90 MALAY PKOYEKBS. 



(vol. II. p. 336.) He explains it to mean that no g*ood is to be 

 -expected from persons naturally depraved. 



9. Itek ta'sudn ay am ta'patok. 



" The duck won't have it and the hen won't peck at it." A 

 phrase for something' that is utterly worthless, not worth " a 

 brass farthing 1 " or "a tinker's curse"! 



10. Ifcut liati mat}, ihut rasa binasa. 



" 'Tis death to follow one's own will, 'tis destruction to give 

 way to desire." A maxim shewing the folly and immorality of ta- 

 king one's wishes and feelings as the sole guide of one's actions, ir- 

 respective of law and social obligations. This is a good specimen 

 of the jingling effect caused by the juxta-position of words 

 which rhyme, (an effect which is perhaps more common in 

 Hindustani than in Malay) often met with in Eastern proverbs. 



Compare the following Hindustani proverbs. 



" J is ki deg us hi teg." 



" Who has the pot has the sword," (a saying which shews a 

 proper appreciation of the value of an efficient Commissariat), 

 and. 



" Jiske hath dm, uske hath sab hoi. 33 



" He who has the spoon has all under his hand." 



11. Adapun, ikan yang diarn didalam tu.joh I ant an sal- ail- 

 pun ter-masok didalam jm/cat juga. 



" Even the fish which inhabit the seventh depth of the sea 

 come into the net sooner or later." Illustration of the inutility 

 of attempting to evade fate. 



" Tujoh lautan" which I have translated a the seventh depth, 

 of the sea," probably refers to the popular Mohamedan idea that 

 " the earth and sea were formed each of seven tiers" — see 

 Newbold, (Vol. II, 360.) 



12. Ada ayer adalah ikan. 



" Wherever there is water there are fish." A second line is 

 sometimes aded to complete the rhyme, but it does not add much 

 to the sense; Ada rezeki biUih ma Jean , " if there is nourishment 

 one can eat." The idea intended to be conveyed is one of faith 

 in the bounty of God, who will provide for his creatures where - 

 ever they may find themselves. 



13. Ada pa dang ad a bilalang. 



