(vol. II. p. 336.) He explains it to mean that no good is to be expected from persons naturally depraved.
- 9. Itek ta'suda ayam ta'patok.
"The duck won't have it and the hen won't peek at it." A phrase for something that is utterly worthless, not worth "a brass farthing" or "a tinker's curse"!
- 10. Ikut hati mati, ikut rasa binasa.
""Tis death to follow one's own will, 'tis destruction to give way to desire." A maxim shewing the folly and immorality of taking one's wishes and feelings as the sole guide of one's actions, irrespective of law and social obligations. This is a good specimen of the jingling effect caused by the juxta-position of words which rhyme, (an effect which is perhaps more common in Hindustani than in Malay) often met with in Eastern proverbs.
Compare the following Hindustani proverbs.
"Jiski deg uski leg."
"Who has the pot has the sword," (a saying which shews a proper appreciation of the value of an efficient Commissariat), and,
"Jiske hath dòi, uske hath sab koi"
"He who has the spoon has all under his hand."
- 11. Adapun ikan yang diam didalam tujoh lautan sakali-pun ter-masok didalam pûkat juga.
"Even the fish which inhabit the seventh depth of the sea come into the net sooner or later." Illustration of the inutility of attempting to evade fate.
"Tujoh lautan," which I have translated "the seventh depth, of the sea," probably refers to the popular Mohamedan idea that "the earth and sea were formed each of seven tiers"—see Newbold, (Vol. II, 360.)
- 12. Ada ayer adalah ikan.
"Wherever there is water there are fish." A second line is sometimes aded to complete the rhyme, but it does not add much to the sense; Ada rezeki bulih makan, "if there is nourishment one can eat." The idea intended to be conveyed is one of faith in the bounty of God, who will provide for his creatures whereever they may find themselves.
- 13. Ada padang ada bilalang.
