Water will find the way. Proverbs about water

Nothing so expresses age-old folk wisdom, as proverbs. These brief, but capacious statements are always made when there are no other words for other words. In this case, the meaning of the same proverb can equally accurately explain completely different situations. Therefore, starting the conversation about proverbs about water, it should be understood that the meaning contained in this statement has nothing to do with the main fluid of the Earth.

Symbols of water for ancient people

In any culture of bygone eras, one can find references to the sacred attitude to water. For example, many know the hypothesis of the origin of the world from water. And this is not surprising, because the ancients always draw conclusions from what they see: children are born out of the water, rains feed plants. The power of water consisted in the fact that it can not only give life, but also take it away, for example, by the absence of rain or, conversely, by floods.

Ancient proverbs about water bear an ambiguous semantic load: "Always wait for water from the water" and "Bread - father, water - mother". The respectful attitude of the Slavs to the water as a powerful element can be traced, which can both caress, offend, and help.

Many people today do not understand the meaning of the proverb "You can not enter twice into one river". What do you mean you can not? The river - it will not go anywhere. However, for the Slavs, the current of the river symbolized the flow of time. It was believed that the water drained, the river was refreshed and became another. So this proverb was born.

Stone, water - two opposing elements

Hearing the expression "Water grinds the stone" for the first time, it is not always immediately possible to penetrate the depth of the utterance. There are other versions of the same proverb about water, for example, "A drop of stone is hollowed", and "Patience and work will peretrut." It becomes clear that, in fact, the point here is that the liquid is affectionate, amorphous, soft, with a long exposure, it can destroy the hardest stone. Water - as a symbol of perseverance, stone - as a symbol of unshakable strength.

And here is another proverb with the word "water": "Under a recumbent stone and water does not flow." Here, the call for action is expressed, capable of defeating the most unfavorable circumstances.

This forks on the water is written

Most often it is accepted to take literally the expression that water can not remain traces of pitchfork. In fact, this proverb with the word "water" has a very interesting prehistory. The fact is that the word "pitchfork" in ancient Slavic mythology had a slightly different meaning than now. Forks are spirits of water, creatures that lived in rivers and lakes. According to legends, these spirits could predict the future, and their predictions were recorded on the water.

There is another version, which says that forks were called circles on the water, which are formed if you throw stones at it. Some peoples had such a ritual of divination, when the size and intersections of these circles determined the fate.

Since both variants of the predictions had a doubtful background, the expression "The forks on the water is written" appeared.

Why do the offended water carry

Some proverbs about water have no direct relation to mythology, but are connected with historical events. For example, the saying "Throw water in the stupa" appeared in the Middle Ages: the disobedient monks were forced to act as a punishment absolutely useless thing - to pound the water.

The history is also interesting with the offended water-carriers. It is believed that this proverb is connected with the events of the XIX century. In St. Petersburg at that time there was no clean drinking water, so it was delivered by water carriers for a small fee, which was, incidentally, officially legalized and identical for all. But, of course, there were the Dodgers, who were insulted by the prohibitively low price for the service, and they tried to overstate it. For such a violation they were deprived of horses, and the offended businessmen had no choice but to carry heavy barrels on themselves.

As you can see, the proverb is far from a mere phrase that has been accidentally taken from someone's mouth. On the contrary, this is a very deep, albeit short, statement with its history and serious meaning.