[Ads-l] Antedating of "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors"

Amy West medievalist at W-STS.COM
Wed Jan 4 17:08:08 UTC 2023


On 1/4/23 00:00, ADS-L automatic digest system wrote:
> Date:    Tue, 3 Jan 2023 18:25:47 +0000
> From:    "Shapiro, Fred"<fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Subject: Antedating of "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors"
>
> No, it wasn't Robert Frost.
>
>
> good fences make good neighbours (OED 1834)
>
> 1794 Vermont Gazette 30 May 2/4 (Newspapers.com)  Good fences make good neighbors, and a critical watch over persons in trust make them careful to preserve their integrity.
>
>
> Fred Shapiro

And that last part, the "a critical watch over persons in trust makes 
them careful to preserve their integrity" looks like a predecessor of 
"trust, but verify" to me.

---Amy West

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