Abe Martin, Sage of Brown County, Indiana
Abe Martin was created by Indiana journalist, cartoonist, and humorist Kin Hubbard. Hubbard was on the staff of The Indianapolis News for many years. His character Abe Martin was a cracker-barrel philosopher who hung around the small town of Nashville in southern Indiana. Abe appeared every day in the News. Hubbard sketched him sitting on a rail or leaning on a post. With each sketch would come a piece of hometown logic, satire, witty thought, or, as Abe would say "hoss sense and nonsense." The Abe sketches were syndicated and thousands of newspaper readers followed Abe's philosophy from day to day. Hubbard gained national recognition. Will Rogers called him "America's greatest humorist." Old Abe continued his daily quips until Hubbard's death in 1930. Even after that, the News continued to offer daily repeats of Abe Martin for decades more.
Abe Martin's Sayings
Celery should be seen and not heard
Some fellas don't care what they say, and neither does anybody else
Now and then an innocent man is sent to the legislature
The only way to entertain some folks is to listen to them
Boys will be boys, and so will a lot of middle-aged men
Nothing will dispel enthusiasm like a small admission fee
Fun is like life insurance; the older you get, the more it costs
When a feller says, "It hain't th' money but th' principle of the thing," it's the money
Experience is a dear teacher, but he delivers th' goods
Married life hain't so bad after you git so you kin eat the things your wife likes
Nobuddy kin talk as interestin' as th' feller that's not hampered by facts
If th' meek ever do inherit th' earth some one'll git it away from 'em before they have it an hour
The safest way t' double your money is t' fold it over an' put it back in your pocket
The first thing t' turn green in the Spring is Christmas jewelry
It's what we learn after we think we know it all that counts
Hardly anybuddy would work fer what ther worth
Th' hardest thing is t' take less when you can git more
Th' feller that says, "I may be wrong, but. . ." does not believe ther kin be any such possibility
It hain't a bad plan to keep still occasionally even when you know what you're talkin' about
It's the feller that works when there's nothin' to do that gets to the front
To err is human, but to admit it ain't
Some fellers have a way of loafin' that makes 'em look busy
Peace has its victories no less than, war but it doesn't have as many monuments
A friend that ain't in need is a friend indeed
Atlas had a great reputation but I'd like to have seen him try to carry a mattress upstairs
Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep an' it keeps on laughin'
Distant relatives are the best kind, and the further the better
He who hesitates is honked at
You kin lead a feller to the polls, but you can't make him think
Who recalls when folks used to git along without somethin' if it cost too much?
Bees are not as busy as we think they are. They just can't buzz any slower
We don't have to peddle a good thing
If you want to git rid of somebody, jest tell 'em somethin' for their own good