The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (567 page)

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He that TOUCHES pitch shall be defiled
Cf. APOCRYPHA
Ecclesiasticus
xiii. 1 (AV) He that toucheth pitch, shall be defiled therewith.
1303
Handlyng Synne
(EETS) 1. 6578
Who-so handlyth pycche wellyng hote, He shal haue fylthe therof sumdey1 [in some degree].
1578
Euphues
l. 250
He that toucheth pitche shall be defiled.
1710
Proverbs
249
Touch Pitch and you'll be Defil'd… There is Danger every Way in Ill Company.
1886
Living or Dead
II. ix.
The next two months of my life .. made me take a lower and more debased view of the world… I was touching pitch, yet striving to keep myself from being defiled.
1979
Listener
13 Sept. 345
The makers of the series believe that those who meddle with pitch may be defiled.
associates
;
example, good and bad
TRADE follows the flag
1870
in
Fraser's Magazine.
Jan. 4
The removal of a million poor creatures to Canada and the establishment of them there .. would probably have turned out .. a profitable investment. Trade follows the flag.
1945
Enemy at Gate
152
There is a glib saying .. that ‘trade follows the flag’ an apophthegm that succeeds in putting the cart before the horse with greater aplomb than almost any other cant phrase in common use.
1979
in
Tales from Dark Continent
i.
There is a famous old quotation that ‘Trade follows the Flag’ but .. in West Africa .. the reverse was true.
business

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