Nothing expresses age-old folk wisdom like proverbs. These short but capacious 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 liquid of the Earth.
Symbolism of water for ancient people
In any culture of bygone eras, one can find references to the sacred attitude to water. For example, many people know the hypothesis about the origin of the world from water. And this is not surprising, because the ancients always drew conclusions from what they see: children are born from water, rains nourish 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 lack of rain or, conversely, by floods.
Ancient proverbs about water carry an ambiguous semantic load: “Always expect trouble from water” and “Bread is father, water is mother”. The respectful attitude of the Slavs to water is traced as to a powerful element, whichcan caress, and offend, and help.
Many today do not understand the meaning of the proverb "You cannot enter the same river twice". What do you mean you can't? The river is not going anywhere. However, for the Slavs, the flow of the river symbolized the passage of time. It was believed that the water flowed away, the river was renewed and became different. This proverb was born.
Stone, water - two opposing elements
Hearing the expression “Water wears away a stone” for the first time, it is not always possible to immediately feel the depth of the statement. There are other versions of the same proverb about water, for example, “A drop hammers a stone,” as well as “Patience and work will grind everything.” It becomes clear that in fact we are talking about the fact that the liquid is gentle, amorphous, soft, and with prolonged exposure 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": "Water does not flow under a lying stone." This is a call to active action that can overcome the most unfavorable circumstances.
It's written on the water with a pitchfork
Most often it is customary to take literally the expression that there can be no traces of a pitchfork on the water. In fact, this proverb with the word "water" has a very interesting background. The fact is that the word "fork" 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 theirVila's predictions were recorded on the water.
There is another version, which says that pitchforks were called circles on the water, which are formed if stones are thrown into it. Some peoples had such a rite of divination, when fate was determined by the size and intersection of these circles.
Since both versions of the predictions had dubious background, the expression "It is written with a pitchfork on the water" appeared.
Why they carry water on offended people
Some proverbs about water are not directly related to mythology, but are connected with historical events. For example, the proverb “Crush water in a mortar” appeared in the Middle Ages: monks who disobeyed were forced to do absolutely useless work - crush water as a punishment.
An interesting story with offended water carriers. It is believed that this proverb is associated 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, by the way, was officially legalized and the same for everyone. But, of course, there were tricksters who were offended by the exorbitantly low price for the service, and they tried to overestimate it. For such a violation, they were deprived of a horse, and the offended businessmen had no choice but to carry heavy barrels on themselves.
As you can see, a proverb is far from being just a phrase that accidentally flew out of someone's mouth. On the contrary, this is a very deep, albeit short, saying with its own history and serious meaning.
