rts of a step-mother, was preparing to land;
already the ship was fastened by its cable to a rock; when the son came
down, and sternly cutting the cable with an axe, sent the ship adrift to
the mercy of the waves: hence, "to cut with the Tenedian axe," became
proverbial to express an absolute refusal. "Business to-morrow!" is
another Greek proverb, applied to a person ruined by his own neglect.
The fate of an eminent person perpetuated the expression which he
casually employed on the occasion. One of the Theban polemarchs, in the
midst of a convivial party, received despatches relating to a
conspiracy: flushed with wine, although pressed by the courier to open
them immediately, he smiled, and in gaiety laying the letter under the
pillow of his couch, observed, "Business to-morrow!" Plutarch records
that he fell a victim to the twenty-four hours he had lost, and became
the author of a proverb which was still circulated among the Greeks.

The philosophical antiquary may often discover how many a proverb
commemorates an event which has escaped from the more solemn monuments
of history, and is often the solitary authority of its existence. A
national event in Spanish history is preserved by a proverb. _Y vengar
quiniento sueldos_; "And revenge five hundred pounds!" An odd expression
to denote a person being a gentleman! but the proverb is historical. The
Spaniards of Old Castile were compelled to pay an annual tribute of five
hundred maidens to their masters, the Moors; after several battles, the
Spaniards succeeded in compromising the shameful tribute, by as many
pieces of coin: at length the day arrived when they entirely emancipated
themselves from this odious imposition. The heroic action was performed
by men of distinction, and the event perpetuated in the recollections of
the Spaniards by this singular expression, which alludes to the
dishonourable tribute, was applied to characterise all men of high
honour, and devoted lovers of their country.

Pasquier, in his _Recherches sur la France_, reviewing the periodical
changes of ancient families in feudal times, observes, that a proverb
among the common people conveys the result of all his inquiries; for
those noble houses, which in a single age declined from nobility and
wealth to poverty and meanness, gave rise to the proverb, _Cent ans
bannieres et cent ans civieres!_ "One hundred years a banner and one
hundred years a barrow!" The Italian proverb, _Con l'Evangilio si