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Do not praise the day before sunset.

Russian proverb

PhilosophyProverbs

The story behind the card

Russian says “Khvali zhizn pri smerti, a den vecherom”: praise a life at its end, and a day in the evening. The Old Norse poem Hávamál, the “Sayings of the High One”, spoken in the voice of the god Odin, likewise tells people to praise the day at evening and the ice once they have crossed it. The Greek historian Herodotus records Solon, the lawgiver of Athens, warning Croesus, the fabulously rich king of Lydia, to call no one happy until he had seen how their life ended.

Türkçe oku
Akşam olmadan günü övme.
Rus atasözü

Rusçada “Hvali jizn pri smerti, a den veçerom” denir: Hayatı sonunda, günü akşamında öv. Tanrı Odin'in ağzından söylenmiş eski İskandinav şiiri Hávamál (“Yüce Olan'ın Sözleri”) da günü akşam olunca, buzu üstünden geçince övmeyi salık verir. Yunan tarihçi Herodot'un anlattığına göre Atinalı yasa koyucu Solon, servetiyle ünlü Lidya Kralı Krezüs'ü şöyle uyarmıştı: Bir insanın hayatının nasıl bittiğini görmeden ona mutlu denmez. Türkçede aynı temkini “Ayıyı vurmadan postunu satma” sözü dile getirir.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Hávamál
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