How often does a person say something really smart and valuable? Certainly much less often than all sorts of stupid phrases. But, as the Bible tells us, in the beginning was the Word. It is it that allows us to maximize our thought and convey it to others.
As a rule, beautiful phrases that carry in themselves appear in the head of smart and great people. It is customary to quote them and call them aphorisms. Check out a selection of the best quotes on a wide variety of topics.
Folk wisdom of Europe
We do not always know for sure the author of any aphorism. They may be "people from the people." So, a simple man somehow expressed an idea in a conversation - and here is a ready-made quote, already going to the people. Abstruse phrases were not included in such a set of words. People preferred something simple and concise that could be quickly picked up as a compelling argument or to support their opinion.
This is how proverbs and sayings appeared in the world. They are an important part of folklore. They, in fact, show the entire mentality of the author's people. There are Russian phrases that have sunk into the soul and are very often repeated in the daily vocabulary.
The European tradition of proverbs and sayings is very similar to ours in meaning and content. How can this be explained? Of course, our highly bound historical past and a common monotheistic religion. If you wish, you can easily find analogues of Russian morality within the folklore of other European peoples.
As can be seen from the comparative table, the meaning of the listed smart phrases is the same, despite the fact that they are present in the lexical use of peoples of different countries.
Folk wisdom of other countries
When confronted with the cultural heritage of immigrants from other continents, an equally immense source of wisdom is revealed. These abstruse phrases carry a lot of information, convey the meaning of the life of these people, their history and allow us to better understand their mentality.
For example, residents of Europe and Russia are well aware that a real man does not cry. A true husband should not express his emotions in public, especially grief and disappointment. And on its own you should not "dissolve the nuns", you just need to take and do the job. However, the Indians from North America look at us with a grin because of this:
- "A strong man cries, a weak man does not."
- "The weak is afraid of his feelings."
- "The soul does not have a rainbow if there are no tears in the eyes."
This is how this people, who always lived in the wilderness and did not know enlightenment, treated the manifestations of emotions - as a natural need for any creature. Maybe you should listen to these wise phrases expressed by representatives of the native population of America?
Using the deep thought of the Chinese as an example, one can understand how differently we see, know and feel the world. Often the philosophical phrases of the people of the Celestial Empire are so different from what we are accustomed to consider as wisdom that we are amazed - how can you feel the same land so differently?
This is how the Chinese speak of the importance of a person, his "I", which, according to the philosophy of Tao, does not exist at all:
- "If you are, nothing has increased, if you are not, nothing has disappeared."
For Europeans and Russians, this sounds not only incomprehensible, but sad and depressing.
In addition, the search for peace is of great importance for the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom. For them, he is a secret goal that a person should strive for in order to become one with nature. That is why the interesting phrases of this country are closely related to the description of trees and flowers. They often use the reference to spring.
The Chinese attach great importance to harmony and unity. The whole world in their view is just an echo of the Tao River, which flows in some other dimension.
They are sure that at the end of the path, everyone is the same, regardless of who they were in this life. This is evidenced by many of their sayings.
Quotes about power
Since the time of primitive existence, man wants to be higher than others, longs to stand at the head of the tribe. He dreams of commanding, managing, because he is sure that he knows everything better than anyone else. Power is a terrible force, and not everyone deserves it. However, the desire to achieve high status is one of those qualities thanks to which people changed our whole world.
The authorities were especially revered in Antiquity, mainly in Ancient Rome, where civic activity was placed above all else. Interesting phrases we could hear from the lips of people of that time:
- “I'd rather be the first in this village than the second in Rome” (Guy Julius Caesar, while stopping for the night in a small village).
- “To rule is to fulfill duties” (Seneca).
- “Before you begin to command, learn to obey” (Solon of Athens).
In the future, the thirst for power never let go of humanity from its tenacious embrace. She becomes the object of the statements of many politicians, writers and public figures. Each of them (like any other person, isn't it?) Was worried about the issues of power. Perhaps, due to their wisdom, they found answers to some of them, from which we can also learn by looking at their clever phrases:
- “Violence, if it allows itself to hesitate, becomes power” (Elias Canetti).
- “A minister should not complain about newspapers or even read them - he should write them” (Charles de Gaulle).
- "Power is given only to those who dare to bend over and take it" (Fyodor Dostoevsky).
Many later, after the Middle Ages, saw power as the root of all troubles - both in the need to obey and in the desire to command. Philosophers and writers agreed that all people are equal, and the very concept of a world order, where one person can order another, is contrary to our high nature.
Alas! Humanity is still stuck at the level where power is the most important engine of human emotion. People cannot imagine how one can disobey.
Quotes about war
However, one must also fight for power. After all, other people very, very much want to take it away. When two endless desires for power collide, war breaks out.
Humanity has succeeded in waging wars, and abstruse phrases about them flow like a river. This is what people do most often. They learn to fight from an early age, and therefore war takes a lot of place in their minds. Some praise her, others give advice on how to avoid military conflicts, while others are ironic.
That war cripples billions of lives, destroys thousands of countries, erases millions of cities and cultures from the face of the earth, it will always find a place in someone's head. And the longer humanity has existed, the more it realizes how much destructive energy war generates. More and more we are trying to get rid of it. Declare war on war.
Before, people talked about how great it is to fight. How much true courage, valor, courage and patriotism are manifested in this. Now we are approaching the point where people realize that killing another person will never bring anything good.
- "War ... War Never Changes" (Fallout, video game).
- “Generals are a striking case of developmental delays. Who among us has not dreamed of being a general at the age of five? " (Peter Ustinov).
- “I don’t know a single people who would have been enriched as a result of victory in the war” (Voltaire).
- “If we want to enjoy the world, we have to fight” (Cicero).
Friendship quotes
Since ancient times, friendship is getting rid of loneliness, salvation and support. And betrayal is the most terrible sin, according to the majority of the peoples of the world. Take Dante, for example - weren't the traitors tormented in his worst, ninth circle of Hell?
Honoring friendship has found an important reflection in every culture in the world. Many considered it necessary to notice its importance. Phrases with meaning, telling about the strength of friendships, are very often found in the sayings of great philosophers and writers of different times. Among them are such great names as Socrates, Aristotle, Johann Schiller, Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain. All of them skillfully focus on the quality of friendly relations.
- “Friendship is not such a pitiful flame to go out in separation” (Johann Schiller).
Quotes about love
Love has always had power over people. And sometimes it captured more than friendship, forcing it to overstep the principles. A person has a hard time without her. This feeling was visited by millions of people. The wiser they were, the more it consumed them. Poets and musicians, writers and playwrights - many wrote only about her, about love. Abstruse phrases do not suit her, only sincerity and honesty suit her.
At the same time, it became a topic for speculation, material for excellent manipulation. Thousands of monotonous works impose the image of false, nonsensual, "obligatory" love in everyone's life. But what does the real one look like? Clever phrases about this were left to us by great people:
- "To resist love is to supply it with new weapons" (Georges Sand).
Freedom quotes
The desire of a person to be free manifests itself with different strengths in different eras. No matter how often people now forget about it, the desire to escape from someone's control and power lives in every person. And this is despite so many prevailing factors: the war makes him a slave, friendship with someone bad takes away all his strength, and false love forever deprives him of sleep and requires submission.
And only by getting rid of all these misfortunes, you can become free. And it is to this freedom that people always strive, it is for it that they are ready to die. people are forced to think: how free are we?
This highest struggle - for one's will - is directed precisely at the first, bestial and herd trait - the desire for power. And when every person, even the smallest, kills the king inside himself, and when everyone starts to "squeeze out the slave drop by drop," then we will be able to talk about the free world. A world where everyone has the right to make mistakes. Where one person cannot kill another, not because he will be punished for it, but because he does not give himself an inner right to do so.
- "The people, accustomed to living under the rule of the sovereign and thanks to chance, became free, with difficulty preserves freedom" (Nicolo Machiavelli).
- “The one who sacrifices freedom for the sake of security does not deserve either freedom or security” (Benjamin Franklin).
- “Only by losing everything to the end, we gain freedom” (Chuck Palahniuk).
Quotes about the meaning of life
Every person from time to time asks: "In the name of what do we exist and have come into this world?" Phrases about the meaning of life probably have more mysteries than answers. You can argue with them and not share the opinions of their authors. And this is correct, since the answer to this question is individual for each person. And his future, goals and desires depend on what he will be like.
However, that doesn't hurt to listen to smarter people. Expressions and phrases of those who were looking for the meaning of being can help us and direct us in the right direction.
- “The meaning of life is to achieve perfection and tell others about it” (Richard Bach).
Funny quotes
And what is left for a person to do when he has renounced his thirst for power and war, made loyal friends, learned true love, gained freedom and found the meaning of life? Of course, one thing is to laugh with happiness.
Despite all sorts of clever phrases, human life, above all, is incredibly funny. In all its tragedy, sorrow, need, it continues to be funny. And only subtle people understood this with all their soul. For example, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov knew how to laugh at his own grief: “How so! There are so many terrible and bad things in our life, but it is declared that it is funny! " As if he, feeding the whole family with the daily work of a writer in his youth, dying of consumption, burying his brothers, never tasted the taste of grief ... But the fact of the matter is that the stronger a person is, the more he is able to ironic about their troubles.
And great and wise people understood this. None of those whose beautiful phrases are presented above have ever missed an opportunity to joke. Laughter is the main proof of a human being alive with a soul. Here are some of their famous ironic remarks:
- “I didn't fail the test, I just found 100 ways to get it wrong.” - Benjamin Franklin.
- “Murderers and architects always return to the scene of the crime” (Peter Ustinov).
Conclusion
Phrases with a meaning that is deeply hidden in them will never lose their relevance. Such are they in themselves - aphorisms, an important part of human culture. After all, how much intelligence is needed to fit your strong message into one or two sentences! Only for this mastery of rhetoric and eloquence can a person be called wise.
After all, this is such a big work - a well-cut phrase. Examples clearly show that people have always, at all times, worried about the same thing. Human nature is unchanged and, apparently, will be so for a long time. Therefore, proverbs will remain an inexhaustible source of the main treasure - mind and wisdom.
12 popular expressions, the meaning of which is not known to everyone
Editorial responseWinged expressions help to more accurately express a thought, give speech a more emotional coloring. They allow you to express more emotions in a few short but precise words and convey a personal attitude to what is happening.
AiF.ru resembles the meanings of some Russian phraseological units.
Silently
Initially, this expression meant to secretly dig a trench or secret tunnel. The word "zappa" (translated from Italian) means "shovel for earthwork."Borrowed into French, the word turned into the French "glanders" and received the meaning of "excavation, trench and excavation work", from this word also arose the word "sapper".
In Russian, the word "glanders" and the expression "quiet glanders" meant work that was carried out with extreme caution, without noise, in order to get close to the enemy imperceptibly, in complete secrecy.
After widespread dissemination, the expression acquired the meaning: carefully, in deep secrecy and without haste (for example, "So he quietly drags all the food from the kitchen!").
You can't see anything
According to one of the versions, the word "zga" comes from the name of a part of a horse harness - a ring in the upper part of the arc, into which a rein was inserted so as not to dangle. When the driver needed to unharness the horse, and it was so dark that this ring (zgi) could not be seen, they said that "not to see it."
According to another version, the word "zga" comes from the Old Russian "shtga" - "road, path, path". In this case, the meaning of the expression is interpreted - "so dark that you can't even see the road, the path." Today, the expression “you can't see anything”, “you can't see anything” means “you can't see anything”, “impenetrable darkness”.
A blind man leads a blind man, but both of them cannot see. (last)
"Darkness hangs above the ground: you can't see it ..." ( Anton Chekhov,"Mirror")
Dance from the stove
Vasily Alekseevich Sleptsov. 1870 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Published in St Petersburg, 1903
The expression "to dance from the stove" first appeared in a novel by a Russian writer of the 19th century Vasily Sleptsov"Good man". The book was published in 1871. There is an episode in it when the main character, Seryozha Terebenev, recalls how he was taught to dance, but he did not succeed in the “pas” required from the dance teacher. There is a phrase in the book:
- Oh, what are you, brother! - says the father reproachfully. - Well, go back to the stove, start over.
In Russian, this expression began to be used when talking about people whose habit of acting according to a sealed scenario replaces knowledge. A person can perform certain actions only "from the stove", from the very beginning, from the simplest and most familiar action:
“When he (the architect) was ordered a plan, he usually drew first the hall and the hotel; just as in the old days schoolgirls could only dance from the stove, so his artistic idea could only proceed and develop from the hall to the living room. " ( Anton Chekhov,"My life").
Shabby view
In times Tsar Peter I lived Ivan Zatrapeznikov- an entrepreneur who received a Yaroslavl textile manufactory from the emperor. The factory produced a fabric called "pestryad", or "pestryadina", popularly called "shabby", "shabby" - a rough and low-quality cloth made of hemp (hemp fiber).Mostly poor people, who could not buy something better for themselves, sewed clothes from the shabby. And the appearance of such poor people was appropriate. Since then, if a person is dressed sloppily, they say about him that he has a shabby appearance:
"The hay girls were poorly fed, dressed in shabby clothes and given little sleep, exhausting them with almost continuous work." ( Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, "Poshekhonskaya antiquity")
Sharpen the fringes
To sharpen the fringes means to gossip, to engage in useless chatter. Balusters (balusters) are chiseled curly posts of the railing at the porch.
At first, "sharpening balusters" meant conducting an elegant, whimsical, ornate (like balusters) conversation. However, there were few skilled craftsmen to conduct such a conversation, and over time the expression began to denote empty chatter:
"It used to sit in a circle, some on the bench, some simply on the ground, each with some business, spinning wheel, comb or bobbin, and go and go sharpen the fringes and talk about a different, old time." ( Dmitry Grigorovich, "Village").
Lies like a gray gelding
To lie like a gray gelding means to speak fables, not at all embarrassed. In the 19th century, one of the regiments of the Russian army served as an officer, a German by the last name von Sievers-Mehring... He loved to tell the officers funny stories and fables. The expression “lying like Sievers-Mehring” was understandable only to his colleagues. However, they began to use it throughout Russia, completely forgetting about the origins. Sayings have appeared among the people: "lazy like a gray gelding", "stupid like a gray gelding", although the horse breed has nothing to do with this.
Bullshit
According to one version, the expression "bullshit" comes from "lying like a gray gelding" (in fact, these two phrases are synonymous)There is also a version that the expression "bullshit" came from the name of one scientist - Brad Steve Cobile, who somehow wrote a very stupid article. His name, consonant with the words "bullshit", was correlated with scientific nonsense.
According to another version, "bullshit" is an expression denoting a stupid statement or thought; appeared due to the beliefs of the Slavs that a gray horse (gray with an admixture of a different color) was the most stupid animal. There was a sign according to which if a gray mare dreamed, then in reality the dreamer would be deceived.
Androns are going
"Androns are going" means nonsense, nonsense, nonsense, complete nonsense.
In Russian, this phrase is used in response to someone who tells a lie, inappropriately flaunts and brags about himself. In the 1840s, on the territory of almost all of Russia, andrets (andron) meant a cart, various kinds of carts.
“And you don't have to scold my house! - Do I really scold? .. Cross yourself, Petrovnushka, the androns are coming! ( Pavel Zarubin, "The dark and light sides of Russian life")
To live on a priyuk
The expression "live with a privet" means to be a hermit and an introverted person. In the southern regions of Russia, a wolf is called a biryuk. The wolf has long been considered a dangerous predatory animal for the economy. The peasants perfectly studied his habits and habits and often recalled them, speaking about the person. “Oh, and you have grown old, brother! - said Dunyashka regretfully. - Some gray has become like a priyuk. ( Mikhail Sholokhov, "Quiet Don")
Mikhail Golubovich in the film Biryuk. 1977 year.
Play spillikins
Spillikins are various small household items that were used during the ancient game. Its meaning was to pull one toy after another out of a bunch of toys with your fingers or with a special hook, without touching or scattering the rest. The one who moves the neighboring spill passes the move to the next player. The game continues until the whole pile is taken apart. By the beginning of the twentieth century, spillikins had become one of the most popular games in the country and were very common not only among children, but also among adults.
In a figurative sense, the expression "to play with spillikins" means to engage in trifles, nonsense, leaving aside the main and important:
"After all, I came to the workshop to work, and not to sit idly by and play with spillikins." ( Mikhail Novorussky"Notes of a Schlisselburg")
Kitten Pies
In Russia, they never ate cats, except in severe hunger. During the long sieges of cities, their inhabitants, having depleted all food supplies, people used domestic animals for food, in the last place were cats and cats.
Thus, this expression signifies a catastrophic state of affairs. Usually the proverb is shortened and said: "These are the pies", in other words "these are the things."
Leave deeply
Illustration for the fairy tale "Shemyakin Court". Copper engraving, first half of the 18th century. Reproduction. Photo: RIA Novosti / Balabanov
In Russia, in the old days, salt was an expensive product. It had to be transported from afar off-road, the taxes on salt were very high. Coming to visit, the owner salted the food himself, with his own hand. Sometimes, expressing his respect to especially dear guests, he even poured food, and those who were sitting at the far end of the table sometimes did not get salt at all. Hence the expression - "to leave unsparingly":
“And the more she talked, and the more sincerely she smiled, the stronger the confidence became in me that I would leave her incessantly.” ( Anton Chekhov"The lights")
"The fox missed the livelihood and walked away hungry." ( Alexey Tolstoy"The Fox and the Rooster")
Shemyakin court
The expression "shemyakin court" is used when they want to emphasize the unfairness of any opinion, judgment or assessment. Shemyaka - a real historical person, Galician Prince Dimitri Shemyaka famous for his cruelty, cunning and unrighteous deeds. He became famous for his tireless, stubborn struggle with the great Prince Vasily the Dark, his cousin, for the Moscow throne. Today, when they want to point out the partiality, unfairness of some judgment, they say: “Is this a criticism? Shemyakin court of some kind.
In Russian, words, in addition to their lexical meaning, have a stylistic connotation. This determines the use of the word in a particular context. For the first time, the "Theory of Three Calms" was deduced by MV Lomonosov, but over time it has undergone significant changes. Therefore, the expression "pretentious phrases" can be understood in different ways.
High syllable
In the first meaning, "pretentious" means "sublime", "solemn" and is used in the literature under the term "high vocabulary". This includes Church Slavonic words, which give speech a special elevation, elevation. So, instead of the word "food" they say "food", instead of the neutral "go" - "march", instead of "future" - "future." The names of parts of the body are often used in an outdated form: "eyes" - instead of "eyes", "vyya" - instead of "neck" and others.
Funny in literature
In another sense, the word "pretentious" means "using solemn speeches for flattery, lies, falsehood." Most often they are pronounced by heroes whose speech is not taken seriously - this is how satire or irony is created.
NV Gogol, putting grandiloquent words into Khlestakov's lips, emphasizes his stupidity and ignorance. The hero, having entered the role of an auditor, exalts his own personality so much that it seems that he stops believing in himself. Behind the high style of the mayor hides the true picture of what is happening in the city, thereby Nikolai Vasilyevich ridicules the political system of that time.
Use in modern Russian
High vocabulary is common enough. On the one hand, to emulate the era of the nobility. So, in advertising, an ordinary Russian family at breakfast uses the words: "please", "sir", "allow", emphasizing the history of the traditions used in the manufacture of an advertising product.
On the other hand, to replace reduced, harsh vocabulary. Such expressions are called euphemisms. For example, they say not "fat", but "inclined to be overweight", not "sick child", but "a child with special needs." In the same context, high-flown words can be used as an extremely negative attitude towards an object or object.
Foreign language borrowings are often referred to as pompous words. For example, “correct” instead of “correct” or “volunteer” instead of “volunteer”. The use of borrowed words prevails over native Russian, since a foreign language word is more significant by ear than familiar from childhood.
In any case, such words and phrases give special meaning to the expression, are used to attract attention and create a special communication situation in which the interlocutors can experience completely contradictory feelings.
