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Proverbs

Rome wasn't built in a day

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Updated 5mo ago
by
Brighid McCarthy
View this proverb in Swahili
Roma haikujengwa kwa siku moja

Do you have a big dream?

A dream too big for you to ever accomplish on your own? Maybe even too big to be accomplished in one generation?

Some gothic cathedrals in Europe took over 600 years -- more than 20 generations -- to complete! Although the Great Pyramid of Giza seems to have been built much faster (in a single generation), it also took tens of thousands of people.

In Tanzania, the Great Mosque of Kilwa was built in the 11th-14th centuries, rebuilt after earthquake damage, and continued to be remodeled up to the 18th century. It was described in the 1300s by Ibn Battuta. (You can take a 3D virtual tour of Kilwa! Check out the link in sources.)

The wonders of the world, modern and ancient, began as big dreams, dreams that took many generations to fulfill. Each generation continued the work of the past and also contributed to revising the blueprints for the future.

So if you are trying to do something great -- something that will really change the world -- don't expect to do it in one day. And don't try to do it alone. 

Related proverbs:


 Swahili:
Ukitaka kwenda haraka, nenda peke yako, ukitaka kwenda mbali, nenda na wenzako
If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together 

French:
Rome ne fu[t] pas faite toute en un jour
from Li Proverbe au Vilain, published around 1190
Modern French: Rome ne s'est pas faite en un jour
Rome wasn't built in a day

Chinese:
冰凍三尺，非一日之寒
Three feet of ice is not the result of one cold day

Scottish Gaelic
Chan ann leis a’ chiad bhuille a thuiteas a’ chraobh
It is not with the first strike that the tree will fall
Details Image credit: Screenshot from 3D virtual tour of Kilwa Kisiwani created by Zamani Project
Sources
Great Mosque of Kilwa
Check out the amazing 3D virtual tour of Kilwa Kisiwani from Zamani Project!   

How Many Generations Does it Take to Build a Cathedral?
Cologne Cathedral in Germany
St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague

Rome wasn't built in a day (Wikipedia) (Wiktionary)
Scottish Gaelic Proverb (Wiktionary)
Chinese Proverb (Wiktionary)
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Other proverbs
Hunger is the best sauce
As the appetite increases, food tastes better.

The proverb first appeared in Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote, published in 1615 (in Part II, Chapter V)

Parents often say this to their children when they are fussy eaters.
...
Updated 5mo ago
by
Scott M
1
Strike while the iron is hot
Have you ever seen a blacksmith at work? Or maybe an artisan shaping hot glass? It's pretty incredible to watch, right? (If not, visit Shanga Foundation in Arusha or check out video links below)
In our everyday experience, glass is hard, brittle and breakable, but glass is actually made by melting sand and shaping it like liquid.

Some things in life seem unchangeable; they just will not bend. If we use all our strength, they only shatter in our hands and hurt us. But a skillful craftsman can make brittle things soft and malleable by preparing them appropriately, and taking decisive action at the right moment.

This proverb is often used to mean that you should take action quickly when an opportunity arises, so that you don't miss it. See also: There is a tide
 There is a tide in the affairs of men,
 Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
 Omitted, all the voyage of their life
 Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
- Brutus in Julius Caesar, Act 4, Scene 3 by William Shakespeare
However, it's worth noting that in the play, this advice has pretty bad consequences for Brutus, who didn't exactly sail on to fortune after this speech (read more...)

Many cultures and languages have a proverb that is very similar to "Strike while the iron is hot." It seems likely that the proverb has multiple independent origins.
Chinese: 趁熱打鐵
Thai: ตีเหล็กเมื่อแดง
Hindi: लोहा गरम हैं. मार दो हथौड़ा.
Irish: buail an t-iarann te
Swahili: Fua chuma wakati kingali moto

...

Image: Elimu Yetu teachers visit to Shanga Foundation, Arusha, Tanzania

Updated 5mo ago
by
Brighid McCarthy
The grass is always greener on the other side
This proverb refers to the tendency to imagine or dwell on the notion that other people have nicer things...like your neighbor having a nicer lawn. 

The original source of this proverb is Ovid's "Art of Love", a book of advice for men and women about finding and keeping romantic relationships, written over 2000 years ago, about 2 AD:
People don't resist the temptation of new delights. We always deem that other people are more fortunate than ourselves. The crop is always better in our neighbour's field; his cows more rich in milk.
- Ovid The Art of Love, Page 24

One lesson from this proverb is to focus more on what you have, ignoring what others may have that is better. Another lesson might be to put your attention on improving your own situation (like watering your lawn) rather than dwelling on the fact that your lawn (or situation in general) is inferior.

An interesting variation on this proverb is: "The grass is always greener where you water."

Similar proverbs from other cultures:

Hindi:
दूर के ढोल सुहावने लगते हैं
From far away the drums sound better
Chinese:
隔籬飯香
Next door's rice smells good 
Japanese:
隣の芝生は青く見える
The neighbor's grass seems green 
Russian:
соседняя очередь всегда движется быстрее
The other queue always moves faster 



...
Updated 5mo ago
by
Brighid McCarthy
2
Kile kinachozunguka huja karibu
Huwa tunatendewa kama tunavyowatendea wengine. Kwa kawaida methali hii hutumika kama onyo, au wakati mtu mbaya anapata alichostahili. Lakini pia inaweza kutumika kama tumaini la baraka kwa wale wanaofanya mema. Chimbuko halisi cha methali hiyo haijulikani, lakini ilianza Amerika miaka za 60 hivi. Inaendana na kanuni la Karma katika dini ya Kihindi.

Methali na nukuu zinazohusiana:
Shakespeare: 
Bado tunayo hukumu hapa (duniani);
Tunafundisha tu umwagaji damu, ambayo, ukifundishwa, hurudi
ili lipiza kisasi na kumtesa mvumbuzi: mkono wa haki
huweka viungo vya kikombe chetu cha sumu
Kwa midomo yetu wenyewe.  ( Makbeth Act I, Scene 7 )
Biblia:
Chochote apandacho mtu, ndicho atakachovuna ( Wagalatia 6:7 )
Kichina: 
善有善報，惡有惡報
Wema hulipwa kwa wema, na ubaya kwa ubaya. 
Kijerumani:
Wie man in den Wald hineinruft, so schallt es heraus
Unacholia msituni, kitasikika tena
...
Updated 5mo ago
by
Brighid McCarthy