Each bird whistles its own note.

What a loss it would be to the harmonies of nature if all sang alike! The charm of creation lies very much in its variety. Let each man, like each bird, praise God in his own way.

 

Each blade of grass has its own drop of dew.

Nothing is forgotten in the economy of providence, or in that of grace. The Lord will not pass by "even me."

 

Each day bringeth its own tears:

Add not to them by thy fears.

Go on, bravely hoping for better things. Forebodings are but superfluous loadings.

Do your best,

And leave the rest.

 

Each day has its care; but each care has its day.

It will not last for ever. If joy be fleeting, so is grief.

 

Each New Year brings death more near.

For we grow older and weaker, and

Time fleeth away

Without delay.

 

Early risers gain the dew of the day.

One of the most beautiful sights is the rising sun, and one of the most delicious sensations is to feel the morning's freshness; but those who prefer longer sleep say that at an early hour the world is not properly aired, and the chill is not taken off the air. When early worms are being caught, those which are not yet up are out of harms way.

 

Early up, and never the nearer.

A man might as well keep in bed if he does not rightly use his time after he has risen. The main matter is not rising early, but well spending the day.

 

Early winter, surly winter.

Of the truth of this maxim I can say nothing; but there is always more or less of truth in these old adages.

 

Early to bed and early to rise,

Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

This saying must stand against all cavil: it is the teaching of ancient wisdom, and of modern observation. Yet there may be some truth in Archbishop Whately's jocose remark, that he should not get up early ; for when he once did so, he was proud all the morning, and sleepy all the afternoon. There's a happy medium in this matter. Too little sleep is quite as bad as too much. That is a merry verse in which some lie-a-bed protests against getting up early:--

"Blessed be he who first invented sleep!"

Said Sancho Panza, and I, too, would heap

Blessings unnumbered on his honoured head,

If by some happy chance he were not dead.

Blessings on him, and honoured be his name,

Peaceful his rest, eternal be his fame;

But hang the other chap, whose taste surprising

Made him invent the art of early rising.

 

Earn all you can; save all you can; give all you can.

This, I think, was John Wesley's saying. It embodies much of his shrewd sense and consecration. Some take firstly and secondly; but thirdly is too much for them: giving goes against their grain.

 

Earth knows no joy without alloy.

Show me a land which has mountains without valleys, and I will show you a life which has joys without sorrows.

 

Earthly riches are full of poverty.

There is nothing in them to enrich our nobler part; but much which causes the spirit to feel impoverishment.

 

Ease and honour are seldom bed-fellows.

"Peace with Honour" was a pretty motto; but ease and honour are by no means Siamese twins. In the end of life a man may look for otium cum dignitate, but in earlier days he must forego ease for the dignity of labour. A work that is as easy to be done as 'tis to say Jack Robinson, brings no great honour to the doer.

 

East or west, home is best.

Foreign travel pleases for a season, but the heart turns to home as the needle to the pole. He has no home who does not love it dearly.

 

Easy come, easy go.

Those who get money in heaps, without labour, are apt to use it recklessly. Labour in gaining it teaches the value of property.

 

Easy to say, but hard to do.

Jaw-work is a deal easier than life-work. You may say, "Snuff the moon," but it would need a long arm to do it.

 

Eat not mustard only, but try a little beef

Advice to those who want to hear constant denunciations of error, but care not for a clear exposition of gospel truth.

 

Eat thy food at leisure;

Drink thy drink by measure.

Hurried eating creates indigestion, and excessive drinking is even worse, whatever the drink may be.

 

Eaten bread is soon forgotten.

But it should not be so. Gratitude should be natural to us, and abiding with us; but, alas! at God's hand we have received life itself, and yet we forget him. Let us not live like hogs under the oak, which eat the acorns, but thank not the tree.

 

Eating little, and talking little, harm but little.

 

Economy makes much out of little.

A penny saved is twopence clear;

A pin a clay's a groat a year.

 

Edged tools, and sacred things, are dangerous playthings.

He must be short of wit who makes fun of holy texts. It is like Belshazzar drinking wine out of the vessels of God's sanctuary.

 

Elbow grease makes wealth increase.

 

Elbow polish makes old chairs new.

This said elbow polish, or elbow grease, is a fine article in a household, and beats bear's grease and goose grease into fits.

 

Employment brings enjoyment.

Laziness is misery. Stagnant pools breed foul creatures.

 

Empty tubs are easily rolled.

When there is nothing in a man he has no stability, but is easily persuaded and deluded. A drunkard said he was sure the world was round, for he rolled about so; and certain others have a sort of mental reeling which can only come of emptiness.

 

Empty vessels make the most noise.

He who ought to be quiet

Is the man for a riot.

 

End a quarrel before it begins.

Put out the fire of strife before it fairly burns.

 

Enjoyment needeth not excess.

 

Enough is a feast, if thou be not a beast.

And many beasts will leave off as soon as they are supplied. Men, alas! are to be found who glory in gluttony, and dote on drunkenness. These are not men, but walking swill-tubs. Let us not even laugh at them, for they take that as a sort of encouragement.

 

Enough is as good as a cartload.

So long as we have food and raiment, we may be well content to be without the care of riches. Bunyan saith--

"Fulness to such a burden is

That go on pilgrimage;

Here little, and hereafter much,

Is best from age to age."

 

Enough, with most people, means a little more than they have.

A highly respectable and wealthy farmer in Connecticut gives the following as his own experience:--When I first came here to settle, about forty years ago, I told my wife I wanted to be rich. She said she did not want to be rich, all she wanted was enough to make her comfortable. I went to work and cleared up my land. I've worked hard ever since, and got rich--as rich as I want to be. Most of my children have settled about me, and they have all got farms--and my wife ain't comfortable yet!

 

Envy is pained by the pleasure of others.

It is a sickness which is produced by another man's health, a poverty created by a neighbour's wealth. Sometimes it grows out of being superseded: old Tinder Boxes sneer at young Lucifer Matches.

 

Envy shoots at others, but hits itself.

"The envious man is his own tormentor. He feeds and cherishes a viper, which preys upon his own soul. He has to bear both his personal disasters and calamities, and the pain of witnessing the successes and comforts enjoyed by his neighbours. Hence Bion, seeing a man of this character who appeared gloomy and depressed, wittily said: ‘I am sure he has either met with some misfortune himself, or some favourable event has happened to another.’"

 

Equivocation is half-way to lying, and lying is the whole way to hell.

The first part of this is by far too moderate. A writer has truly said that "A sudden lie may be only the manslaughter of truth, but by a carefully constructed equivocation truth is murdered."

 

Ere thou leap see where thou land.

And if thou canst not be sure of a safe and clean landing, don't leap at all.

 

Error in the pulpit is like fire in a hayloft.

It is where it is sure to spread and do mischief.

 

Even a fool speaks a wise word sometimes.

According to the law of chances he should do so; but it is so seldom, that it will not pay to catch cold while waiting for it.

 

Even a ploughman can see who is a true gentleman.

An indescribable something in tone, manner, and spirit will cause the most uncultured mind to see who is the true gentleman, and who is the mere pretender.

 

Even a spark is fire.

A little grace is grace. A sinful desire is sin.

"Think, and be careful what thou art within,

For there is sin in the desire of sin:

Think, and be thankful, in a different case,

For there is grace in the desire of grace."–Byrom.

 

Even among apostles there was a Judas.

In every company we may expect to find one false heart, if not more; nor are we worse off than our Lord.

 

Even an ant can be angry.

Very little men can have very lively tempers.

 

Even if a pig does fly, it is a queer bird.

Saul among the prophets is unprofitable. Some men are awkward at anything good, great, or generous: their nature cannot rise to it.

 

Even if you eat the pudding, don't swallow the bag.

Set some limit to your credulity: don't believe every detail of a romantic story. Or the proverb may mean--Don't go the whole hog. Draw a line somewhere. Be not a thick and thin supporter of a doubtful cause. Do not vote black white to serve your party.

 

Even inconsistent men praise consistency.

By some ingenious theory they try to prove that their own circle is " a square with a circumbendibus"; but they admire the square which does not need such squaring.

 

Even Solomon was not always wise.

Indeed he was the greatest fool of his time. He was always the most knowing, but not always the wisest man.

 

Even white lies are black.

A lie of any sort is evil. Lying in jest is sinning in earnest.

 

Evening red and morning grey,

Hopeful signs of a fine day.

These weather signs depend upon locality, and it is the height of folly to apply to India, or even to Italy, the proverbs of Great Britain. Every land has its own weather-wise men.

 

Every ass thinks itself worthy to stand with the King's horses.

But thinking does not make it so. Poor ass!

 

Every bean has its black.

Every man has his faults as surely as the bean has its black eye.

 

Every bird favours its own nest.

Of course it does. There's no place like home, even though it be a palace. He who loves not home deserves to be homeless

 

Every bullet hath its billet.

There are no chance-shots. An overruling providence arranges even the hurly-burly of battle. The arrow which pierces between the joints of the harness bears a message from God.

 

Every cat should mind its own kittens.

It is to be hoped that there are very few women like that minister's wife, whose children were allowed to go to ruin while their mother was presiding at sewing societies, where the ladies made knickerbockers for nigger-boys.

 

Every cock may crow on his own dunghill.

But he had better confine his crowing to his own dominions. A certain man's motto was, "While I live I'll crow"; but he did not live by his crowing.

 

Every cook bastes the fat joint, and the lean one burns.

If it is not so in the kitchen, it is so in the world. Anyone would make a present to the Queen, but how many will help poor Jack? So long as you need nothing, friends are liberal; when it comes to downright want, you are fortunate if anyone notices you.

 

Every cook praises his own broth.

But perhaps everyone else is blowing upon it.

 

Every dog has his day.

And every day has its dog; but the day is not much the better for the dog, nor is the dog the better for his day. When a swaggering fellow is to the front, the comfort is that his day is only a day. But the dog-days are long ones. It is not insulting to call men dogs, for that learned pundit Tom Hood says:--

"Most doggedly I do maintain,

And hold the dogma true--

That four-legged dogs although we see,

We've some that walk on two."

 

Every dog may bark before his own kennel.

It would be well for the quiet of the neighbourhood if he would not bark anywhere else. Some dogs bark indiscriminately, so that Hood said:--

I've heard of physic thrown to dogs,

And very much incline

To think it true; for we've a pack

Who only bark and w(h)ine."

 

Every donkey likes to hear himself bray.

He has a great ear for his own music, and, therefore, he lifts up his voice with confidence.

 

Every drop helps to make the ocean.

"Little drops of water,

Little grains of sand,

Make the mighty ocean,

And the beauteous land:

And the little moments,

Humble though they be,

Make the mighty ages

Of eternity."

 

Every fool will give advice, but few of them will take it.

Indeed it needs much good sense to be willing to be advised. The humility and self-diffidence which will submit to be led by the wisdom of the really prudent are rarer than we think.

 

Every gardener should kill his own weeds.

This, however, many fail to do, because they are hard at work over the road in other people's grounds, where they are not wanted. Hunt your own dandelions, and dig your own docks.

 

Every generation needs regeneration.

None needs it more than the present.

 

Every girl can keep house better than her mother till she tries.

This is the fault of many young folk: they know nothing about a matter, but yet feel that they could do the business in first-rate style. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the proof of the work is in the doing and the lasting.

 

Every goat must graze where he is tied.

A man must live where providence has placed him.

 

Every heart hath its own ache.

There's a skeleton in every house, a crook in every lot.

 

Every herring must hang by its own head.

"Every man must bear his own burden." We must personally answer for our own actions.

 

Every ladder has a top round to it, and few are on it.

There's always room at the top. Mediocrity has its crowd, but excellence has a small company. Competition grows less the more first-class the workman becomes.

 

Every lamb knows its dam.

Yes, and every dam knows its lamb. See how soon they find each other out when mixed up in a field!

 

Every little fish expects to be a whale.

But it will not be. If all fish were whales, the sea would want enlarging. What would the streams and brooklets do for fish?

 

Every man can be handled if you find out his handle.

There's a joint in the harness of the invulnerable, and a soft place in the man of iron.

"So in the hardest human heart

One little well appears,

A fountain in some hidden part,

Brimful of gentle tears.

It only needs the master touch

Of love's or pity's hand,

And lo! the rock with water bursts,

And gushes o'er the land."

 

Every man cannot be Bishop of London.

What would Littleton-in-the-Marsh do for a curate if all were bishops? Where would the cash come from to support their dignity?

 

Every man cannot be purveyor of cat's-meat to Her Majesty.

Such eminence only awaits a mere handful of sublime officials.

 

Every man cannot do everything.

The men of the Encyclop dia were wonderful persons, but they disproved their own hopes. They aimed at knowing everything, but never reached it. No man can be good in every department. The law of division of labour is correct, and the divine plan of division of talents is the best for all concerned.

 

Every man carries an enemy inside his own waistcoat.

He had better watch that fellow well, or he will be stabbing at his heart, or tampering with his conscience.

 

Every man is a volume, if you know how to read him.

Some seem like Hebrew, which needs to be taken backwards; and many are in too small print to be read at all. In all we find errata, and in some a sheet left out: but there's something to be learned from all; although some men are such books as Charles Lamb spoke of–"things in book's clothing," not much above the level of draught-boards bound and lettered on the back.

 

Every man is after all the man.

There's but one wise man in the world,

And who do you think it be?

'Tis this man, that man, t'other man:

Every man thinks 'tis he.

 

Every man is either a fool or a physician at forty.

He ought by then to be able to doctor and diet himself. We know some friends who are fifty, who are neither fools nor physicians, but a little of both.

 

Every man is the best interpreter of his own words.

Let him, therefore, be understood in his own sense, and much wrangling will be avoided.

 

Every man knows his own business best.

Or at least he should do so, and he will not like your interfering. He who tried to teach a dog how to gnaw bones learned something himself which he would like to forget.

 

Every man knows where his own shoe pinches.

It will be needless for him to tell anyone else, for that will not help him, and probably no one will understand him. Every shoe pinches more or less, but it's usually the fault of the foot.

 

Every man's garden has a weak spot in the fence.

The foxes, big and little, will get in where the wall is broken down. Let us watch with double diligence over those points of character in which we are feeblest; and there are such.

 

Every "may-be" hath a "may-not-be."

Therefore let us not be too sure. The reader may be Lord Mayor, but he may not be. This book may sell, and it may not sell.

 

Every misery spared is a mercy bestowed.

Every monkey has his tricks.

Spoken of larkish fellows who annoy people with their follies.

 

Every one feels the cold according as he is clad.

Where the garments of faith and patience are worn, the Arctic winter of poverty is endured without harm; but trying circumstances freeze the life out of some men, because their religion is a dreadfully thin and flimsy fabric.

 

Every one for himself is the pig's doctrine.

And there area great many believers in it. The worshippers of Number One are numerous, and enthusiastic. Self is the man!

As I walked by myself, I said to myself,

And myself said again unto me:

"Look to thyself, take care of thyself,

For nobody cares for thee."

 

Every one is wise after the business is over.

This is the especial wisdom of the unwise. Yet we could all do much better if we had to do it over again: at least, we think so. We are fools enough to imagine that we should not be fools again!

 

Every one must row with the oars he has.

This is wisdom. Instead of quarrelling with our tools, let us do our best with them. Paddle your own canoe with such paddles as come to hand.

 

Every one takes his pleasure where he finds it.

Hence a man's pleasures become the index of his character. If he takes pleasure in sin, it is because he loves it. If he frequents the pit, it is because he is going there.

 

Every one thinks he could have done better.

Had he been consulted, mistakes would have been avoided, and grander results would have been obtained. Others may be all very well; but we live at Nonsuch House, in the parish of Nonpareil.

 

Every one to his liking, as the man said when he kissed his cow.

Happily, in this case, the kissing would neither involve an action for assault, nor excite another man's jealousy concerning the lady. There is no accounting for tastes.

 

Every one thinks his own sack to be the heaviest.

Each one thinks his lot the worst; but he is mistaken. If he thought himself the worst of the lot he might be right.

 

Every one will be thy friend,

Whilst thou hast wherewith to spend;

But if store of crowns be scant,

No man will supply thy want.

We fear this is too often the fact; but assuredly it is not always so, nor is it often so with gracious men.

 

Every path hath its puddle.

No man's life is quite beyond rebuke: no man's course is without its difficulties and sorrows.

 

Every pea helps to fill the sack.

Every worshipper increases the congregation, every member helps to make up the church, every penny enlarges the collection

 

Every pedlar sells the very best pins.

At least he says so, and he ought to know.

 

Every pig can grunt.

It needs no genius to grumble and find fault. He who can do nothing else is often great in this art. Let the creature grunt.

 

Every poor man is a fool in the judgment of a fool.

The same fool considers every wealthy person to be a paragon of wisdom. The poorest twaddle is eloquence when it comes from a nobleman's mouth. Lord Fitznoodle is the patron saint of fools.

 

Every potter praises his own pot.

If he does not do so, who will? Potters cannot afford to keep trumpeters, and therefore they praise their own ware. We all do so, more or less. This proverb often runs, "Every potter praises his own pot, and all the more if it is cracked." Does not self-praise imply a crack somewhere?

 

Every question is not for me to answer.

If I attempt to do so I shall show my ignorance. "Teach thy tongue to say ‘I do not know,’" is a Talmudic proverb.

 

Every smith should shoe his own mare.

We should take care that our own household is not neglected, because we are looking after others. Note the lament of the spouse: "They made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept." Cant. i. 6.

 

Every sot will go to pot.

First for a drain, and then to be drained dry by his expenditure.

 

Every sprat nowadays styles itself a herring.

John Foster declares that two of the most egotistic persons he ever met with were a chimney-sweep and a breaker of stones on the highway.

 

Every time the sheep bleats it loses a mouthful.

Solid profit is lost when time is wasted in idle talk.

 

Every tub must stand on its own bottom.

We are individually accountable, and no one can hide behind another, so as to justify himself.

 

Every vine must have its stake.

Each one needs some support, as the vine does.

 

Every why hath its wherefore.

The toughest question can be answered by some one, though we cannot handle it, and need not wish to do so. Practical questions are easily met. "One of my friends observed yesterday that it was a difficulty in many cases to know wherefore God contended with us. But, I thought, that it was no difficulty with me."--So wrote Andrew Fuller.

 

Everybody cannot be first.

Everybody would like to be. If we would become candidates for the lowest place we should gain the election without opposition.

 

Everybody is glad when the smiter is smitten.

Or when "the biter is bitten." The natural instinct of justice is gratified by seeing the lex talionis in operation.

 

Everybody lays the load on the willing horse.

But it is a very thoughtless and shameless thing to do no.

 

Everybody wears out one pair of green slippers.

And he is a wise man if he soon throws them away, and afterwards wears the shoes of common sense, or the boots of prudence.

 

Everybody who carries a horsewhip is not a horseman.

Yet he would like us to think so. He used to be known as "a gent." The proverb applies to all who have the outward sign of a craft, a profession, or a proficiency, but have not the thing itself.

 

Everybody's friend is everybody's fool.

He is so easy that people think him soft, and ridicule him behind his back; while he thinks himself immensely popular.

 

Everybody's friend is nobody's friend.

His universal generosity lies all in talk. He is not to be depended on. He is always helping so many that he cannot come to your aid.

 

Everybody's work is nobody's work.

A horse would starve if it had twenty grooms to feed it; for each groom would leave it to the rest. The people who projected the tower of Babel said, "Letus build "; but as they were all builders, the works have not yet been completed. Noah built the ark, for he was one man; but all the men in the world, when formed into a committee, could not finish a tower.

 

Everything comes to the man who can wait.

It is only a matter of time. Patience beholds great wonders. In spiritual things, if we watch and wait, we shall see glorious things.

 

Everything is hard at first.

The simplest trade is difficult to the beginner; but the most difficult art becomes quite easy by practice.

 

Everything may be repaired except the neck-bone.

While there's life there's hope. After the rope there's no hope.

 

Everything that happens is but a link in a chain.

Like texts of Scripture, facts should be viewed in their connection, and this often corrects our view of them. One thing draws on another, and often accounts for, and justifies it.

 

Evil cannot be conquered by evil.

Satan will not cast out Satan: we must overcome evil by good Anger is not to be met with anger, nor cunning with cunning.

 

Evil communications divide near relations.

Wicked tittle-tattle, exaggeration, and insinuation have parted very friends, and rent families with enmity. No quarrel is so bitter as a family quarrel. Home-made wine makes sharp vinegar.

 

Evil deeds are evil seeds.

What will come of them will be a harvest which will crash the reapers. Joseph Cook calls sin "an eternal mother."

 

Evil for good is devil-like.

Evil for evil is beast-like.

Good for good is man-like.

Good for evil is God-like.

There is much sense in these four lines. I well remember learning them as a child, and I know the good effect which they had upon my moral judgment. Let your son and heir get them by heart.

 

Evil reports find willing ears.

Sad fact that it is so; but assuredly there is everywhere a fine market for rotten cheese. What better sport can be found for many than ferreting out the rats in a friend's character!

 

Evil words cut worse than swords.

 

Evils for which we must blame ourselves are hard to bear.

They have a sting in them, because conscience condemns.

 

Ewes dressed like lambs are silly shams.

Elderly women who trick themselves out like girls are commonly called, "Old ewes dressed lamb-fashion." Are they aware of this? Why do they provoke such remarks?

 

Exalt wisdom, and she will exalt thee.

 

Example draws where precept fails;

And sermons are less read than tales.

If the words of the wise are "as nails," their examples are as hammers. What's the use of a nail if you cannot drive it in?

 

Example is the school of mankind; and they will learn at no other

Examples preach to the eye, and leave a deeper impress than counsel addressed to the ear. As children like pictures better than letterpress, so do men prefer example to precept. There is no doubt about the truth of this proverb, so far as evil examples are concerned, but, of good examples, it has been said that, "They would indeed be excellent things, were not people so modest that none will set them, and so vain that none will follow them."

 

Exchange is no robbery; but on it there is jobbery.

So we have heard; but the information has come from those who have lost money by speculation, and theirs is hardly an impartial report. We guess that if they had made a profit they would have thought the exchange to be the Temple of Honesty. Exchange may be robbery, as when a man knowingly takes a better hat or umbrella than his own.

 

Exercise is the best fire for cold limbs.

So father Hodge would not let the boys stand shivering over the fire, but drove them out hedging and ditching, or ploughing, and then they came in warm as a toast.

 

Expand your chest by enlarging your heart.

Many a man has found his chest enlarge, or rather his estate increased, when he has begun to use his substance for the good of others.

 

Expect from the world more kicks than half-pence.

This is called "monkey's allowance", but it usually falls to the lot of good men.

 

Expect nothing from those who promise a great deal.

Their readiness to promise should make you more than a little suspicious. They would not issue so many bank-notes if they had to keep enough gold in the cellar to meet them.

 

Expect soot from a sweep.

If a man blackens you by abuse, but is himself of evil character, never mind it; above all do not follow soot.

 

Expect to be disappointed, and you will be.

For, even if no disappointment comes, you will be disappointed in the expectation which is herein recommended.

 

Expectation is the fool's income.

He is always looking for something which has never yet occurred, and never will occur in his time. His ship is to come home; but as yet it is not launched. He has an estate somewhere, which is to come to him when we have a week all Sundays, but at present the rightful owner is depriving him of it.

 

Expensive wife makes pensive husband.

When the draper's bill drains his pocket, the poor man thinks more than he dares to say. The arithmetic of a good wife is very different. She adds to his happiness, subtracts from his cares, multiplies his joys, divides his sorrows, and practises reduction in the expenditure of his household.

 

Experience teaches nothing to a simpleton, not even that fire burns.

We have known foolish persons injured by vice, and yet they have returned to it as speedily as they could; and we have met with persons who have lost their money by gambling go to it again as soon as they could scrape together another pound. The moth will not learn from its singed wings.

 

Extravagance is the common disease of the times.

Is it not so? Does not every one live at a rate which would have frightened his father? Is this the way to promote national wealth?

 

Extremes meet, but extremes are not meet.

Do not the golden mean exceed,

In word, in passion, or in deed.

 

Eye-servants are eye-sores.

One cannot bear to see them hard at work in your presence, when you know that the moment your back is turned they will be wasting their time. We must mind that we do not become eye-servants ourselves. We must remember the couplet--

Live not only to the eye,

Sin is sin though none be nigh.

 

 

Sayings of a more Spiritual Sort.

 

Early piety leads to eminent piety.

It will be found, upon investigation, that the most of those who become notable for godliness are those who from childhood have feared the Lord. Beginning early, they have time to ripen.

 

Earth is our inn: heaven is our home.

We may well put up with discomfort in this world, for we shall soon be away from it; it is only for a few days that we accept its hospitality. Archbishop Leighton often said that if he were to choose a place to die in, he would choose an inn; for it looked like a pilgrim going home, to whom this world was all as an inn, and who was weary of the noise and confusion in it. He had his desire, for he died at the Bell Inn, in Warwick Lane.

 

Earth's sorrows are soothed by heaven's sympathy.

 

E'er since I knew the Lord aright,

I'd dwell with him from morn till night.

Experience of God's goodness breeds an intense longing to abide in constant communion with him.

 

Empty your bucket before you draw from the well.

Feel your own need, and your inability to supply it, before you go to the fulness of Christ for the supplies which are treasured up in him. He wants nothing from you but your necessity.

 

Enthusiasm is essential to the triumph of truth.

It is not true that truth is mighty, and will prevail, if it be left to lie on the shelf neglected, or if it be only taught by frozen lips. Truth set on fire will burn its way, like flame on the prairie; but the fire of enthusiasm is absolutely needful.

 

Eternity is the lifetime of the Almighty.

 

Even apostles would be apostates did not grace prevent.

 

Even in light matters get light from heaven.

We mostly make our worst mistake where mistake seems impossible. We stumble most on level ground. How plain seemed the case of the Gibeonites to Israel, but Israel erred!

 

Even in small things there is a great providence.

Or if there were not, we should be in great trouble before long, for the great things would go away. The small things are the pivots of history, the hinges of change, the linch-pins of continuance.

 

Every lock of sorrow has a key of promise to fit it.

 

Every man in Christ is not a man in Christ.

He may not yet have come to ripeness of spiritual manhood, even though, as a man, he is in Christ by living faith.

 

Every man is born a Pharisee.

Human nature is proud, self-righteous, and disdainful of others.

 

Every member of Christ hath the whole of Christ.

Christ's whole person and work belong to each individual believer, as truly as if there were none besides himself to enjoy it.

 

Every road leads to London.

This saying was used right well by an old minister in instructing a younger one. "Every sermon," said he, "must have Christ in it. The way to preach is to find out the way from your text to the Lord Jesus, and then travel along the road. As every little hamlet has a road to London, so every Scriptural subject leads to Jesus." "But," said the young beginner, "suppose there is no road from my text to Christ; what then?" "My friend," replied the elder man, "you must not suppose anything of the sort, for it would not be true; but even if it were true, you must make a road; or even go over hedge and ditch, for you must get to Jesus before you have done."

 

Evil society is the death of piety.

He cannot smell sweetly who sleeps in a bed of garlic.

 

Exalt him who has exalted you.

I will exalt thee, Lord of hosts,

For thou'st exalted me;

Since thou hast silenced Satan's boasts,

I'll therefore boast in thee.

 

Expect much from the Creator, and little from the creature.

Experience and instruction are the way to perfection.