The name of a twelfth-century monk, Lambert de Begue, whose followers wandered the French countryside depending on handouts, gave us the verb to beg.
When in 555 AD the Roman general Belisarius was stripped of his rank and wealth, he became one of history’s most notable beggars, and his frequent cry, “Don’t kick a man when he’s down,” gave us a maxim for all who are on very hard times.
