SPECIMENS OF COMPOSITION. 57 



5. Bi od^um6 mo, oldwo gbe 6wo, iranwu A gbe keke, ad^agnq d gbe akpata, 



If dawn dawns, trader takes trade, spinner she takes distaff, warrior he takes shield, 



iwoq^o d bere gbe asa, kghe &, di'A ti oq ti aruko, omo-ode d 

 weaver he stoops to-take sley, farmer he wakes and he and hoe-handle, child-oi-hunting he 



diiX ti akpo ti oroq. 



wakes and quiver and hoio. 



This picturesque proverb, or poem, may be rendered thus — 



When the day dawns, the trader betakes himself to his trade ; 

 The spinner takes her distaff, the warrior takes his shield ; 

 The weaver stoops to take his sley (i. c. bonds over it) ; 

 The farmer awakes, he and his hoe-handle ; 

 The hunter awakes with his quiver and his how. 



It would not be easy to give a more correct description of the usual day-break scene in every 

 Yoruba town. 



6. Ebi k6 kpa Imale, 6 li 6q ki id^e ayd. 



Hunger not affects Mohammedan, he says he not eats monkey. 



When a Mohammedan is not hungry, he says he never eats monkey. But when he is hungry, 

 he is not so scrupulous. 



7. A ki iru eraq eriq li ori ki d ma fi ese tkq ire ni il^. 



One not carries flesh of elephant on head that he may with foot dig crickets in ground. 



One never carries elephant s flesh on his head that he may dig in the ground with his foot for 

 crickets, i. e. one who has a plenty of elephant's meat (which is considered good food) does not 

 put it on his head and go about searching for crickets to eat. The proverb is applied to rich 

 men who stoop to mean actions for the sake of gain. 



8. Kpikpe ni yi 6 kpe, eke k6 mu Srd. 



Long-time it-is it mil he-long, lie not catch body. 



A long time may pass away before one is caught in a lie ; but he will be detected at last. 



9. Amu ni ^e esiq ; ete ti imu ni li agogo imo. 



Making one to-be disgrace ; leprosy which attacks one on point of nose. 



The slanderer brings disgrace on one, like a leprosy which attacks one on the point of the nose, 

 i, e. where all see it. 



10. Abdnise mdh bd ni he. m6. 



Helper not with one acts more. 



He is a helper who helps no more, i. e. he can no longer be depended on. 



5. Bi, if, when ; — a, he or she, pleonastic, as it often is in animated discourse ; — ti . . . ti, and . . . and, or 

 both . . . and. 



6. Ni, to say, becomes ' li ' before a vowel. The construction is participial, that is, no word for if or 

 when is employed at the beginning of the sentence. 



7. Li ori : burdens are commonly carried on the head in Africa ; — ire, a large cricket used for food. 



8. Ar4, body, used for person, as sometimes in English ; eke mu ara, a lie catches a person, an idiomatic 

 form of saying a person is caught in a lie. 



9. Amu ^e esiij, a making or causing to he a disgrace, means simply disgracing, or bringing disgrace on. 



10. Bk...ie (with ...to do or act), a compound transitive verb meaning to help, to aid ; hence abase, he 

 who helps, a helper ;—ii\, one; mi, my ; r§, thy, d-c, may be inserted before se ; as, abdnise, the helper of 

 one, ab^imi^e, 7ny helper, dc. ; — ti, who, is omitted before mah, not ; — mo, again, more, any more. 



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