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A true friend is known in dark days.

Turkish proverb

PhilosophyProverbs

The story behind the card

In Turkish: “Dost kara günde belli olur.” A kara gün, literally a black day, is a time of trouble or grief, and Turkish calls a friend who stays through such times a kara gün dostu. The idea is ancient. The Roman poet Ennius wrote that a sure friend is recognised in an unsure situation, and the statesman Cicero quoted him in On Friendship (44 BC), adding that most people fail the test: they look down on friends when they prosper, or desert them in trouble.

Türkçe oku
Dost kara günde belli olur.
Türk atasözü

“Kara gün” sıkıntılı, acılı zaman demektir; böyle günlerde de yanından ayrılmayan dosta Türkçede “kara gün dostu” denir. Fikir çok eskidir. Romalı şair Ennius, sağlam dostun belirsiz zamanlarda tanındığını yazmıştı. Devlet adamı Cicero da Dostluk Üzerine (MÖ 44) adlı eserinde bu sözü aktarır ve çoğu insanın bu sınavı geçemediğini ekler: Kimi, işleri iyi gidince dostunu küçümser; kimi de dostu zora düşünce onu yüzüstü bırakır.

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