Proverbial Wisdom

Express the idea behind each of these proverbs using different words as much as you can.

589. They only babble who practise not reflection.

Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816)

Pizarro (Elvira), Act I, Scene I

590. Generous commerce binds
The round of nations in a golden chain.

James Thomson (1700-1748)

Seasons, Summer, line 138

591. If the past is not to bind us, where can duty lie? We should have no law but the inclination of the moment.

George Eliot (1819-1880)

The Mill on the Floss (Maggie), Bk VI, Ch. XIV

592. Laws are vain, by which we right enjoy,
If kings unquestioned can those laws destroy.

John Dryden (1631-1700)

Absalom and Achitophel, Pt I, line 763

593. Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law.

Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774)

The Traveller, line 386

594. Damn with faint praise.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

Prologue to the Satires