68 SPECIMENS OF COMPOSITION. 



88. Abetele ni ifod^u oiiidadi;6; notori abetele ki ilfe i^e idddi;o otito. 



Bribe it4s blinds judge ; for bribe not can do judgment of truth. 



A bribe blinds the judge, for a bribe cannot give a true judgment. 



89. Bi 6 kui) oni kur) ola ki ogbe ki 6 kpa agiliti, bdiio k r5. 



If it remains to-day remains to-morrow that thirst that will kill iguana, rain will fall. 

 If there remain to-day or to-morrow before the iguana will die of thirst, it will rain. — De- 

 signed to show the providence of God over his creatures. 



90. Fi id^4 fu Oloruq d^^; fi owo le erdr). 



Give battle to God to-fight ; jmt hand upon temple. 



Leave the battle to God, and rest your temp>le on your hand (as a spectator). — That is trust 

 in God's providence. 



91. Tinotino, t61iii)t61iiq ni labaMba ifi iyiq fu Oloruq. 



Within, without it-is butterfly gives praise to God. 



By its beauty, the butterfly praises God within and without, i. e. in all its parts. 



92. T)i\ agba oti, d^i agba etu ; eni ti d raij wdh, ki id^i agba. 

 Open cask of rum, open cask o^ powder ; one whom they send to-come, not opens cask. 



Open the cask of rum, open the cask of powder (if yours) ; but he that is sent with it does not 

 open the cask. — The Yoruba carriers are remarkably faithful to their trust. 



93. Ogiiq k6 r5 ike, agbede k6 r6 bata; oko k6 ^oro ro, agbede k6 



Ogun not works ivory, smithy not works leather ; farm not is-hard to-till, the smithy not 

 kpa ok6 ik. 

 makes hoes to sell. 



Ogun does not work ivory, the smith does not work leather ; if the farm were not difficult to 

 cultivate, the smith would not make hoes to sell. — That is, every man to his trade. 



94. lie kiiq w^ li Oyo ni igba atidi;o, ti k r)kpe Akidi;e : oib6 

 House one was in Katunga in time of antiquity, which they called Silence : white-man 



kii mb|. 



died there. 



In old times there was a house in Katunga called Silence : a white man died there. 



95. O sure iku, 6 bo si ako Ida. 



He fled death, he entered into scabbard of sword. 



He fled from the sword, and hid in the scabbard. — " He leaped out of the frying-pan into the 

 fire." 



96. A ri ti eni m5 iwi, i fi akpadi bo ti r| mol|. 



We see that one knoivs to-speak, he puts potsherd to-cover that of him up. 



We see that one knows how to speak (the faults of others), although he covers his otan with a 

 potsherd. 



97. A ki igb^ 4kaka low6 akiti; & ki igb^ ile babd lowo eni. 

 We not take squatting from baboon; we not take house of father from one. 



We cannot cure a baboon of squatting (because it is natural to him) ; we cannot take the home- 

 stead from a man (because it is his by natural right). 



93. Oguj) is the god of smiths. 



94. Historical and other facts are frequently transmitted to posterity in proverbial sayings. 

 96. Ti r|, that of him, his. 



