a people the Armenians cannot boast of as vast a literature as the
Persians, their one-time conquerors, but that which remains of purely
Armenian prose, folk-lore, and poetry tells us of a poetic race, gifted
with imaginative fire, sternness of will, and persistency of adherence
to old ideas, a race that in proportion to their limited production in
letters can challenge comparison with any people.

[Signature: Robert Arnot]

CONTENTS

PROVERBS AND FOLK-LORE

THE VACANT YARD

ARMENIAN POEMS
A Plaint
Spring in Exile
Fly, Lays of Mine
The Woe of Araxes
The Armenian Maiden
One of a Thousand
Longing

DAVID OF SASSUN

THE RUINED FAMILY

* * * * *

PROVERBS AND FOLK-LORE

[_Translated by F.B. Collins, B.S._]

* * * * *

PROVERBS AND FOLK-LORE

I know many songs, but I cannot sing.

When a man sees that the water does not follow him, he follows the
water.

When a tree falls there is plenty of kindling wood.

He who falls into the water need have no fear of rain.

A good swimmer finds death in the water.

Strong vinegar bursts the cask.

Dogs quarrel among themselves, but against the wolf they are united.

God understands the dumb.

Only he who can read is a man.

The chick shows itself in the egg, the child in the cradle.

What a man acquires in his youth serves as a crutch in his old age.

One wit is good; two wits are better.

Begin with small things, that you may achieve great.

A devil with experience is better than an angel without.

What the great say, the humble hear.

He who steals an egg will steal a horse also.

Turn the spit, so that neither meat nor roasting-iron shall burn.

One can spoil the good name of a thousand.

What manner of things thou speakest of, such shalt thou also hear.

The grandfather ate unripe grapes, and the grandson's teeth were set on
edge.

One bad deed begets another.

Go home when the table is set, and to church when it is almost over.

A devil at home, a parson abroad.

God created men and women: who, then, created monks?

Poor and proud.

In dreams the hungry see bread and the thirsty water.

Ere the fat become lean, the lean are already dead.

Wish for a cow for your neighbor, that God may give you two.

What is play to the cat is death to the mouse.

Unless the child cries, the mother will not suckle it.

A fish in the water is worth