Nothing expresses centuries of folk wisdom like proverbs. These brief but succinct statements always help out when there is no place for other words. At the same time, the meaning of the same proverb can equally accurately explain completely different situations. Therefore, when starting a 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, you can find references to the sacred attitude to water. So, for example, many people know the hypothesis about the origin of the world from water. And this is not surprising, because the ancients have always drawn conclusions from what they see: children are born from water, rains feed plants. The power of water was also 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 carry an ambiguous semantic load: "Always expect trouble from water" and "Bread - father, water - mother." The respectful attitude of the Slavs to water as a powerful element can be traced, which can both caress, offend, and help.
Today, many do not understand the meaning of the proverb “You cannot enter the same river twice”. What does it mean you can’t? The river - it’s not going anywhere. However, for the Slavs, the course of the river symbolized the passage of time. It was believed that the water flowed away, the river was renewed and became different. So this proverb was born.
Stone, water - two warring elements
Hearing the expression “Water sharpens the stone” for the first time, it is not always possible to immediately penetrate the depth of the statement. There are other variants of the same proverb about water, for example, “A drop is hollowing a stone”, as well as “Patience and labor will grind everything”. It becomes clear that in fact we are talking about the fact 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 unwavering power.
And here is another proverb with the word "water": "Under a lying stone and water does not flow." It calls for action that can defeat the most adverse circumstances.
It is written with a pitchfork on water
Most often, it is customary to take literally the expression that traces from the pitchfork cannot remain on the water. In fact, this proverb with the word "water" has a very interesting background. The fact is that the word “pitchfork” in ancient Slavic mythology had a slightly different meaning than now. Pitchforks are water spirits, creatures that lived in rivers and lakes. According to legend, these spirits could predict the future, and Pitchfork recorded their predictions on the water.
There is another version that says that circles on the water, which are formed when stones are thrown at it, are called pitchforks. Some peoples had such a ritual of fortune-telling when fate was determined by the size and intersections of these circles.
Since both versions of the predictions had a dubious background, the expression “written with a pitchfork on water” appeared.
