WISDOM for the WISE LORENZO SOSSO Sowentr Edition Itlustrxted with 20 Beautiful Vfcws of San ^Jrr&ncisco after the Jire SAN FRANCISCO J79 DeLong Av, 1906 All views in this book expressly photographed and herein reproduced with the kind permission of JAMES STODDARD, Photographer, 835 Octavia Street, San Francisco, Cal. Wisdom for the Wise A BOOK OF PROVERBS IN RHYME By Lorenzo Sosso , Author of PROVERBS OF THE PEOPLE w,. 1.0r Souvenir Edition SAN FRANCISCO I 79 De Long Ave. 1906 Copyright By Lorenzo Sosso 1906 O I a D Dedicated to The People of Greater San Francisco With faith in their future With hope in their courage And with charity to all t Greater San Francisco After St. Francis they named thee, my City, Golden the poppies which bloom in thy hair; Could not the Fates in their infinite pity, Seeing thy glory and loveliness, spare ? Stone upon stone have they rent the foundation Whence thou hadst built thee a throne of delight, Filling thy heart with a sad desolation, Earthquake and fire the arms of their might. Yet, although mightily fallen and stricken, Fortitude parried the thrust of the gods; Out of the ashes thy life will requicken, Courage loves fighting 'gainst terrible odds. Give to thy sons of that magical potion Giving thy Argonaut children of yore The brawn of the hills and the salt of the ocean, The talons to pounce and the pinions to soar. Then like a dream in our strength will we build thee Fairer and greater than ever of old; Filling thy homes, as the Pioneers filled thee, With Womanhood fair and with Manhood as bold. With ships from all seas still afloat in thy haven, With all of the wealth of the world at thy gate, He is less than a coward and worse than a craven Who has not the courage to combat with fate. Generous, gracious the world ever found the, Far, far more eager to give than receive; And when the swift hand of destruction discrowned thee With weeping compassion the world came to grieve. Yet sunsets still halo thy hills with tlieir splendor, Ocean still lavishes gems at thy feet, The beautiful valleys around thee surrender Their bountiful treasures of vine and of wheat. O I am proud of thee, glad too, my City, Glad of the poppies which bloom in thy hair; Drink from the cup of the world's love and pity So it may strengthen thy spirit to bear, ^hen will thy people again repossess thee Lovelier yet than of old they possessed; And all of thy sisters in wonder confess thee The beautiful City, the Queen of the West ! PREFACE Wisdom for the Wise who need it More than the babes to whom we feed it. Though not a native, I have been a resident of San Francisco for more than thirty years continuously. Everything which makes the habitation of man dear to his heart abides for me within its precincts, and I have never dreamed of a home away from the circle of its beautiful hills and the glorious bay which surrounds it. With the selfish fondness of a father for his only child, I have watched it grow in splendor and in wealth, and exulted at the strange fascination it exercised over the hearts of men from all lands. 1 have watched the ships sailing and steaming in through the Golden Gate, and they seemed like doves of peace bringing messages of good-will from all the world. In the still night, when the scream of the engine's whistle would reach my ears, I would often reflect upon the fact that though dwelling in a city whose boundaries were almost at the verge of our great nation's territory, yet we were linked to it by bands of steel, and Plymouth Rock did not seem so far from Shag Rock, nor Bedloe's Island from Alcatraz. And I shall never falter in my faith in her glorious future, nor ever disclaim the sentiments expressed in the poem herein reprinted from "Sunset Magazine." This little book is issued with no intention of boasting of these things, but with the modest desire of adding my mite of good- will to the people at large, the people of dear San Francisco, women, children and men, many of whom have suffered the saddest of deprivations, the loss of home and kindred, but whose spirit is undaunted and who are more than ever resolute and courageous; yes, nobler and greater than ever. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Cali f ornia Pioneers* Building. Old Mission Dolores. City HaD. West Side of City Hall. Observatory Golden Gate Park. Nob Hill, Looking Southeast. Chinatown. Mission Street Wharf. From Pine and Stockton. New-Post Office, Mission Street Side. Looking up O'Farrell Street. Cattle Killed by Earthquake. Masonic Temple. Synagogue Adjoining. Music Stand, Golden Gate Park. Museum, Golden Gate Park. Van Ness Ave. at Vallejo Street. View of the Mission. Dynamiting after the Fire. Pine Street from Montgomery. A Row of Modern Kitchens. The greater man's pomposity, The less his generosity. The mantle of morality May cover deep rascality. The rainbows of existence Are always in the distance. All men are dreamers but a fraction FulSH the dreams of men with action. There's little of divinity In modern femininity. Character, not features, Distinguishes God's creatures. Dismiss not with impunity The god of opportunity. The cap for all humanity O; universal fit is -- vanity. Tested in Mammon's crucible To what is Love reducible ! Many a costly jewel Has Folly used for fuel. PB fc^ w I 1* vi Mi V; 1 To trust to intuit'on Is reason's superstition. To trust to an illusion Is reason in confusion. Love whose affection ranges Is soon a love which changes. Nothing in life's more hateful Than friendship turned ungrateful. Better equivocating Than quarreling in debating. The spirit of negation Is not renunciation. He buys his life too dearly Who takes it too severely. There is no heavier fetter Than that which binds a debtor. It is not only foxes Who deal in paradoxes. Sometimes an ounce of knowledge Is worth a pound of college. I* \ The beauty of a building Is not alone its gilding. If Poverty could make men cheerful Prosperity would feel less fearful. We still hold fate accountable For what proves unsurmountable. They preach of life's amenities Who profit by its lenities. The beauty of a sermon Is not in stole or ermine. Kings dignify their station But not their occupation. Mankind should never lengthen The arm it helps to strengthen. Persuasion will not wheedle The eye-whole from a needle. Men in opinion vary But women are contrary. The followers of Hypocricy Can form no aristocracy. s^ly Igj i 9 o Absence oft makes us wander Instead of growing fonder. What is the world's derision To him who hath the vision? This marrying for money May not be quite so funny. In law too little brevity, In love too much of levity. Many a saint's reflection Would never bear inspection. Deceit still wears upon her The mantle of dishonor. Some men require no schooling To learn the art of fooling. The wisdom that forestalleth Is oft the first that falleth. 'Tis only his reverses The speculator curses. Better poor independence Than royalty's resplendence. r >^t . .^r?->^ '.- :-.$ W.cV -^ fe' Why men are not more sensible Is still incomprehensible. A little of timidity Should temper intrepidity. There is too much disparity Between good-will and_]charity. 'Tis not in haunted houses The devil most carouses. The virtue of society Is certainly not piety. It is not virtue singly Can make man's nature kingly. If you're a hero, for example, Don't prove it by the worms you trample. Men martyr truth for its conviction And yet crown folly for its fiction. Too much of wealth, too little merit The children of the rich inherit. Hew lovingly some people handle The tainted morsel of a scandal. !^=~ "'">! . .. . . . . -^, ^^ 8 l^fc 1906 It is the eagle's pinions Which give it wide dominions. The love between the sexes The devil still perplexes. 'Tis folly to importune For all the gifts of Fortune. To call a goose a gander Is but perverting slander. The virtue of gentility Is its respectability. Some sinners would adventure To sign a saint's indenture. Who ever woman courted Has often truth distorted. Tis but a poor repentance Which follows after sentence. Because a sword is pliable Proves not 'tis unreliable. An amity convivial Is generally trivial. I v ''