ent to
these publications in England, that in Italy, Angelus Monozini, in 1604,
published his collection; and Julius Varini, in 1642, produced his
_Scuola del Vulgo_. In France, Oudin, after others had preceded him,
published a collection of French proverbs, under the title of _Curiosites
Francoises_. Fleury de Bellingen's _Explication de Proverbes Francois_,
on comparing it with _Les Illustres Proverbes Historiques_, a subsequent
publication, I discovered to be the same work. It is the first attempt to
render the study of proverbs somewhat amusing. The plan consists of a
dialogue between a philosopher and a Sancho Panca, who blurts out his
proverbs with more delight than understanding. The philosopher takes
that opportunity of explaining them by the events in which they
originated, which, however, are not always to be depended on. A work of
high merit on French proverbs is the unfinished one of the Abbe Tuet,
sensible and learned. A collection of Danish proverbs, accompanied by a
French translation, was printed at Copenhagen, in a quarto volume, 1761.
England may boast of no inferior paroemiographers. The grave and
judicious Camden, the religious Herbert, the entertaining Howell, the
facetious Fuller, and the laborious Ray, with others, have preserved our
national sayings. The Scottish have been largely collected and explained
by the learned Kelly. An excellent anonymous collection, not uncommon, in
various languages, 1707; the collector and translator was Dr. J.
Mapletoft. It must be acknowledged, that although no nation exceeds our
own in sterling sense, we rarely rival the delicacy, the wit, and the
felicity of expression of the Spanish and the Italian, and the poignancy
of some of the French proverbs.

The interest we may derive from the study of proverbs is not confined to
their universal truths, nor to their poignant pleasantry; a
philosophical mind will discover in proverbs a great variety of the most
curious knowledge. The manners of a people are painted after life in
their domestic proverbs; and it would not be advancing too much to
assert, that the genius of the age might be often detected in its
prevalent ones. The learned Selden tells us, that the proverbs of
several nations were much studied by Bishop Andrews: the reason assigned
was, because "by them he knew the minds of several nations, which," said
he, "is a brave thing, as we count him wise who knows the minds and the
insides of men, which is done by k