This much I knew and know: I was making myself hideously uncomfortable by not narrowing my attention to details of life which were immediately important, and by refusing to believe what my neighbors believed.

Meaning: The rhyme presents a spring ague as medicine fit for a king. It gives a feverish illness a surprising positive value rather than simply treating it as misfortune.

Meaning: The rhyme personifies cheese as a troublesome elf that digests everything except itself. Its comic contradiction presents the food as having a power it does not extend to its own substance.

Meaning: The saying places nothing after cheese, presenting it as the end of a sequence. The wording does not explain whether the rule concerns a meal, custom or another setting.

Meaning: Constant movement or change can prevent someone from accumulating lasting commitments, resources or attachments. Whether that is a loss or a benefit depends on what the person values.