Fiat Justitia ruat Cælum.

This phrase, used by Lord Mansfield in the case of King vs. Wilkes, Burrow's Reports, vol. iv., 2562 (A. D.) 1768, is found in Ward's Simple Cobbler of Aggawam in America. (First printed in 1647.)

God always favours the heaviest battalions.

Deos fortioribus adesse.

Tacitus, Hist. Book iv. xvii. Dieu est d'ordinaire pour les contre les petits.

Bussy Rabutin, Lettres, iv. 91.

gros

escadrons

Oct. 18, 1677.

Le nombre des sages sera toujours petit. Il est vrai qu'il est augmenté; mais ce n'est rien en comparaison des sots, et par malheur on dit que Dieu est toujours pour les gros bataillons.

Voltaire to M. Le Riche, February 6, 1770.

When Adam dolve, and Eve span,
Who was then the gentleman?

Lines used by John Ball, to encourage the Rebels in
Wat Tyler's Rebellion. Hume's History of Eng-
Vol. i. Ch. 17, Note 8.

land.

Now bething the, gentilman,

How Adam dalf and Eve span.

From a MS. of the 15th Century in the Brit

ish Museum. Songs and Carols.

The same proverb existed in German.

(Prov. No. 264).

So Adam reutte, und Eva span ;
Wer was da ein eddelman.

Agricola

Die in the last ditch.

To William of Orange may be ascribed this saying. When Buckingham urged the inevitable destruction which hung over the United Provinces, and asked him whether he did not see that the Commonwealth was ruined, “There is one certain means," replied the prince, "by which I can be sure never to see my country's ruin, I will die in the last ditch." Hume, History of England.

A Rowland for an Oliver.

1672.

These were two of the most famous in the list of Charlemagne's twelve peers; and their exploits are rendered so ridiculously and equally extravagant by the old romancers, that from thence arose that saying, amongst our plain and sensible ancestors, of giving one a "Rowland for his Oliver," to signify the matching one incredible lie with another. Thomas Warburton.

All is lost save honour.

It was from the imperial camp near Pavia, that Francis the First, before leaving for Pizzighettone, wrote to his mother the memorable letter which, thanks to tradition, has become altered to the form of this sublime laconism: "Madame, tout est perdu fors l'honneur."

The true expression is, “Madame, pour vous faire savoir comme se porte le reste de mon infortune, de toutes choses ne m'est demeuré que l'honneur et la vie qui est sauve."

Martin, Histoire de France. Tom. viii.

Hobson's choice.

Tobias Hobson was the first man in England that let out hackney horses. When a man came for a horse, he was led into the stable, where there was a great choice, but he obliged him to take the horse which stood next to the stable door; so that every customer was alike well served according to his chance, from whence it became a proverb, when what ought to be your election was forced upon you, to say "Hobson's choice." Spectator. No. 509.

Put your trust in God, my boys, and keep your powder dry.

Colonel Blacker, Oliver's Advice. 1834

There is a well-authenticated anecdote of Cromwell. On a certain occasion, when his troops were about crossing a river to attack the enemy, he conIcluded an address, couched in the usual fanatic terms in use among them, with these words: "Put your trust in God; but mind to keep your powder dry." Hayes's Ballads of Ireland. Vol. i. p. 191.

Am I not a man and a brother?

From a medallion by Wedgwood (1768), representing a negro in chains, with one knee on the ground, and both hands lifted up to heaven. This was adopted as a characteristic seal by the Antislavery Society of London.

For angling-rod, he took a sturdy oak;
For line a cable, that in storm ne'er broke;

His hook was baited with a dragon's tail,
And then on rock he stood to bob for whale.
From The Mock Romance, a rhapsody attached to The
Loves of Hero and Leander, published in London in
the years 1653 and 1677. Chambers's Book of Days.
Vol. i. p. 173.

In Chalmers's British Poets the following is ascribed to William King (1663–1712).

His angle-rod made of a sturdy oak;

His line a cable which in storms ne'er broke ;
His hook he baited with a dragon's tail,
And sat upon a rock, and bobbed for whale.

Upon a Giant's Angling.

As good as a play.

An exclamation of Charles II. when in Parliament attending the discussion of Lord Ross's Divorce Bill.

The king remained in the House of Peers while his speech was taken into consideration, a common practice with him; for the debates amused his sated mind, and were sometimes, he used to say, as good as a comedy.

Macaulay, Review of the Life and Writings of
Sir William Temple.

When in doubt, win the trick.

Hoyle, Twenty-four Rules for Learners. Rule 12.

Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.

From an inscription on the cannon near which the ashes of President John Bradshaw were lodged, on the top of a high hill near Martha Bay in Jamaica.

Stiles's History of the Three Judges of King Charles I.

This supposititious epitaph was found among the papers of Mr. Jefferson, and in his handwriting. It was supposed to be one of Dr. Franklin's spiritstirring inspirations.

Randall's Life of Jefferson. Vol. iii. p. 585.

Nation of shopkeepers.

From an oration purporting to have been delivered by Samuel Adams at the State House in Philadelphia, August 1, 1776. Philadelphia, printed, London, reprinted for E. Johnson, No. 4 Ludgate Hill. MDCCLXXVI.1

To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations. Vol. ii. Book

iv. Ch. vii. Part 3. 1775.

And what is true of a shopkeeper is true of a shopkeeping nation.

Tucker, Dean of Gloucester.

Tract. 1766.

1 No such American edition has ever been seen, but at least four copies are known of the London issue. A German translation of this oration was printed in 1778, perhaps at Berne; the place of publication is not given. Wells's Life of Adams.

LL