to have this proverb quoted
about him or her. But there are some people who are great talkers just
because they are so full of ideas, and to them the proverb does not
apply.

Another of these nature proverbs, and one which has exasperated many a
late riser, is, "The early bird catches the worm." Many people have
inquired in their turn, "And what about the worm?" But the proverb is
quite true, all the same.

Again, "A rolling stone gathers no moss" is a proverb which has been
repeated over and over again with many a headshake when young people
have refused to settle down, but have changed from one thing to
another and roamed from place to place. And this is quite true. But we
may ask, "Is it a good thing for stones to gather moss?" After all,
the adventurous people sometimes win fortunes which they could never
have won if they had been afraid to move about. And the adventurous
people, too, win other things--knowledge and experience--which are
better than money. Of course the proverb is wise to a certain degree,
for mere foolish changing without any reason cannot benefit any one.
But things can gather _rust_ as well as moss by keeping still, and
this is certainly not a good thing.

"Where there's a will there's a way." So the old proverb says, and
this is probably nearly always true, except that no one can do what is
impossible. "Look before you leap" is also good advice for impetuous
people, who are apt to do a thing rashly and wonder afterwards whether
they have done wisely.

The most interesting thing about proverbs to the student of words is
that they are always made up of simple words such as early peoples
always used. But we go on repeating them, using sometimes words which
we should never choose in ordinary speech, and yet never noticing that
they are old-fashioned and quaint.

It is true that there are some sayings which are so often quoted that
they seem almost like proverbs. But a line of poetry or prose, however
often it may be quoted, is not a proverb if it is taken from the
writings of a person whom we know to have used it for the first time.
These are merely quotations. No one can say who was the first person
to use any particular proverb. Even so long ago as the days of the
great Greek philosopher Aristotle many proverbs which are used in
nearly every land to-day were ages old. Aristotle describes them as
"fragments of an elder wisdom."

Clearly, then, however true some quotations from Shakespeare a