Issue nº 61

Change  |  Changing attitudes
Proverbs from the Pyrenees

     I spend at least three months a year in a French town near Tarbes, looking on to the Pyrenees mountains. Recently I decided to gather some proverbs from the region, which I offer here with the name of the person who told them to me:

     Every time an old African dies. It's like a whole library caught fire. (anonymous, offered by Malika)
     Everyone wants to know Paradise, but no-one wants to die. (Nam)
     Women are like the continents: at the age of 20 they are America, everyone dreams of knowing them and those who succeed are rarely disappointed. At 30 they are Europe, wise and full of maturity. At 40 they are Asia, surrounded by promise and mystery. At 50 they are Africa: everyone knows where it is but no-one wants to visit it. (Alain Niah-Kyn, in one of the most politically incorrect proverbs I have ever seen)
     Even if you hate hares, you must admit they run very fast. (Antoine Lux)
     If two cooks are looking after the same soup, it will end up too salty - or with no salt at all. (Daniel Labardere)
     Those who are always saying "I don't care for it," will end up discovering the phrase "ah, if only I knew …" (Allen Tannu)
     Life is riding a bicycle - we only fall when we stop pedaling. (Frederic Bonomelli)
     History is not made of what we remember but of what we don't want to forget. (Jacques Laffite)
     Only dead suckling pigs are not afraid of knives. (anonymous)
     Those who don't know why they love are those who really know how to love. (Sylvie Pinta)
     If you have never dared to cross a river, don't laugh at those who get wet trying. (an old man in Argeles-Gazost)
     Just because a tiger is skinny is no reason to start calling him a cat. (Genevieve P.)
     When you accidentally kick a stone, don't blame the stone, it's your foot that doesn't know where to step. (Lois Bonomelli)
     At the moment we are born, we receive a passport, a ticket and a visa to visit the land of Death. (Didier Faure)
     A dog has four paws, but they all have to walk in the same direction. (Jacques, of the Monocle café)
     The blessings of Paradise are only known by those who have known Hell. (Guillaume, quoting an Arabian proverb after telling me how he tried suicide because of a love affair)
     Misers keep all their money for three people they hate: their wife's future husband, their son-in-law and their daughter-in-law. (Malika, quoting a proverb from Tunisia)
     Young people go around in groups, adults in couples and old folk walk alone. (from the same old man in Argeles-Gazost)
     Try to change in yourself what you would like to change in the world. (Jacqueline Peyrot)
     Just when I discovered all the answers, they changed all the questions. (a sign in a café in the town of Ger)