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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1896 edition. Excerpt: ... "The fox admires the cheese, not the raven."--Page 229. I HAVE heard tell of a man who did not know a great A from a bull's foot, and I know a good many who certainly could not tell what great A or little A either may mean; but some of these people are not the most ignorant in the world for all that. For instance, they know a cow's head from its tail, and one of the election gentlemen said lately that the candidate from London did not know that. They know that turnips don't grow on trees, and they can tell a mangold-wurtzel from a beet root, and a rabbit from a hare, and there are fine folk who play on pianos who hardly know as much as that. If they cannot read they can plough, and mow, and reap, and sow, and bring up seven children on ten shillings a-week, and yet pay their way; and there's a sight of people who are much too ignoiant to do that. Ignorance of spelling books is very bad, but ignorance of hard work is worse. Wisdom does not always speak Latin. People laugh at smock-frocks, and indeed they are about as ugly garments as could well be contrived, but some who wear them are not half such fools as people take them for. If no ignorant people ate bread but those who wear hobnail shoes, corn would be a fine deal cheaper. Wisdom in a poor man is like a diamond set in lead, for none but good judges can discover its value. Wisdom walks often in patched clothes, and then folks do not admire her; but I say, never mind the coat, give me the man: shells are nothing, the kernel is everything. You need not go to Pirbright to find ignoramuses, there are heaps of them near St. Paul's. I would have everybody able to read, and write, and cipher; indeed, I don't think a man can know too much; but mark you, the knowing of these things is not...