What the wisdom of the people teaches us

Proverbs and sayings (people's wisdom) surround every person. That's not news. But few people think about what is the program of popular wisdom. What does she set up a person for? In other words, what does folk wisdom teach? We will talk about this below.

The object and subject of folk wisdom: ordinary citizen-philistine

First of all, one must understand that popular wisdom was sculpted by simple people, in the mass without extraordinary intellectual and spiritual delights. But their main plus is that they were respectable. Therefore, the wisdom of the people is mainly aimed at the majority, which forms the basis of any society.

But this does not mean that proverbs and sayings are not used by the intellectual elite. On the contrary, such elements of folk wisdom are present in their vocabulary, but it is unlikely that people who have their own opinion, different from the majority, about reality, are subject to some program specified in the centuries. What is it? If very briefly, the wisdom of the people almost exhaustively expresses itself in the everyday aphorism: "Every man in his life must do three things: build a house, raise a son and plant a tree." Let us consider each item in detail.

A man must be hardworking

This is certainly a positive quality in the eyes of the people. And labor must necessarily be physical. Intellectual labor as a kind of activity was not understood and disseminated in the environment from which most of the sayings came out.

Proverbs and sayings for intellectuals were forced to come up themselves by representatives of this social group. Remember the poem NA. Zabolotsky "Do not let the soul be lazy." This is just a work about the importance of working on oneself in the spiritual, intellectual plane.

Of course, folk wisdom does not ignore education, but still preference is given to teaching practical, mastering some skill, so that it can later be applied in work.

And labor is not perceived collectively by the proverbial hero as a means to make money. In other words, he does not want to get "more gold." To work, he comes up with a purely specific and practical positions. For example, they say: "Without difficulty, you can not get a fish out of the pond," or "Did a business - walk boldly." Of course, now the sayings are filled with a more abstract meaning, but earlier "work" was understood to be manual labor. However, it's time for us to move on.

Every person should have a family

"To raise a son" means that all the thoughts of a person should be directed at the family and children. He must strive for this with all his might. But the wisdom of the people is weak in that which she advises abstractly, focusing on a person in general, which does not exist in nature. At first glance, all this is very harmless. Think about it, family. And imagine, if the majority uses such moral imperatives as a guide to action. For example, everyone should have a family, but what about those who are unlucky? Let's not take extreme examples, let's take one completely normal. The guy, he is just over thirty, no children, his wife, too. And all the surrounding people begin to ask him: "And how? And why?" But it's all because people are sure: everyone should have a family. We hope it became clear what are the advice of folk wisdom in quality and character. Go ahead.

Every man should have a harmless hobby

The phrase "plant a tree" prescribes to the head of the family certain canons of behavior. No poker on Fridays, no beer with friends, no soccer and baths after sports exercises. Instead of all these stupid things, a man must deal with trees and ennobling the external world.

The image of such a man is fabricated by women's hopes and cherished desires?

We represent, as now, women and girls dreamily smile and think: "Yes, it would be an ideal spouse". But, as I. Talkov sang: "Oh, do not rush, dear, do not be so naive." Such a man expects from a woman of certain behavior and attitudes. In this case, she should, according to Kurt Vonnegut's apt definition, be a "maternity machine" and a "food processor". A man in this family even acts as a "bad or good earning machine", but requires all manner of communication and respect.

Someone from modern women patriarchal model is sweet, and they are ready to lay the soul to the devil, if only there was such a man for them. But others, those that are moderately emancipated individuals, are unlikely to be delighted with such a man - "master in the house."

Signs work only on a psychological level. Mirrors

Particular attention should be paid to the signs, because they do not let many people sleep peacefully at night. For example, in the people (and not only in Russian) there is a belief that to beat mirrors is to the misfortune or to the near end of the breaker.

Mirrors are endowed with a special mystical power. Many nations have a custom to hang them with a cloth when there is a deceased in the house. Mirror is a transition, a door to the world of the dead. If a person has left through it, then he must be prevented from returning, so everything is curtained. And yes, besides, nobody wants uninvited guests from the world of nonexistence. Terrible stories are sometimes presented by the wisdom of the people.

Probably, the sign with the mirror rests on this legend. If a man broke a mirror, he attracted attention and acted badly with the dead, and they will remember and take revenge.

It's easy to understand that terrible legends act on a person at a subconscious level, and he himself programs himself for a near death. Here such signs here. Folk wisdom is a bit creepy.

Black cat

Zverushke also at the time to blame for his unsweetened life folk medieval European legends. It was at that time that it was believed that the devil incarnated in black cats, so they are treated with caution to this day.

Why can not I climb on the dining table?

Here, too, everything is quite simple. In villages, usually on a table in a hut they put a coffin. Therefore, it is believed that if a person climbs on the dining table, then he calls his own death or someone's death in the house. Here is such a story.

The way to yourself. Testament of Peter Mamonov

Is there an alternative to worldly wisdom? Yes, it consists in not listening especially to the people and the majority, but to go your own way. Maybe for someone it will sound rude, but sometimes even the closest ones should not be listened to blindly, because they have their own ideas about life. We must go to ourselves, as P. Mamonov says. As for the majority, it is in his nature to put pressure on an individual and force them to become like everyone else.

In conclusion, I would like to ask forgiveness from those readers who expected in our article to find proverbs about folk wisdom. The answer to the dumb question is this: there is no need to write here what in the minds of every person there is in abundance. But the analytical material on the topic is not enough. All those phrases that rumor dictates to the people, is his wisdom. This turned out an article in which people's wisdom (sayings) was considered, or rather its meaning, psychological and philosophical meaning.