E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Beggar.
A beggar may sing before a pickpocket. (In Latin, “Cantabit vacuus coram latrone viator.”) A beggar may sing before a highwayman because he has nothing in his pocket to lose.
1
Set a beggar on horseback, and he’ll ride to the de’il. There is no one so proud and arrogant as a beggar who has suddenly grown rich.
2
“Such is the sad effect of wealth—rank pride—
Mount but a beggar, how the rogue will ride!”
Peter Pindar: Epistle to Lord Lonsdale.
Latin: “Asperius nihil est humili cum surgit in altum.”
3
French: “Il n’est orgueil que de pauvre enrichi.”
4
Italian: “Il vilan nobilitado non connosce il parentado” (A beggar ennobled does not know his own kinsmen).
5
Spanish: “Quando el villano está en el mulo, non conoze a dios, ni al mundo” (when a beggar is mounted on a mule, he knows neither gods nor men).
