The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (456 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs
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A REED before the wind lives on, while mighty oaks do fall
c
1385
Troilus & Criseyde
II
. 1387
And reed that boweth down for every blast, Ful lightly, cesse wynd, it wol aryse.
1621
Anatomy of Melancholy
II
. iii.
Though I liue obscure, yet I liue cleane and honest, and when as the lofty oake is blowne downe, the silly [frail] reed may stand.
1732
Gnomologia
no. 3692
Oaks may fall, when Reeds stand the Storm.
1954
Journal of Edwin Carp
20
Remembering that ‘a reed before the wind lives on—while mighty oaks do fall,’ I attempted to remove the pencil marks with my pocket eraser.
great and small
;
strength and weakness
There is a REMEDY for everything except death
Cf. medieval L.
contra malum mortis
,
non est medicamen in hortis
, against the evil of death there is no remedy in the garden.
c
1430
Dance of Machabree
(EETS) l. 432
Agens deeth is worth [useful] no medicine.
1573
Garden of Pleasure
52
There is a remedie for all things, sauing for death.
1620
tr.
Cervantes' Don Quixote
II
. lxiv.
There is a remedy for everything but death, said Don Quixote; for tis but hauing a Barke ready at the Sea side, and in spite of all the world we may embarke our selues.
a
1895
My Confidences
(1896) 95
There is a remedy for everything except Death .. so the bitterness of this disappointment has long passed away.
death
;
finality

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