That Thing Called Luck

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 187, 25 August 1937, Page 14

That Thing Called Luck

Whai Proverbs Say ] "VTOBODY has been able to .define the word luck in an entirely satisfac- : torv way. We, usually regard it as accidental good, fortune, but many say there 1 is no such thing, and point to the fact ' that "good luck" and "bad luck" imme- « diately place it in the realm of superstition. Luck and superstition certainly ' go hand in hand at times._ Ihe word 1 superstition means that which survives 1 after its companions are dead; Roman soldiers who escaped death from battle j were called superstites and regarded as ^ lucky men. 1 There are many interesting proverbs , regarding luck which prove that people all the world over have thought a good deal about it. There is an Arab pro- 1 verb which says, "Pitch a lucky man ; into the Nile and he will come up with j a fish in his mouth." This corresponds ' with a Spanish proverb which declares, "Give your son luck and then throw hira into the sea." Both these have something ! psychological about them which remind us of the German proveib, "Luck seeks 1 those who flee, and flees those who seek it." Another Spanish proverb says that luck pushes its way by elbbwing, and Goethe wrote that luck irispired pluck. "See a Pin All these proverbs " go' to show that luck is a fragile,' emo'tioiial thing, coming from the outside to begin with, but stirring our imaginations to such • a . degree that personality comes into . play with a power which forces success. To ,pick up a pin in the street before . starting an impprtant undertaking is, if we believe it to be lucky, sufficient to set luck x'olling as it were, and give us the courage that may be lacking. Another German proverb says that too much good luck is" bad luck, and this warns us not to be imgrateful for the good things xvhich happen to us. If we are, we immediately ■ become careless of our intuitions, our emotions, and the spontaneity, which, tised rightly, gives us so much power' that this thing called luck is attracted as by a magnet. An old Ehglish proverb says that luck is-the idol of the idle. Certainly, if we trust to luck and nothing else, for evei waiting for it to turn up, it will probably play us false. Luck likes , to be taken advantage of, but hates being expected as a matter of course. There is nothing rCasonable about it, and most likely we pass it by every day because we are afraid to be ourselves. An Italian proverb says that ill luck rnmes by the pound and goes away by flie rmncc. And somebody once wrote, "Good luck is thc willing handmaiden of upright, encrgctic character, and conscientious observance of duty." Shakt > speare, knowing how * strangely we are made, how we are influencedi by little, peculiar things, how the heart beats high at a good omen, or falls into the boots at a bad one, laughed wisely,. and wrote, "Good luck lies in odd numbers." It is Fcolish to Magnify . . . Troubles— by thinking the worst. Try , ) to think the best and so reduce them to ; the minimum. The virtues of children — to other peo- ' ple. The habit irritates friends and is - bad for the youngsters themselves. > • Little household accidents— when guests i are present. Try not to get excited over : spilt drink, a table burnt by a cigarette i cnd, or some small culinary deficiency. ; Shabby corners in a room— by insisting . 4 on brilliant lights. If it is impossible to

re-decorate at once, be content with very Bubdued lighting in the .main and cons/eniently placed reading lamps. A coming pleasure-^-by great anticipations. To keep conjuring up the de% lights of a holiday, a welcome visit, a party or a dance, is to ■ ask for a certain imount of disappointment when the time comes. Rumours — by believing and passing them on. A thousand ;to one most t>f them are false, and to magnify them pnly results in trouble. Inclination to stoutness— by wearing absurd little hats and the wrong dresses. rake care over clothes and, if possible, consult an expert before buying. Our "Slang" Words. A great many of our slang, words have been so whitewashed by time that they are now considered quite * respectable, and their shady past is almost forgotten. Their origin is difficultito define because there is no means of tracing tfie exact reason for' them, slang having been the secret language of thieves. Our forefathers, who loved scapegoat? and disliked to be blamed for ariythmg which touched their dignity, believed that slang was the language of gipsies, but the word itself appears to be derived from the Norman, and; means nothing less than insulting;language. That thieves used a vocabulary of " their own which was far from polite is well known, and it is supposed that ' certain words became known to more respectable members of society and -were adapted to ordinary speech because they were expressive. Thus slang werit through the phase of being vulgar, "and, although much" of it is still vulgar, there are 'some words which are so • powerful that ' they have been accepted by everybody. A great many odd phrases were once considered slang and are now merely popular terms of expression. To be "down in the dumps" is a- good example. Shalcespeare used the phraSe in "Hie Taming of the ' Shrew": "How now, daughter Katherine, in your dumps?" It is an ancient expression, probably derived from the misadventurss of Dumops, King of Egypt, who" built a pyramid, went to live in it, and died there of melancholy. As the gipsies were once called Egyptians, and it" was believed that they came from Egypt when, for the first time they appeared in Europe in the year 1418, they may possibly be respohsible for the queer saying. An amusing story is told of Ben Jonson and a certain peer of the realm, which has given rise to another- popiilar saying. When introduced to tiie witty Ben the peer was so struck by his imusual appearance tliat he 'said -laugliingly: "You are the famous Ben Joiison? You look as if you could not say Bo to a goosei" "Bo," replied Ben. ... The word Bo is common in old writings. The mythical Bo Was a,fierce soldier, son of Odin, and his name was used by his soldiers to take men by surprise and thus tHrow "them into disorder. It is derived from fhe Latin, meaning to cry out aloud. " The word bogie is supposed to be a little Bo, so, with all these Bos in mind, his lordship obviously had something to go upon when he used the slang term to the famous dramatist. when theatres develooed ceilines, ""hich was not until fairly rnod.ern times. H. was the fashion to paint them blue i;ke the sky and decorate .them with httle Cupids disporting thernselves upon 'at clouds, and those who sat nearest +he Cupids were so obviously among the gods that the term requires no further explanation.