_Dat Deus immiti cornua curta bovi_; God curtails the power to do evil in those who desire to do it. _There is honor among thieves._ This is, no doubt, quite true, though you must be a thief yourself to derive much benefit from it. They stand by their order. The suggestion is--since there is honor towards each other among the most unprincipled classes, surely Mr. Sweepstakes, and Mr. Moses Battledore, who are both respectable members of society, and belong to clubs, would not cheat me. But this does not logically follow; for we by no means know how far the respectable individual makes his view of his own interest an excuse to himself for an occasional exception to the code of morality he professes. There's honor among thieves; and there are thieves (here and there) among honorably-connected men, "all honorable men." Life is a "mingled yarn" of good and evil; and society is a motley aggregate of all sorts of yarns. _A rose-bud fell to the lot of a monkey._ (Arabic.) The monkey appreciated the rose-bud quite as much as swine appreciate the pearls which are said to be cast before them. _Of what use to a fool is all the trouble he gives himself?_ (Chinese.) None whatever; but his folly may cause a vast deal of trouble to people of sense. One false move of an utterly incompetent man in office, and the force of the saying becomes very expansive. _There are no lies so wicked as those which have some foundation._ (Chinese.) A saying which is but too true, and which ought to be universally understood in society, as some protection against slander. _Many preparations before the sour plum sweetens._ (Chinese.) Great results do not hastily ripen; great and important changes must undergo a gradual process. _Spare the rod and spoil the child._ This seems to be derived from the old Spanish proverb, which we find in Don Quixote, "He loves thee well who makes thee weep." They are unkindly and dangerous maxims, which tend to inculcate severity, and to justify harsh treatment upon the plea of future advantage. We readily admit that nothing can well be worse than a "spoilt child," nor can a more injurious system exist than that of pampering or spoiling--except the direct opposite, that of frequently causing tears. _A tea-spoonful of honey is worth a pound of gall._ An indiscriminate use of the sweets of life is a stupidity and an injury; but the judicious use of them is of far more service in the production of good results, than the bitter lessons which are often considered to be of most advantage. It is better to soften the heart than to harden it. "A soft word turneth away wrath." _What the ant collects in a year, the priest eats up in a night._ (Arabic.) The tithe-taxes, and other revenues of the state-clergy, derived from the industry of the working classes, are not very tenderly dealt with in this proverb.