"Gregory: That shows thee a weak slave, for the weakest goes to the wall. Samson, 'Tis true; and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall; therefore I will push Montague's men from the wall and thrust his maids to the wall.". WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, A.D. 1564-1616, Romeo and Juliet. "In the days of our forefathers the streets were narrow and there were no pavements; while discharging pipes and running gutters by the sides of the walls made the center of the road a more agreeable place for the traveler. Wheeled conveyances of diverse sorts passing and repassing forced the foot passenger to the side of the road, and any tumult or street fight would drive the conquered pell-mell to take refuge in the houses or to the shelter of the wall out of the rush. Hence the proverb: The weakest goes to the wall. In Romeo and Juliet Sampson and Gregory are found in the market place of Verona and the former declares: 'I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague's'; to whom the latter unsympathetically replies, "That shows thee a weak slave, for the weakest go to the wall.'"-F. EDWARD HULME, A.D. 1841-1909, Proverb Lore. VARIANT PROVERBS The weaker goes to the pot. (English). ALLIED PROVERBS A white wall is the fool's writing paper-he writes his name there. (English, French, Italian). Every weak person who contends with a stranger falls so as not to rise again. (Persian). In the fray the weak are strong. (Italian). The cudgel of the powerful must be obeyed. (Hindustani). The ill clad are put against the wind. (French). comes the weak. (Persian). Misfortune over The weakest always is wrong. (Italian). The weakest has the worse. (English). The weakest must hold the candle. (French). To be weak is to be miserable. (English). Where the dam is lowest the water first runs over. (Dutch). Where the dyke is lowest men go over. (English). Where the hedge is lowest men may soonest over. (English). Whether the melon falls upon the knife or the knife on the melon the melon is the sufferer. (Hindustani). 84 THEY THAT LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULD NOT THROW STONES It is said that Charles Dickens remarked when in conversation with a pompous young man who denounced the sins and follies of the human race, "What a lucky thing it is that you and I do not belong to it." People often condemn others for the sins in which they themselves indulge. The faults that seem small in one's own life appear large in the lives of a neighbor, The critic, who is also a reformer, is of great use in the world but mere faultfinders benefit no one. To be just one must not only know the truth but the whole truth. There are times when it is necessary to condemn the course of others but condemnation should be devoid of bitterness and tempered with compassion. The proverb probably came originally from Spain, where there are many folk sayings of similar import. "He that has a roof of glass should not throw stones at his neighbors" is a familiar phrase among the people of the peninsula. It is believed by many people that the proverb was first used by James I (VI of Scotland) but as Chaucer, who died a century and a half before the union of the two crowns was effected, quoted the saying, James I, could not have been its author. Chaucer quoted it thus: "Frothy (therefore) who that hath an heed (head) of verre (glass). Fro cast of stones war him in the werre (let him beware)." The following story is frequently given in proof that James I was its author: When the governments of England and Scotland were united a large number of Scotchmen came to London. Their presence was offensive to many Englishmen and a movement was started to annoy them. The leader of the movement was the Duke of Buckingham who lived in a house that had many windows and that was known as the "glass house." One of the ways by which the malcontents sought to harass the newcomers was by going about after dark and breaking the windows of their houses. This so enraged the Scotchmen that they retaliated by visiting Buckingham's mansion in St. Martin's Fields and, under cover of the night, shattered all the glass that could be reached. The Duke went at once to the King and complained of the treatment he had received; whereupon the sovereign said to the court favorite, "Steenie, Steenie, those who live in glass houses should be carefu' how they fling stanes." If there is any truth in the story James I only quoted a well-known saying. "Whoso casteth a stone on high casteth it on his own head; and a deceitful stroke shall make wounds. Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein; and he that setteth a trap shall be taken therein. He that worketh mischief, it shall fall upon him, and he shall not know whence it cometh." ECCLESIASTICUS 27: 25-27. "How is it that no man tries to search into himself, but each fixes his eyes on the wallet of the one who goes before him?"-PLAUTUS B.C. 254?-184. Referring to Æsop's fable of two bags that Jupiter is said to have hung on men, the one in front being filled with the faults of the wearer's neighbor and the one on the back with the wearer's vices. "He who accuses another of wrong should look well into his own conduct."-PLAUTUS. "Frothy, who that hath an heed of verre GEOFFREY CHAUCER, A.D. 1340-1400, Troilus & Cressida. "Then Eld took heart and was hastily shriven Gave gold, good measure that gladdened his heart. Life believed that leechcraft should stay the steps of Eld WILLIAM LANGLAND, A.D. 1330-1400, Piers Plowman. |