114 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



whose language the proverb is about to be translated ; such as, for 

 instance, the common sayings, — " Coals to Newcastle," " The Greek 

 Kalends," "Davy Jones' locker," " Hobson's choice," "Nelson's signal," 

 etc. Now all such short proverbial sayings as these absolutely lose their 

 pregnant meaning when literally translated, and can only be understood 

 upon being fully explained. A notable instance of all this took place here 

 in New Zealand, some twenty-five years ago. The "Pilgrim's Progress," 

 of John Bnnyan, which abounds in homely and useful proverbs and 

 sayings, was translated into the Maori tongue* by order of the Govern- 

 ment, and the translator endeavoured to render all such sayings literally ! 

 The consequence was he completely spoiled his work,— as the mt, the 

 allusion, or apt turn of such a saying could not possibly be so shown in 

 the translation. He might, however, if he had known them sufficiently 

 well, have supplied, in many places, similar and suitable Maori proverbs in 

 then- stead. 



And this will be found to be more or less the case in all languages. 

 Still, the rendering of any of the various European proverbs into another 

 European or Western- Asiatic language than its own vernacular is not so 

 difficult, at all events not under the ^first head, because the animals, plants, 

 metals, and things in general, and their uses, are either the same or well 

 known ; indeed, it is sometimes a difficult matter to ascertain whence the 

 proverb originally sprang — with the Enghsh, the Irish, the Welsh, or the 

 Scotch, or with the British, the French or the German, etc., — seeing such 

 have ever been alike used by all ;f but such a thing can never happen with 

 any Maori proverb, which, however much resembling a European one, 

 must be original ; — while, under the second head, many of them when 

 translated into another European tongue are pretty well understood. But 

 the very contrary of all this is the case in the endeavour to render our 

 English proverbs into Maori, or the Maori proverbs into English. Hence, 

 it will be observed that by far the larger number of the short, sharp, witty, 

 pungent, and popular ones of the Maori, having no equivalents, cannot be 

 readily rendered into English, and, therefore, must necessarily be omitted 

 by me on this occasion. 



* Though a far better translation of the same work had been made nearly twenty 

 years before, by a skilled Maori scholar ; this translation, in MS., I have still by me. 



t As, for instance: — "A'are no frien's that speak fair to you" (S.), "All are not 

 friends that speak us fair" {E.) ; " As the auld cock craws, the young ane learns " (,S.), 

 " As the old cock crows, the young one learns " [E.) ; " As the old cock crows, the young 

 bird chirrups" (I.). Again, "To carry coals to Newcastle" {E.), "To carry saut to 

 Dysart " {S.), " To send water to the sea " [French and German), " To send fir to Norway" 

 (Dutch), are all one and the same proverb as to meaning, but which is the original? 



