618,"position":4},"title":"Glossary of Colonial Terms","author":"Karen","date":"August 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Here I share some of the terms I've learned about throughout my years of research. Adz, adze Sharp-edged wood-cutting tool with an arching blade set at right angles to the handle and curving inward. Logs and beams were shaped with the adze. Auger A tool for boring holes in wood,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Colonial Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Colonial Life","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/history\/colonial-life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Featured-Images-ColonialTerms.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Featured-Images-ColonialTerms.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Featured-Images-ColonialTerms.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Featured-Images-ColonialTerms.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5762,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/the-southern-plantation-overseer\/","url_meta":{"origin":6618,"position":5},"title":"The Southern Plantation Overseer","author":"Karen","date":"July 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"One of my ancestors worked for a time as a plantation overseer in or around Carroll County, Mississippi, in the 1840s or 1850s. I was curious about this employment as he was a small landowner himself - why would he leave his own property to work for others? Well, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;History&quot;","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cotton Plantation on the Mississippi, Currier & Ives, 1884","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cotton-Plantation-on-the-Mississippi-Currier-Ives-1884.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cotton-Plantation-on-the-Mississippi-Currier-Ives-1884.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cotton-Plantation-on-the-Mississippi-Currier-Ives-1884.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cotton-Plantation-on-the-Mississippi-Currier-Ives-1884.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cotton-Plantation-on-the-Mississippi-Currier-Ives-1884.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cotton-Plantation-on-the-Mississippi-Currier-Ives-1884.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-Featured-Images-18th-C-Proverbs-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6618"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8021,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6618\/revisions\/8021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}