44 
It has been remarked that the Celtic races are singularly 
lacking in proverbial saws, whereas the less intellectually 
agile Teuton is particularly rich in them. I his may be because 
the quick imagination of the Celt needs not the crutches of 
other men s wisdom. To him invention is easier than re- 
membrance. But Ireland has its characteristic sayings 
which come behind none in picturesqueness and effectiveness. 
A spur m the head is worth two in the heel,” 11 The day of 
the storm is not the time for thatching,” “ The losing horse 
blames the saddle,” are instances which show that in the 
use of these “ edgetools of speech ” Ireland is not to seek. 
Will the proverbs of the past continue to live in the speech 
of the people ? Probably not. The future will devise new 
ways in which experiences will be compressed. But the 
proverb of the morrow and the proverb of the past will no 
doubt agree in their pragmatic teaching, so sane and sound 
on the whole that the best life for men is the life of simplicity 
frankness, and brave effort. 
