64 SPECIMENS OF COMPOSITION. 



57. Oliur) ti ise olini) abnkuq ki d mdli se si omo-enikecUi eni. 



Thing ri'fuch is thing of coyitempt that we not do to fellow-man of one. 

 A contcmjJtuous action should not he done to one^s fellow-man. 



58. Abule ui mu aso ilo to ; eui ti ko ba se tndin abuk^, yi o 6e 



Patch it-is makes cloth last lony ; one who not * does look-to 2^n<c/(, he will make 



ard r^ li ofo aso. 

 self his in want of clothing. 



Patching makes a garment last long ; one who does not attend to jxttching will come to want 

 clothes. — A man who neglects the little atFairs of bis business will fail, or come to want. 



59. Bi A ti rai) ni ni ise, li d cl^e ; bi iwo ba seni si i, aclabowo 



As they * send one on message, it-is we deliver it ; if thou * add to it, responsibilitg 



ard re. . 



of self thy. 



As one is sent on a message, so he should delii<er it ; if thou add anything to it, it is on thy 

 oxon responsibility. 



60. Adtii) dorikodo 6 i)w6 ise eiye gbogbo. 



Bat hangs-head-down it is-watching work of birds all. 



The bat hangs suspended loith its head dotvn watching the actions of all birds. — This proverb 

 is probably designed to teach silent observation. 



61. () dz8 aiye dzii alaiye loh. 



He eats world more than owner of world going. 



He enjoys the world more than the oumer of the %mrld. — Said of extravagant persons. 



62. Dulum6 ekpa li oroq sese, ii diebi oraq wo ti. 



Slander of ground-pea, on neck of white-pea, it condemns the-cause to-entcr to fail. 



The slander of the ground-jjca against the tohite field-pea falls upon itself. — Designed to show 

 that a slanderer may injure himself more than he injures another. 



63. Obduidie o ba ard re die. 

 Injurer he * body his injures. 



He who injures another brings injury upo7i himself. 



64. Abanidie mak bd ni se ifd enia ; eni ti o die didoij ni idie kikaq. 

 Guest who not with one is profit of /(CJ-wn ; one who he eats sweet it-is eats sotcr. 



So is a guest who is no advantage to a person ; he who eats the sweet should also eat the sour. — 

 Said of persons who live on others, and will not assist in the labors of the family. 



57. Ohuq abukili), a contemp>tuous action or word ; — ki a m4h se, we should not do (§ 145, 2). 



58. Ba, after cniti (§ l.'iO). 



59. Bi . . . ti, as ;— ba, after bi, if (§ 139). 



61. Dzaiye (die aiye), to enjoy the world ; — loh, pleonastic. 



62. This proverb is highly idiomatic and therefore difficult : ii oroi) refers to an accusation : 6 f i 6se rB 

 li oroi) mi, he charged his sin upon me ; — tl implies /arVaj-e ; 6 ko ile ti, he built a house failed, i. e. began 

 to build and could not finish ; — diebi orai) w6 ti, means that the condemnation recoiled on the accuser. 



63. ba . . . die, to injure. 



64. The relative is omitted before mAh, not ; — ni idzc ; obligation is frequently expressed by the indicative 

 form of the verb. 



i 



