text:
Indian proverbs

'''Proverbs from all Indian speaking parts of the

Quotes

 * "What is the use of going to the hills in search of honey if it is available at home?" as a Sanskrit proverb says.
 * Quoted from Swami Vivekananda, "The work before us" (Delivered at the Triplicane Literary Society, Madras), Complete Works, vol. 3

 * सौ सोनार की, एक लोहार की (Hindi)
 * Transliteration: Sau sunar ki ek luhar ki.
 * A single blow of a blacksmith is equal to a hundred blows of a goldsmith.
 * "Things that need a hundred nuanced actions can be achieved with a single coarse action."
 * Source:
 * Source:

 * வெளுத்ததெல்லாம் பாலல்ல / மின்னுவதெல்லாம் பொன்னல்ல (Tamil)
 * Transliteration: Velluthathellam Paal alla.
 * All the things that are white are not milk.
 * English Equivalent: All that glitters is not gold
 * Kannada Equivalent: "bellage irodella halalla" (ಬೆಳ್ಳಗೆ ಇರೋದೆಲ್ಲ ಹಾಲಲ್ಲ.)

 * जान है तो जहान है(Hindi)
 * Transliteration: Jaan hai to Jahan Hai.
 * (If) there's life, then there's the world.
 * English equivalent: After us, the deluge.
 * Meaning: Only if you are alive, things matter.
 * Source:

 * जंगल में मोर नाचा किस ने देखा ? (Hindi)
 * Transliteration: Jangal main mor nacha, kisne dekha?
 * English equivalent: He was in Rome and did not see the pope.
 * Source:

 * जिस की लाठी उस की भैंस (Hindi)
 * Transliteration: Jis ki lathi usi ki bhains.
 * Meaning: Whoever owns the lathi (a huge cane/stick) eventually owns the buffalo.
 * English equivalent: Might is right.
 * Source:

 * जननी जन्मभूमिश्च स्वर्गादपि गरीयसी ॥
 * Transliteration: Jananee janmabhoomischa swargaadapi gareeyasi. (Sanskrit)
 * One's mother and homeland are greater than even heaven.
 * Source: Ramayana (when Ravana's brother Bibhisan asks Rama to take charge of Lanka after defeating Ravana, Rama says the above words, indicating his willingess to return to his own kingdom)

 * घर का भेदी लंका ढाये (Hindi)
 * Transliteration: Ghar ka bhedi lanka dhaye.
 * The insider who knows all the secrets can bring down Lanka (a very prosperous city in Hindu mythology)
 * Meaning: Beware of the insider, for he can bring down the biggest setup (because of his insider knowledge).
 * Bengali equivalent: ঘরের শত্রু বিভীষণ।
 * Source:

 * बंदर क्या जाने अदरक का स्वाद (Hindi)
 * Transliteration: Bandar kya jaane adrak ka swaad.
 * What does a monkey know of the taste of ginger?
 * Meaning: Someone who can't understand can't appreciate (or) Someone without refined tastes cannot appreciate a fine thing.
 * English equivalent: Laying pearls before swine.
 * Bengali equivalent: চাষা কি জানে কর্পূরের গুণChasa ki jane karpurer gun
 * Kannada equivalent: Kattheg enu gotthu Kasthuri parimala (A donkey would not know the scent of Kasthuri)
 * Malayalam equivalent: Nallathe ariyo nayike (Does the dog know what's good)
 * Marathi equivalent: गाढवाला गुळाची चव कायGaadhavala gulaachi chav kay (A donkey cannot appreciate the taste of jaggery)
 * Tamil equivalent: கழுதைக்குத் தெரியுமா கற்பூர வாசனை ? - Kazhudaikku theriyuma karpoora vaasanai? (What does a donkey know about the fragrance of camphor?)
 * Telugu equivalent: Gadida kemi thelusu Gandapu vasana (or) Pandi kemi thelusu panneru vasana.
 * గాడిదకేం తెలుసు గంధపు వాసన? (లేదా)పందికేం తెలుసు పన్నీరు వాసన?
 * Source:

 * अब पछताए होत क्या जब चिड़िया चुग गई खेत (Hindi)
 * Transliteration: ''Ab pachhtaaye hote kya, jab chidiya chug gayi khet?’’
 * What is the use of crying when the birds ate the whole farm?
 * Meaning: There is no use crying over something that has already finished/happened.
 * English equivalent: There is no use crying over spillt milk.
 * Telugu equivalent: Chethulu kalaka akulu pattukunnattu
 * Sanskrit equivalent: गोतोस्यो सोचोन नास्ति (यथा कर्मो तथा सस्ति)
 * Source:

 * नौ सौ चूहे खाके बिल्ली हज को चली (Hindi)
 * Transliteration: Nau sau chuhe khake billi haj ko chali.
 * After eating 900 hundred rats, the cat goes to Hajj.
 * Use: When a person starts behaving saintly or shows fake goodness after committing some very serious crimeshttp://urduboli.blogspot.com/2016/07/urdu-english-proverbs-2.html
 * Source:

 * आसमान से गिरे खजूर में अटके (Hindi)
 * Literal: Fell from the sky, got stuck in a date palm.
 * English equivalent: From the frying pan into the fire.
 * Meaning: While trying to avoid a a bad situation one might end up in an even worse situation.
 * Marathi equivalent: Aagitun fufaatyaat padane. आगीतून फुफाट्यात पडणे
 * Tamil equivalent: வாணலிக்குத் தப்பி அடுப்பில் விழுந்தது போல (vANalikkuth thappi aduppil vizhundhathu pOla) (out of the frying pan, onto the stovetop)
 * Telugu equivalent: Anna prasanannpude avakayi annam pettaru.
 * Literal: A child is not fed with pickled rice at the time of naming ceremony.

ಅಪ್ಪನ ಮಾತು, ಆನೆಯ ಬಲ

appana maatu, aaneya bala

Literal: father's approval [provides one with] the strength of an elephant [morally].

ಅಣ್ಣ ತಮ್ಮನ ಬೇರೆ ಮಾಡ ಬೇಡ

aNNa tammana bEre maaDa bEDa

Literal: don't part two brothers.

ಆರೊಗ್ಯವೇ ಭಾಗ್ಯ

aarOgyavE bhaagya

Literal: Health is wealth.

Meaning: In one’s life, health is more essential than material wealth and so it should not be neglected.

ಅಲ್ಪನಿಗೆ ಐಶ್ವರ್ಯ ಬಂದರೆ ಅರ್ಧ ರಾತ್ರೀಲಿ ಕೊಡೆ ಹಿಡಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ

alpanige aishwarya baMdare ardha raatrIli koDe hiDisikoMDa

Literal: if an inferior gets riches, he demands an umbrella to be held over his head at midnight

Meaning: this is indirect way of saying a person should be poised and should maintain his emotional balance, when fortune smiles on him.

Equivalent: No pride like that of a enriched begger

ಅಳಿವುದೇ ಕಾಯ ಉಳಿವುದೇ ಕೀರ್ತಿ

aLivudE kaaya uLivudE kIrti

Literal: the body dies, the fame lives.

Meaning: the acquired name and fame of a person lives longer than the self.

ಅಳಿಯ ಅಲ್ಲ ಮಗಳ ಗಂಡ

aLiya alla magaLa gaMDa

Literal: [he is] not my Son-in-law, but my daughter's husband.

Meaning: The fact does not change by saying it in a different way.

ಆಡಿದರೆ ಅರಗಿಣಿ ಕಾಡಿದರೆ ನಾಗರ ಕಾಟ

aaDidare aragiNi kaaDidare naagara kaaTa

Literal: if you act out you are a royal parrot, if annoyed, you bother like a cobra

Meaning: when things are fine you are excellent companion, the moment it goes wrong you are like a serpent

ಅಳೋ ಗಂಡ್ಸನ್ನು ನಗೋ ಹೆಂಗ್ಸನ್ನು ನಂಬಬಾರದು

aLO gaMD'sannu nagO heMg'sannu naMbabaaradu

Literal: never believe a man who is cry-prone nor a female who is smile-prone

Meaning: Do not believe a man who cries for everything and similarly a lady who smiles things away.

ಅಯ್ಯೋ ಪಾಪ! ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಅರ್ಧ ಆಯಸ್ಸು

ayyO paapa aMdre ardha aayassu

Literal: if you pity [on somebody], [you have] half life.

Meaning: show pity on someone your lifespan will be cut short i.e., you spend half your life worrying about it.

Meaning: Don't be kind to one and everyone, some times people take you for a ride

ಆಡುವವ ಆಡಿದ್ರೆ ನೋಡುವವಗೆ ಸಿಗ್ಗು

aaDuvava aaDidre nODuvavage siggu

Literal: If an actor enacts [indecently/without inhibitions], the spectator is ashamed

Meaning: an actor may perform to the embarrassment of the spectator

ಅಂಜಿದವನ ಮೇಲೆ ಕಪ್ಪೆ ಹಾರಿದಂಗೆ

aMjidavana mEle kappe haaridaMge

Literal: It's like frog jumping on a person who is already afraid (of it).

ಅಲ್ಲದ ಕನಸು ಕಂಡರೆ ಎದ್ದು ಕುಂಡ್ರು.

allada kanasu kaMDare eddu kuMDru

Literal: if you see a negative dream, get up and sit.

Meaning: wake up to the alaraming calls

ಅಡ್ಡ ಗೋಡೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ದೀಪ ಇಟ್ಟ ಹಾಗೆ

aDDa gODeya mEle dIpa iTTa hAge

Literal: It is like placing a lamp atop a partitioning wall.

Equivalent: He is as undecided as an orphan: if he does not wash his hands, he is called dirty, if he does, he is wasting water.

Usage: This is said of people who refuse to take sides (/ take a stand). Sometimes, it is used in the negative sense to chide people who are indecisive.

ಆರು ಕೊಟ್ಟರೆ ಅತ್ತೆ ಕಡೆ, ಮೂರು ಕೊಟ್ಟರೆ ಸೊಸೆ ಕಡೆ

aaru koTTare atte kaDe, mUru koTTare sose kaDe

Literal: Give him six denominations he sides with mother-in law (backs her up), give him three denominations he sides with daughter-in-law (backs her up).

ಅಡಿಕೆಗೆ ಹೋದ ಮಾನ ಆನೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟರೂ ಬರದು

aDikege hOda maana aane koTTarU baradu

Literal: The reputation lost on a betelnut won't comeback though you donate an elephant.

Meaning: The reputation lost on trivial things cannot be regained by donating big alms.

Equivalent: A wounded reputation is seldom cured

ಅಜ್ಜಿಗೆ ಅರಿವೆಯ ಚಿಂತೆ, ಮೊಮ್ಮಗಳಿಗೆ ಕಜ್ಜಾಯದ ಚಿಂತೆ

ajjige ariveya chinte, mommagaLige kajjaayada chinte

Literal: Grandma is worried about her worn out dress; the Granddaughter worried about having a sweet dish.

Meaning: This is said of irresponsible youngsters who expect a lot from parents who struggle to make ends meet. Used to stress the importance of prioritizing.

Equivalent: Every heart has its own ache

ಅಕ್ಕಿಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಆಸೆ, ನೆ೦ಟರ ಮೇಲೆ ಪ್ರೀತಿ

akkiya mEle aase, neMTara mEle prIti

Literal: She has desire for rice(likes saving it) and has love for her relatives too.

Equivalent: you cannot have a cake and eat it too.

Equivalent: I love you well but touch not my pocket

ಅ೦ಬಲಿ ಕುಡಿಯುವವನಿಗೆ ಮೀಸೆ ಹಿಡಿಯುವವ ಒಬ್ಬ

aMbali kuDiyuvavanige mIse tikkuvanobba

Literal: For the one who drinks porridge, [there is] a person to hold moustache.

Meaning: The one who subsists on porridge, has got an attender to trim his moustache.

Usage: This is said of people who live beyond their means.

Equivalent: Nothing agrees worse than a proud mind and a begger's purse

Equivalent: Little roast great boast

ಅ೦ತೂ ಇಂತೂ ಕು೦ತಿ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಇಲ್ಲ.

aMtU iMtu kuMti makkaLige eMtU rajyavilla

Literal: somehow Kunti's sons have got no state [to rule].

Usage: This proverb is reserved for unlucky ones who never make it however they struggle.

history: The Pandavas, sons of Kunti, spent their childhood and youth in exile. After they finally won the great battle of Mahabharata there was nothing to rule but a ghost kingdom.

ಅತ್ತೆಗೊ೦ದು ಕಾಲ; ಸೊಸೆಗೊ೦ದು ಕಾಲ

attegondu kaala; sosegondu kaala

Literal: [There is] a time for mother-in-law and a time for daughter-in-law.

Usage: The image of the mother-in-law who ruled the roost in joint families with a vengeance to make up for the indignities suffered during her daughter-in-law days is evident here.

Equivalent: Every dog has his day

ಆಸೆಯೇ ದುಃಖಕ್ಕೆ ಮೂಲ

aaseyE duHKakke mUla

Literal: greed is the rootcause of sorrow.

ಆಳ್ ಮೇಲ್ ಆಳ್ ಬಿದ್ದು ಗೋಣು ಬರಿದಾಯ್ತು

aaL mEl aaL biddu gONu baridaaytu

(= ಒಬ್ಬರು ಮತ್ತೊಬ್ಬರ ಮೇಲೆ ಹೊಣೆ ಹೊರಿಸಿ, ಹೊಣೆ ಹೊರಲು ಒಬ್ಬರು ಇಲ್ಲ) (ಆಳ್ = ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ; ಗೋಣು = ಕುತ್ತಿಗೆಯ ಹಿಂಭಾಗ, ಹೊರೆ ಹೊರಲು ಬಳಸುವ ಹೆಗಲಿನ ಭಾಗ)

Literal: [each] servant turn(fell) on [the other] servant and the shoulder/s [which were supposed to share owner's burden] cleared out!

Meaning: This is said referring to a group of individuals.[When occassion called for taking up the responsibility,] Each individual passed the buck to the other individual and there was none left to shoulder the responsibility.

ಅರಿಯದೆ ಮಾಡಿದ ಪಾಪ ಅರಿತಂದು ಪರಿಹಾರ

ariyade maaDida paapa aritandu parihaara

Literal: a sin did without realizing is cured when you realize it.

Meaning: a sin committed out of mistake could be rectified when you look back on it.

Equivalent: a fault confessed is half redressed

ಅಕ್ಕರೆಯಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ದುಃಖವುಂಟು

akkareyiddalli duHKavunTu

Literal: where there is love, there is grief.

Meaning: love accompanies grief.

ಅಕ್ಕನ ಚಿನ್ನವಾದ್ರೂ ಅಕ್ಕಸಾಲಿ ಟೊಣೆಯದೆ(=ಕದಿಯದೆ) ಬಿಡ

akkana cinnavAdrU akkasAli ToNeyade(=kadiyade) biDa

Literal: Though the gold belongs to his own sister, a goldsmith wouldn't let it without swindling

Equivalent: I would cheat my own father at cards.

ಆಯಕಟ್ಟು ಇಲ್ಲದವನಿಗೆ ಆರುಕಟ್ಟು ವಿಭೂತಿ

aaya-kaTTu illadavanige aaru-kaTTu vibhUti

Literal: a person with no physique/vitality/propriety has six packs of holy-ash [i.e., he would resort to a consecrated ointment to ward off any harm/danger to himself]

Meaning: no fighting spirit would make a man [pseudo] religious

ಅವನು ಸಗಣಿ ತಿಂತಾನೆ, ನೀನೂ ತಿಂತೀಯಾ?

avanu sagaNi tiMtaane, nInU tiMtIyaa?

Literal: He eats dung, would you eat it too?

Meaning: Don't follow others blindly.

ಅಡಿಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದರೂ ಮೂಗು ಮೇಲೆ

aDige biddarU mUgu mEle

Literal: though he fell to the feet, his nose is above the feet [i.e., his nose is not touching the feet]

Equivalent: Though vanquished, he could still argue.

 * बूँद-बूँद से घड़ा भरता है (Hindi)

 * Transliteration: Boond-boond se ghara bharta hai.

 * It takes drop by drop to fill a pitcher.

 * English equivalent: Persistence leads to success.

 * "A drop hollows out the stone by falling not twice, but many times; so too is a person made wise by reading not two, but many books."
 * (Giordano Bruno, Il Candelaio)

Quotes

 * सौ सोनार की, एक लोहार की (Hindi)

 * Transliteration: Sau sunar ki ek lauhar ki.

 * A single blow of a blacksmith is equal to a hundred blows of a goldsmith.

 * Meaning: Generally used to demonstrate the power of a strong person to a weak one.

 * Source:

 * வெளுத்ததெல்லாம் பாலல்ல / மின்னுவதெல்லாம் பொன்னல்ல (Tamil)

 * Transliteration: Veluthathellam Paal alla.

 * All the things that are white are not milk.

 * English Equivalent: All that which is white is not milk.

 * (Alternate): All that glitters is not gold

 * Kannada Equivalent: "bellage irodella halalla" (ಬೆಳ್ಳಗೆ ಇರೋದೆಲ್ಲ ಹಾಲಲ್ಲ.)

 * जान है तो जहान है(Hindi)

 * Transliteration: Jaan hai to Jahan Hai.

 * (If) there's life, then there's the world.

 * English equivalent: After us, the deluge.

 * Meaning: Only if you are alive, things matter.

 * Source:

 * जंगल में मोर नाचा किस ने देखा ? (Hindi)

 * Transliteration: Jangal main mor nacha, kisne dekha?

 * Who saw a peacock dance in the woods?

 * Meaning: Even a very good thing will have to be made public, to be acclaimed by people.

 * Source:

 * जिस की लाठी उस की भैंस (Hindi)

 * Transliteration: Jis ki lathi usi ki bhains.

 * Meaning: Whoever owns the lathi (a huge cane/stick) eventually owns the buffalo.

 * English equivalent: Might is right.

 * Source:

 * जननी जन्मभूमिश्च स्वर्गादपि गरीयसी ॥

 * Transliteration: Jananee janmabhoomischa swargaadapi gareeyasi. (Sanskrit)

 * One's mother and homeland are greater than even heaven.

 * Source: Ramayana (when Ravana's brother Bibhisan asks Rama to take charge of Lanka after defeating Ravana, Rama says the above words, indicating his willingess to return to his own kingdom)

 * घर का भेदी लंका ढाये (Hindi)

 * Transliteration: Ghar ka bhedi lanka dhayey.

 * The insider who knows all the secrets can bring down Lanka (a very prosperous city in Hindu mythology)

 * Meaning: Beware of the insider, for he can bring down the biggest setup (because of his insider knowledge).

 * Bengali equivalent: ঘরের শত্রু বিভীষণ।

 * Source:

 * बंदर क्या जाने अदरक का स्वाद (Hindi)

 * Transliteration: Bandar kya jaane adark ka swaad.

 * What does a monkey know of the taste of ginger?

 * Meaning: Someone who can't understand can't appreciate (or) Someone without refined tastes cannot appreciate a fine thing.

 * English equivalent: Laying pearls before swine.

 * Bengali equivalent: চাষা কি জানে কর্পূরের গুণChasa ki jane karpurer gun

 * Kannada equivalent: Kattheg enu gotthu Kasthuri parimala (A donkey would not know the scent of Kasthuri)

 * Malayalam equivalent: Nallathe ariyo nayike (Does the dog know what's good)

 * Marathi equivalent: गाढवाला गुळाची चव कायGaadhavala gulaachi chav kay (A donkey cannot appreciate the taste of jaggery)

 * Tamil equivalent: கழுதைக்குத் தெரியுமா கற்பூர வாசனை ? - Kazhudaikku theriyuma karpoora vaasanai? (What does Donkey know about the odor of Camphor?)

 * Telugu equivalent: Gadida kemi thelusu Gandapu vasana (or) Pandi kemi thelusu panneru vasana.

 * గాడిదకేం తెలుసు గంధపు వాసన? (లేదా)పందికేం తెలుసు పన్నీరు వాసన?

 * Source:

 * अब पछताए होत क्या जब चिड़िया चुग गई खेत (Hindi)

 * Transliteration: ''Ab pachhtaaye hote kya, jab chidiya chug gayi khet?’’

 * What is the use of crying when the birds ate the whole farm?

 * Meaning: There is no use crying over something that has already finished/happened.

 * English equivalent: There is no use crying over spillt milk.

 * Telugu equivalent: Chethulu kalaka akulu pattukunnattu

 * Sanskrit equivalent: गोतोस्यो सोचोन नास्ति (यथा कर्मो तथा सस्ति)

 * Source:

 * नौ सौ चूहे खाके बिल्ली हज को चली (Hindi)

 * Transliteration: Nau sau chuhe khake billi haj ko chali.

 * After eating 900 hundred rats, the cat goes to Hajj.

 * Source:

 * आसमान से गिरे खजूर में अटके (Hindi)

 * Literal: Fell from the sky, got stuck in a date palm.

 * English equivalent: From the frying pan into the fire.

 * Meaning: While trying to avoid a a bad situation one might end up in an even worse situation.

 * Marathi equivalent: Aagitun fufaatyaat padane. आगीतून फुफाट्यात पडणे

 * Tamil equivalent: வாணலிக்குத் தப்பி அடுப்பில் விழுந்தது போல (vANalikkuth thappi aduppil vizhundhathu pOla)

 * Telugu equivalent: Anna prasanannpude avakayi annam pettaru.

 * Literal: A child is not fed with pickled rice at the time of naming ceremony.

ಆರು ಕಾಸಿನ ಸಂಬಳ ಆದರೂ, ಅರಮನೆಯ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡು

aaru kaasina saMbaLa aadarU, aramaneya kelasa maaDu

Literal: Even if the salary is worth six penny be employed in the palace

Meaning: Always do a respectable job, although there is less monetary benefit.

ಆಲಸ್ಯಾತ್ ಅಮೃತಂ ವಿಷಂ

aalasyaat aMrutaM viShaM

Literal: By delay nectar is (=turns into) poison.

Meaning: Opportunity unavailed becomes harmful. One should not delay.

Equivalent: Idleness is the root of all evil

ಆರುವ ದೀಪಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾಂತಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು

aaruva dIpakke kaaMti heccu

Literal: a dying out flame dazzles more

Meaning: This suggests subtly the final glow or false promise before the approaching end.

ಅಪ್ಪನ ಮಾತು, ಆನೆಯ ಬಲ

appana maatu, aaneya bala

Literal: father's approval [provides one with] the strength of an elephant [morally].

ಅಣ್ಣ ತಮ್ಮನ ಬೇರೆ ಮಾಡ ಬೇಡ

aNNa tammana bEre maaDa bEDa

Literal: don't part two brothers.

ಆರೊಗ್ಯವೇ ಭಾಗ್ಯ

aarOgyavE bhaagya

Literal: Health is wealth.

Meaning: In one’s life, health is more essential than material wealth and so it should not be neglected.

ಅಲ್ಪನಿಗೆ ಐಶ್ವರ್ಯ ಬಂದರೆ ಅರ್ಧ ರಾತ್ರೀಲಿ ಕೊಡೆ ಹಿಡಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ

alpanige aishwarya baMdare ardha raatrIli koDe hiDisikoMDa

Literal: if an inferior gets riches, he demands an umbrella to be held over his head at midnight

Meaning: this is indirect way of saying a person should be poised and should maintain his emotional balance, when fortune smiles on him.

Equivalent: No pride like that of a enriched begger

ಅಳಿವುದೇ ಕಾಯ ಉಳಿವುದೇ ಕೀರ್ತಿ

aLivudE kaaya uLivudE kIrti

Literal: the body dies, the fame lives.

Meaning: the acquired name and fame of a person lives longer than the self.

ಅಳಿಯ ಅಲ್ಲ ಮಗಳ ಗಂಡ

aLiya alla magaLa gaMDa

Literal: [he is] not my Son-in-law, but my daughter's husband.

Meaning: The fact does not change by saying it in a different way.

ಆಡಿದರೆ ಅರಗಿಣಿ ಕಾಡಿದರೆ ನಾಗರ ಕಾಟ

aaDidare aragiNi kaaDidare naagara kaaTa

Literal: if you act out you are a royal parrot, if annoyed, you bother like a cobra

Meaning: when things are fine you are excellent companion, the moment it goes wrong you are like a serpent

ಅಳೋ ಗಂಡ್ಸನ್ನು ನಗೋ ಹೆಂಗ್ಸನ್ನು ನಂಬಬಾರದು

aLO gaMD'sannu nagO heMg'sannu naMbabaaradu

Literal: never believe a man who is cry-prone nor a female who is smile-prone

Meaning: Do not believe a man who cries for everything and similarly a lady who smiles things away.

ಅಯ್ಯೋ ಪಾಪ! ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಅರ್ಧ ಆಯಸ್ಸು

ayyO paapa aMdre ardha aayassu

Literal: if you pity [on somebody], [you have] half life.

Meaning: show pity on someone your lifespan will be cut short i.e., you spend half your life worrying about it.

Meaning: Don't be kind to one and everyone, some times people take you for a ride

ಆಡುವವ ಆಡಿದ್ರೆ ನೋಡುವವಗೆ ಸಿಗ್ಗು

aaDuvava aaDidre nODuvavage siggu

Literal: If an actor enacts [indecently/without inhibitions], the spectator is ashamed

Meaning: an actor may perform to the embarrassment of the spectator

ಅಂಜಿದವನ ಮೇಲೆ ಕಪ್ಪೆ ಹಾರಿದಂಗೆ

aMjidavana mEle kappe haaridaMge

Literal: It's like frog jumping on a person who is already afraid (of it).

ಅಲ್ಲದ ಕನಸು ಕಂಡರೆ ಎದ್ದು ಕುಂಡ್ರು.

allada kanasu kaMDare eddu kuMDru

Literal: if you see a negative dream, get up and sit.

Meaning: wake up to the alaraming calls

ಅಡ್ಡ ಗೋಡೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ದೀಪ ಇಟ್ಟ ಹಾಗೆ

aDDa gODeya mEle dIpa iTTa hAge

Literal: It is like placing a lamp atop a partitioning wall.

Equivalent: He is as undecided as an orphan: if he does not wash his hands, he is called dirty, if he does, he is wasting water.

Usage: This is said of people who refuse to take sides (/ take a stand). Sometimes, it is used in the negative sense to chide people who are indecisive.

ಆರು ಕೊಟ್ಟರೆ ಅತ್ತೆ ಕಡೆ, ಮೂರು ಕೊಟ್ಟರೆ ಸೊಸೆ ಕಡೆ

aaru koTTare atte kaDe, mUru koTTare sose kaDe

Literal: Give him six denominations he sides with mother-in law (backs her up), give him three denominations he sides with daughter-in-law (backs her up).

ಅಡಿಕೆಗೆ ಹೋದ ಮಾನ ಆನೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟರೂ ಬರದು

aDikege hOda maana aane koTTarU baradu

Literal: The reputation lost on a betelnut won't comeback though you donate an elephant.

Meaning: The reputation lost on trivial things cannot be regained by donating big alms.

Equivalent: A wounded reputation is seldom cured

ಅಜ್ಜಿಗೆ ಅರಿವೆಯ ಚಿಂತೆ, ಮೊಮ್ಮಗಳಿಗೆ ಕಜ್ಜಾಯದ ಚಿಂತೆ

ajjige ariveya chinte, mommagaLige kajjaayada chinte

Literal: Grandma is worried about her worn out dress; the Granddaughter worried about having a sweet dish.

Meaning: This is said of irresponsible youngsters who expect a lot from parents who struggle to make ends meet. Used to stress the importance of prioritizing.

Equivalent: Every heart has its own ache

ಅಕ್ಕಿಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಆಸೆ, ನೆ೦ಟರ ಮೇಲೆ ಪ್ರೀತಿ

akkiya mEle aase, neMTara mEle prIti

Literal: She has desire for rice(likes saving it) and has love for her relatives too.

Equivalent: you cannot have a cake and eat it too.

Equivalent: I love you well but touch not my pocket

ಅ೦ಬಲಿ ಕುಡಿಯುವವನಿಗೆ ಮೀಸೆ ಹಿಡಿಯುವವ ಒಬ್ಬ

aMbali kuDiyuvavanige mIse tikkuvanobba

Literal: For the one who drinks porridge, [there is] a person to hold moustache.

Meaning: The one who subsists on porridge, has got an attender to trim his moustache.

Usage: This is said of people who live beyond their means.

Equivalent: Nothing agrees worse than a proud mind and a begger's purse

Equivalent: Little roast great boast

ಅ೦ತೂ ಇಂತೂ ಕು೦ತಿ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಇಲ್ಲ.

aMtU iMtu kuMti makkaLige eMtU rajyavilla

Literal: somehow Kunti's sons have got no state [to rule].

Usage: This proverb is reserved for unlucky ones who never make it however they struggle.

history: The Pandavas, sons of Kunti, spent their childhood and youth in exile. After they finally won the great battle of Mahabharata there was nothing to rule but a ghost kingdom.

ಅತ್ತೆಗೊ೦ದು ಕಾಲ; ಸೊಸೆಗೊ೦ದು ಕಾಲ

attegondu kaala; sosegondu kaala

Literal: [There is] a time for mother-in-law and a time for daughter-in-law.

Usage: The image of the mother-in-law who ruled the roost in joint families with a vengeance to make up for the indignities suffered during her daughter-in-law days is evident here.

Equivalent: Every dog has his day

ಆಸೆಯೇ ದುಃಖಕ್ಕೆ ಮೂಲ

aaseyE duHKakke mUla

Literal: greed is the rootcause of sorrow.

ಆಳ್ ಮೇಲ್ ಆಳ್ ಬಿದ್ದು ಗೋಣು ಬರಿದಾಯ್ತು

aaL mEl aaL biddu gONu baridaaytu

(= ಒಬ್ಬರು ಮತ್ತೊಬ್ಬರ ಮೇಲೆ ಹೊಣೆ ಹೊರಿಸಿ, ಹೊಣೆ ಹೊರಲು ಒಬ್ಬರು ಇಲ್ಲ) (ಆಳ್ = ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ; ಗೋಣು = ಕುತ್ತಿಗೆಯ ಹಿಂಭಾಗ, ಹೊರೆ ಹೊರಲು ಬಳಸುವ ಹೆಗಲಿನ ಭಾಗ)

Literal: [each] servant turn(fell) on [the other] servant and the shoulder/s [which were supposed to share owner's burden] cleared out!

Meaning: This is said referring to a group of individuals.[When occassion called for taking up the responsibility,] Each individual passed the buck to the other individual and there was none left to shoulder the responsibility.

ಅರಿಯದೆ ಮಾಡಿದ ಪಾಪ ಅರಿತಂದು ಪರಿಹಾರ

ariyade maaDida paapa aritandu parihaara

Literal: a sin did without realizing is cured when you realize it.

Meaning: a sin committed out of mistake could be rectified when you look back on it.

Equivalent: a fault confessed is half redressed

ಅಕ್ಕರೆಯಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ದುಃಖವುಂಟು

akkareyiddalli duHKavunTu

Literal: where there is love, there is grief.

Meaning: love accompanies grief.

ಅಕ್ಕನ ಚಿನ್ನವಾದ್ರೂ ಅಕ್ಕಸಾಲಿ ಟೊಣೆಯದೆ(=ಕದಿಯದೆ) ಬಿಡ

akkana cinnavAdrU akkasAli ToNeyade(=kadiyade) biDa

Literal: Though the gold belogs to his own sister, a goldsmith wouldn't let it without swindling

Equivalent: I would cheat my own father at cards.

ಆಯಕಟ್ಟು ಇಲ್ಲದವನಿಗೆ ಆರುಕಟ್ಟು ವಿಭೂತಿ

aaya-kaTTu illadavanige aaru-kaTTu vibhUti

Literal: a person with no physique/vitality/propriety has six packs of holy-ash [i.e., he would resort to a consecrated ointment to ward off any harm/danger to himself]

Meaning: no fighting spirit would make a man [pseudo] religious

ಅವನು ಸಗಣಿ ತಿಂತಾನೆ, ನೀನೂ ತಿಂತೀಯಾ?

avanu sagaNi tiMtaane, nInU tiMtIyaa?

Literal: He eats dung, would you eat it too?

Meaning: Don't follow others blindly.

ಅಡಿಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದರೂ ಮೂಗು ಮೇಲೆ

aDige biddarU mUgu mEle

Literal: though he fell to the feet, his nose is above the feet [i.e., his nose is not touching the feet]

Equivalent: Though vanquished, he could still argue.

 * बूँद-बूँद से घड़ा भरता है (Hindi)

 * Transliteration: Boond-boond se ghara bharta hai.

 * It takes drop by drop to fill a pitcher.

 * English equivalent: Constant dropping fills the bucket

 * Meaning: Persistence is the key to success

 * Source for meaning of English equivalent:

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Indian proverbs


text:
Talk:Novalis

what is this? there are no quotes here. is that acceptable? what's the point? --sasha--

Unsourced
Wikiquote no longer allows unsourced quotations, and they are in process of being removed from our pages (see Wikiquote:Limits on quotations); but if you can provide a reliable and precise source for any quote on this list please move it to Novalis. --Antiquary 19:49, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

 With German text:
 * Schlafen ist Verdauen der Sinneseindrücke. Träume sind Exkremente.
 * Sleep is a digest of sensial impressions. Dreams are excrements.

 * Ein Gottbetrunkener Mensch
 * A God-intoxicated man
 * Said of Spinoza.

 Without German text:

 * Apprenticeship suits the novice poet — academic study the novice philosopher.

 * Christianity is the root of all democracy, the highest fact in the rights of men.

 * Death is a victory over the self — which, like all self-conquest, brings about a new, easier existence.

 * Learning is pleasurable but doing is the height of enjoyment.

 * Life is the beginning of death. Life is for the sake of death. Death is at once the end and the beginning — at once separation and closer union of the self. Through death the reduction is complete.

 * Nature is incomprehensible per se. Stillness and formed incomprehensibility. Philosophy is prose. Her consonants. Distant philosophy sounds like poesy — because every call into the distance becomes a vowel. So everything at a distance becomes poesy — poem.

 * Only an artist can interpret the meaning of life.

 * Only as far as a man is happily married to himself is he fit for married life and family life in general.

 * The artist belongs to his work, not the work to the artist.

 * The more poetic, the more real. This is the core of my philosophy.

 * The spirit is perpetually proving itself.

 * The world state is the body, which is — animated by the world of beauty, the world of sociability. It is the necessary instrument of this world.

 * To know a truth well, one must have fought it out.

 * We shall never entirely comprehend ourselves, but we will and can do much more than comprehend ourselves.

Critique
My sense from reading the article on the over-page is that it has been pruned so much that what remains is chaotic. While I'm familiar with much of that detritus (the early Carlyle article in England; the philosophical meditative fiction The Students of Sais; The Hymns to the Night, etc.), though I am not a Novalis scholar, I'm aware of so much that is missing from this article right now (8/2/2015) that at the best it's informatively suspect. At worst it's collections of quotes so out of context as to be meaningless. In reverse order of importance: Certainly Novalis's most widely known two quotes in translation (at least in some intellectual circles) are "Writings are the thoughts of the State; archives are its memory," as quoted by Guy Debord in La societé de spectacle (Editions Buchet-Chastel [Paris], 1967; reprinted Champ Libre [Paris], 1971, translated by Red & Black [Detroit], 1970 and revised 1972, section 131) and "Character is fate," which Guy Davenport writes may be read as Novalis's "elegant paraphrase" of an equally famous fragment by Heraceitos (69 in Davenport's own translation) in the Introduction to his collection of translations, 7 Greeks (p. 16, Davenport, New Directions, 1995). Besides the Hymnen an die Nacht, which is his only poetry the article mentions, Novalis is the author of a widely read "strange, ingenuous fusion of novel, fairy tale, and poem" (cover blurb) Heinrich Von Ofterdinger, begun in 1799 and published after his death in 1801, which is not even mentioned in the article, though it is the source of all the blue flower imagery in the right hand marginal photos, which are pretty but relatively meaningless without some explanatory text. Much work has been done on Novalis's notes on poetry, life, and philosophy. At least three books full have been translated into English and published: Novalis: Pollen and Fragments (Authur Versluis, Phanes Press, Grand Rapids, 1989; besides those two collections of fragments it contains a translation of Hymnen an die Nacht along with eight other briefer lyrics); Novalis Philosophical Writings (Margaret Mahoney Stoljar, SUNY Press, Albany, 1997); and Novalis, Fichte Studies (Jane Kneller, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2003). Because these works have been considered important enough to edit and translate in the last thirty-five years, someone might mention them in the article. Finally--and perhaps to return to the relatively unimportant--he is the subject of a pyrotechnically well researched historical novel by Penelope Fitzgerald, The Blue Flower (Flamingo [Great Britain], 1995). which gives a strong sense of the difference between Novalis's world and ours as well as an outline of his family life and some of the incidents (his nuptial engagement with 13 year old Sophie von Kuhn, who died, age 15, after two operation on her liver, on March 19, 1797, as Novalis himself was to die of tuberculosis, on Match 25, 1801, at age 28) that we associate with him.
 * Our pages on authors are collections of general quotes arranged chronologically, followed by those from specific works with their own sections, with these sections arranged chronologically. Further additions of quotes, or extensions of them for context are usually welcomed. That is about all the commentary I have at present, as I am but briefly checking in, and must be leaving again soon. So it goes… ⨀∴☥☮♥∵ॐ … Blessings. ~ ♞☤☮♌Kalki·†·⚓⊙☳☶⚡ 12:29, 2 August 2015 (UTC)

"Fragmente I" and other material now on www.projekt-gutenberg.org
It appears that was created after quotes sourced to Carlyle's "Novalis" were added here. I've moved one quote out of the "Novalis" section and into "Quotes" because now it can be sourced directly to the German. For consistency, the rest of the quotes in the "Novalis" section should be sourced to the German and moved to new, separate sections accordingly. Zgystardst (talk) 20:20, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Novalis


text:
Nikita Khrushchev

Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchyov (17 April 1894 – 11 September 1971) served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and as chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev stunned the communist world with his denunciation of Stalin's crimes, and embarked on a policy of de-Stalinization with his key ally Anastas Mikoyan. He sponsored the early Soviet space program, and made some reforms to domestic policy. After some false starts, and a narrowly avoided nuclear war over Cuba, he conducted successful negotiations with the United States to reduce Cold War tensions. His proclivity toward recklessness led the Kremlin leadership to strip him of power, replacing him with Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary and Alexei Kosygin as Premier.

Quotes

 * They say that the Soviet delegates smile. That smile is genuine. It is not artificial. We wish to live in peace, tranquility. But if anyone believes that our smiles involve abandonment of the teaching of Marx, Engels and Lenin he deceives himself poorly. Those who wait for that must wait until a shrimp learns to whistle.
 * Impromptu speech at a dinner for visiting East German dignitaries, Moscow (September 17, 1955), as reported by The New York Times (September 18, 1955), p. 19.

 * Yes, today we have genuine Russian weather. Yesterday we had Swedish weather. I can't understand why your weather is so terrible. Maybe it is because you are immediate neighbours of NATO.
 * At a Swedish-Soviet summit which began on March 30, 1956, in Moscow. The stenographed discussion was later published by the Swedish Government.as quoted in Raoul Wallenberg (1985) by Eric Sjöquist, p. 119 ISBN 9153650875

 * Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will dig you in. (.)
 * Нравится вам или нет, но история на нашей стороне. Мы вас похороним!
 * Remark to western ambassadors during a diplomatic reception in Moscow (18 November 1956) as quoted in Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev: Statesman, 1953-1964, Penn State Press, 2007, (2007) by Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev, p. 893

 * When it is a question of fighting against imperialism we can state with conviction that we are all Stalinists. We can take pride that we have taken part in the fight for the advance of our great cause against our enemies. From that point of view I am proud that we are Stalinists.
 * Remark made at Kremlin New Year's Eve reception, December 31, 1956. Quoted in Khrushchev by Edward Crankshaw. ISBN 9781448205059

 * I am very glad to hear this, since I come from the Ukraine. From now on I can sleep peacefully. I will immediately telegraph my daughter in Kiev.
 * Khrushchev's reply when the Swedish prime minister Erlander assured him that Sweden had no intention of repeating the 1709 Battle of Poltava in eastern Ukraine between Russia and Sweden. From a Swedish-Soviet summit which began on March 30, 1956, in Moscow, as quoted in Raoul Wallenberg (1985) by Eric Sjöquist, p. 125 ISBN 9153650875

 * If Adenauer were here with us in the sauna, we could see for ourselves that Germany is and will remain divided but also that Germany never will rise again.
 * Said during a late night visit to a sauna with Finland's president Kekkonen in June 1957. Translated from Våldets århundrade (2001) by Max Jakobson, p. 220 ISBN 9174866389

 * A man emaciated by a grave illness is at first treated by doctors gradually. Food is administered to him in small doses. If more is administered to the patient, it might kill him. And so we want to begin disarmament not with a full dose, although we are prepared even for a full dose. I have said already that the Western powers greatly distrust us. We, too, do not trust them in everything. And so, in order not to destroy a thing which is of great and vital importance to mankind, disarmament, we suggest to begin not with a cardinal but with a gradual solution to disarmament problems.
 * Interview with Iverach McDonald, London Times (January 1958)

 * The thought sometimes -- the unpleasant thought sometimes creeps up on me here as to whether perhaps Khrushchev was not invited here to enable you to sort of rub him in your sauce and to show the might and the strength of the United States so as to make him sort of … so as to make him shaky at the knees. If that is so, then if I came -- if it took me about 12 hours to get here, I guess it'll just -- it'll take no more than about 10½ hours to fly back.
 * Khrushchev's remarks on his unfriendly reception in California while on a United States Tour.

 * I happened to read recently a remark by the American nuclear physicist W. Davidson, who noted that the explosion of one hydrogen bomb releases a greater amount of energy than all the explosions set off by all countries in all wars known in the entire history of mankind. And he, apparently, is right.
 * Address to the United Nations, New York City (September 18, 1959), as reported by The New York Times (September 19, 1959), p. 8. The physicist quoted was eventually found to be William Davidon, associate physicist at Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois.

 * We have come to this town where lives the cream of American art.… But just now I was told that I could not go to Disneyland. I asked "Why not? What is it? Do you have rocket-launching pads there?" I do not know. Just listen to what reason I was told: "We," which means the American authorities, "cannot guarantee your security if you go there." What is it? Is there an epidemic of cholera there or something? Or have gangsters taken over the place that can destroy me? Then what must I do? Commit suicide? … For me, this situation is inconceivable. I cannot find words to explain this to my people.
 * Remarks during a Hollywood luncheon (19 September 1959), quoted in New York Times (20 September 1959) "Text of Khrushchev Debate With Skouras"

 * Mr. President, call the toady of American imperialism to order.
 * Remark in the United Nations General Assembly (12 October 1960), denouncing a speech by Philippines delegate Lorenzo Sumulong

 * I have participated in two wars and know that war ends when it has rolled through cities and villages, everywhere sowing death and destruction. For such is the logic of war. If people do not display wisdom, they will clash like blind moles and then mutual annihilation will commence.… We and you ought not to pull on the ends of a rope in which you have tied the knot of war. Because the more the two of us pull, the tighter the knot will be tied. And then it will be necessary to cut that knot, and what that would mean is not for me to explain to you.
 * Telegram to John F. Kennedy (26 October 1962)

 * I see, Mr. President, that you too are not devoid of a sense of anxiety for the fate of the world understanding, and of what war entails. What would a war give you? You are threatening us with war. But you well know that the very least which you would receive in reply would be that you would experience the same consequences as those which you sent us. And that must be clear to us, people invested with authority, trust, and responsibility. We must not succumb to intoxication and petty passions, regardless of whether elections are impending in this or that country, or not impending. These are all transient things, but if indeed war should break out, then it would not be in our power to stop it, for such is the logic of war. I have participated in two wars and know that war ends when it has rolled through cities and villages, everywhere sowing death and destruction. [...] If people do not show wisdom, then in the final analysis they will come to a clash, like blind moles, and then reciprocal extermination will begin. [...] Mr. President, I appeal to you to weigh well what the aggressive, piratical actions, which you have declared the USA intends to carry out in international waters, would lead to. You yourself know that any sensible man simply cannot agree with this, cannot recognize your right to such actions. If you did this as the first step towards the unleashing of war, well then, it is evident that nothing else is left to us but to accept this challenge of yours. If, however, you have not lost your self-control and sensibly conceive what this might lead to, then, Mr. President, we and you ought not now to pull on the ends of the rope in which you have tied the knot of war, because the more the two of us pull, the tighter that knot will be tied. And a moment may come when that knot will be tied so tight that even he who tied it will not have the strength to untie it, and then it will be necessary to cut that knot, and what that would mean is not for me to explain to you, because you yourself understand perfectly of what terrible forces our countries dispose. Consequently, if there is no intention to tighten that knot and thereby to doom the world to the catastrophe of thermonuclear war, then let us not only relax the forces pulling on the ends of the rope, let us take measures to untie that knot. We are ready for this.
 * Department of State Telegram Transmitting Letter From Chairman Khrushchev to President Kennedy, October 26, 1962. As provided by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022.

 * Don't you know how to paint? My grandson will paint it better! What is this? Are you men or damned pederasts? How can you paint like that? Do you have a conscience?
 * Said to avant-garde artists Ely Bielutin and Ernst Neizvestny during a visit to their exhibition (1 December 1962)

 * Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.
 * Comment on the construction of a bridge in Belgrade (22 August 1963), quoted in Chicago Tribune (22 August 1963) "Khrushchev Needles Peking"

 * Berlin is the testicle of the West. When I want the West to scream, I squeeze on Berlin.
 * Aug. 24, 1963, speech in Yugoslavia
 * If you start throwing hedgehogs under me, I shall throw a couple of porcupines under you.
 * As quoted in The New York Times (7 November 1963)

 * I remember President Kennedy once stated... that the United States had the nuclear missile capacity to wipe out the Soviet Union two times over, while the Soviet Union had enough atomic weapons to wipe out the United States only once... When journalists asked me to comment... I said jokingly, "Yes, I know what Kennedy claims, and he's quite right. But I'm not complaining... We're satisfied to be able to finish off the United States first time round. Once is quite enough. What good does it do to annihilate a country twice? We're not a bloodthirsty people."
 * As quoted in Khrushchev Remembers: The Last Testament (1974)

 * My arms are up to the elbows in blood. That is the most terrible thing that lies in my soul.
 * Told to Soviet playwright Nikolay Shatrov, as quoted in William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era (New York: W.W. Norton, 2002)

"Secret Report to the 20th Party Congress of the CPSU"
"The Cult of the Individual and Its Consequences" (24 February 1956)
 * Comrades! We must abolish the cult of the individual decisively, once and for all.
 * Concerning Stalin's merits, an entirely sufficient number of books, pamphlets and studies had already been written in his lifetime. The role of Stalin in the preparation and execution of the socialist revolution, in the Civil War, and in the fight for the construction of socialism in our country, is universally known.
 * The Stalinist Legacy (1984)
 * When we analyze the practice of Stalin in regard to the direction of the party and the country, when we pause to consider everything which Stalin perpetrated, we must be convinced that Lenin's fear were justified. The negative characteristics of Stalin, which, in Lenin's time, were only incipient, transformed themselves during the last years into a grave abuse of power by Stalin, which caused untold harm.
 * Stalin acted not through persuasion, explanation and patient cooperation with people, but by imposing his concepts and demanding absolute submission to his opinion. Whoever opposed this concept or tried to prove his viewpoint and the correctness of his position was doomed to removal from the leading collective and to subsequent moral and physical annihilation.
 * We must affirm that the part had fought a serious fight against the Trotskyistes, rightists and bourgeois nationalists, and that it disarmed ideologically all the enemies of Leninism. This ideological fight was carried on successfully, as a result of which the party became strengthened and tempered. Here Stalin played a positive role.
 * Stalin originated the concept of 'enemy of the people'. This term automatically rendered it unnecessary that the ideological errors of a man or men engaged in a controversy be proven; this term made possible the usage of the most cruel repression, violating all norms of revolutionary legality, against anyone who in any way disagreed with Stalin, against those who were only suspected of hostile intent, against those who had bad reputations. This concept 'enemy of the people' actually eliminated the possibility of any kind of ideological fight or the making of one's views known on this or that issue, even those of a practical character. In the main, and in actuality, the only proof of guilt used, against all norms of current legal science, was the 'confession' of the accused himself.
 * When the fascist armies had actually invaded Soviet territory and military operations began, Moscow issued the order that the German fire was not to be returned. Why? It was because Stalin, despite evident facts, thought that the war had not yet started, that this was only a provocative action on the part of several undisciplined sections of the German Army, and that reaction might serve as a reason for the Germans to begin the war.

Misattributed

 * The living will envy the dead.
 * No instance of this statement, allegedly in reference to nuclear war, has been found in Khrushchev's writings or documented remarks, as indicated in Respectfully Quoted : A Dictionary of Quotations (1989). Herman Kahn used "the survivors [will] envy the dead" in his 1960 book On Thermonuclear War. In Russia the quote is usually attributed to the translation of Treasure Island by Nikolay Chukovsky: "А те из вас, кто останется в живых, позавидуют мертвым!" "Those of you who will be still alive will envy the dead", originally: "Them that die'll be the lucky ones." A precedent for all of these is Jeremiah 8:3, "Death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain."

 * We cannot expect the Americans to jump from capitalism to communism, but we can aid their elected leaders in giving them small doses of socialism until suddenly they awake to find they have communism.
 * This quotation circulated in American anti-communist propaganda during the years after Khrushchev's September 1959 visit to the United States, typically attributed as something he said three and a half months before the visit. A contemporary investigation by the Library of Congress and the US Information Agency found no source, although Khrushchev did refer to "small doses" in an entirely different context, quoted above. See "Khrushchev Could Have Said It" by Morris K. Udall

Quotes about Khruschchev

 * Khrushchev was overthrown in October 1964 by a politburo disgruntled by his brinkmanship over Suez, Berlin, and Cuba and also opposed to his erratic search for coexistence with the United States. During his nine-year rule, Khrushchev had attempted to achieve the impossible: while striving to dismantle the repressive elements of Stalinism, he had used Stalinist measures to crush popular revolutions in Eastern Europe; while seeking to unify global communism, he had created a powerful rival in Mao’s China; while seeking to revive Marxist-Leninist revolutionary impulses in the Third World, he had not only raised Washington’s hackles but also embraced nationalist leaders who imprisoned their left-wing opposition; and while seeking détente with the United States and the end of NATO, his inflammatory language and nuclear threats had underscored the need for a united West. Despite their differences in age and temperament, Kennedy and Khrushchev were both hardened Cold Warriors who only dimly recognized the radical changes in the world landscape that were beginning to reduce the Superpowers’ control. Their successors, less experienced in diplomacy and more intent on domestic reforms, would create a dangerous pause in the Superpowers’ post-Berlin, post- Cuba search for détente.
 * Carole C. Fink, Cold War: An International History (2017), p. 115
 * Political conditions on the other side had also changed significantly as a result of the Sino-Soviet rupture. In the late 1950s, Mao, resentful of Moscow's refusal to support China's atomic weapons program, condemned Krushchev's abandonment of the doctrine of revolutionary warfare and his pursuit of peaceful coexistence. Krushchev, a critic of Mao's disastrous Great Leap Forward and belligerence toward his neighbors, in 1960 suddenly withdrew Soviet experts and reduced Soviet assistance to China. After the split became public at the Twenty-Second Party Congress in October 1961, Mao openly mocked Krushchev's retreat during the Cuban missile crisis, complained of Moscow's pro-New Delhi stance during the 1962 Sino-Indian border conflict, and denounced the test ban treaty as a means of preventing China from developing its own nuclear weapons. By the end of 1963 the two communist giants were openly competing for leadership of the revolutionary movements in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
 * Carole C. Fink, Cold War: An International History (2017), p. 125

 * Our only "crime" is that in Bucharest we did not agree that a fraternal communist party like the Chinese Communist Party should be unjustly condemned; our only "crime" is that we had the courage to oppose openly, at an international communist meeting (and not in the marketplace) the unjust action of Comrade Khrushchev, our only "crime" is that we are a small Party of a small and poor country which, according to Comrade Khrushchev, should merely applaud and approve but express no opinion of its own. But this is neither Marxist nor acceptable. Marxism-Leninism has granted us the right to have our say and we will not give up this right for any one, neither on account of political and economic pressure nor on account of the threats and epithets that they might hurl at us. On this occasion we would like to ask Comrade Khrushchev why he did not make such a statement to us instead of to a representative of a third party. Or does Comrade Khrushchev think that the Party of Labor of Albania has no views of its own but has made common cause with the Communist Party of China in an unprincipled manner, and therefore, on matters pertaining to our Party, one can talk with the Chinese comrades? No, Comrade Khrushchev, you continue to blunder and hold very wrong opinions about our Party. The Party of Labor of Albania has its own views and will answer for them both to its own people as well as to the international communist and workers' movement.
 * It is not we who behave like the Yugoslavs but you, comrade Khrushchev, who are using methods alien to Marxism-Leninism against our Party. You consider Albania as a market commodity which can be gained by one or lost by another. There was a time when Albania was considered a medium of exchange, when others thought it depended on them whether Albania should or should not exist, but that time came to an end with the triumph of the ideas of Marxism-Leninism in our country. You were repeating the same thing when you decided that you had "lost" Albania or that some one else had "won" it, when you decided that Albania is no longer a socialist country, as it turns out from the letter you handed to us on November 8, in which our country is not mentioned as a socialist country.
 * Enver Hoxha, Reject the Revisionist Theses of the XX Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Anti-Marxist Stand of Krushchev's Group! Uphold Marxism-Leninism!, Speech Delivered by Enver Hoxha as Head of the Delegation of the Party of Labor of Albania Before the Meeting of 81 Communist and Workers Parties, Moscow, 16 November, 1960

 * Nikita Khruschev was a difficult man to deal with, often very hard, always determined. But his peasant side which made him alternatively good-natured and cunning, also made him likeable.
 * Muhammad Reza Pahlavi (1980) The Shah's Story, page 142

 * Comrade Khrushchev often repeats that Socialism cannot be built with American wheat. I think it can be done by anyone who knows how to do it, while a person who doesn't know how to do it cannot build Socialism even with his own wheat. Khrushchev says we live on charity received from the imperialist countries … What moral right have those who attack us to rebuke us about American aid or credits when Khruschev himself has just tried to conclude an economic agreement with America?
 * Josip Broz Tito, as quoted by Jasper Ridley, Tito: A Biography (Constable and Company Ltd., 1994), p. 348-349.

 * He's a charming fellow between sentences.
 * John Charles Daly, What's my Line?, 20 September 1959.
 * The peoples of all our democracies are hungry for peace and security. For 20 years some of us have lived either at war or under the shadow of war. They yearn for some alleviation of the exertions and sacrifices that have been demanded of them. They hear the argument put forward that the development of nuclear weapons has rendered conventional forces obsolete and unnecessary, and that it is a waste of money and effort to continue to maintain them. They are asked by some to believe that the hydrogen bomb has rendered war impossible because it is so deadly that both sides would be annihilated. There is therefore a danger that the free peoples may be lulled into a sense of false security, and that they will succumb to the temptation to relax their efforts which are still essential, if peace is to be preserved, and if our freedom and way of life are to be safeguarded. We must therefore be very careful not to be misled by specious and wholly untenable arguments, or read more into the smiles of the Kremlin than the facts of the case warrant. After all, even Mr. Krushev has himself warned us against wishful thinking. Here is what he said at a Kremlin banquet as recently as a fortnight ago: "The West say that the Soviet leaders smile, but that their actions do not match their smiles. But I assure them that the smiles are sincere. They are not artificial. We wish to live in peace. But if anyone thinks that our smiles mean that we abandon the teachings of Marx and Lenin" (i.e. that the ultimate purpose of Soviet policy is world revolution),"or abandon our Communist road, then they are fooling themselves". In the circumstances I submit that our course is plain. If we are to achieve a lasting relaxation of tension between East and West, and with it practical measures for peace, we can only do so by maintaining our unity and continuing to build up our collective strength.
 * Hastings Ismay, Speech at the Danish Society for the Atlantic Pact and Democracy, 30 September 1955

 * And lastly, Chairman Khrushchev has compared the United States to a worn-out runner living on its past performance, and stated that the Soviet Union would out-produce the United States by 1970. Without wishing to trade hyperbole with the Chairman, I do suggest that he reminds me of the tiger hunter who has picked a place on the wall to hang the tiger's skin long before he his caught the tiger. This tiger has other ideas.
 * President John F. Kennedy's 13th News Conferences on June 28, 1961 John Source: F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
 * In Thompson's mind was this thought: Khrushchev's gotten himself in a hell of a fix. He would then think to himself, "My God, if I can get out of this with a deal that I can say to the Russian people: 'Kennedy was going to destroy Castro and I prevented it.'" Thompson, knowing Khrushchev as he did, thought Khrushchev will accept that. And Thompson was right.
 * Robert McNamara, The Fog of War (2003)

 * Khrushchev relaxed somewhat the dead dictator’s regime without changing its basic institutions or laws: one-party rule remained in place, as did the ubiquitous secret police and censorship. Nevertheless, life for Soviet citizens eased considerably. Millions of concentration-camp inmates regained their freedom. Many victims of repression were rehabilitated, which did not benefit them but brought relief to their families. Limited contacts with foreign nationals were permitted once again. More visitors from abroad received entry visas, and more Soviet citizens could travel outside the USSR. The jamming of foreign short-wave broadcasts continued as before, but it was not foolproof, so that the Soviet public could obtain a more realistic picture of life abroad as well as at home. The effect was to open people’s eyes.
 * Richard Pipes, Communism: A History (2003)
 * Nikita Krushchev's eagerness to challenge U.S. interests around the world contributed to the spread of the Cold War in the Middle East, East Asia, Latin America, and even Africa. Krushchev's aggressiveness was motivated not only by a desire to take advantage of an opportunity to expand Soviet influence but also by the perceived Soviet need to fend off a growing challenge by China for leadership of the communist movement. Krushchev's willingness to engage the United States in a nuclear arms race was motivated primarily by his realization that the Soviet Union, despite the continuing development of its nuclear arsenal, was still vulnerable to an American nuclear strike. He undoubtedly believed that the best defense is a good offense and that a forward policy would conceal Soviet nuclear weakness while serving to pressure the West to resolve issues, such as Berlin, to the satisfaction of the Soviet Union. Krushchev's aggressiveness also made Soviet-American reconciliation impossible during the 1950s.
 * Ronald Powaski, The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991 (1998), p. 133-134

 * Krushchev's public rhetoric also made Soviet-American reconciliation difficult, if not impossible, early in Kennedy's presidency. On January 6, 1961, the Soviet leader declared his country would support "wars of national liberation" in the underdeveloped world. Krushchev's declaration, wrote the president's confidante and historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., "alarmed Kennedy more than Moscow's amiable signals assuaged him." Although Kennedy was willing to negotiate an end to the Cold War, the Third World challenge which Krushchev threw at him would have to be dealt with first.
 * Ronald Powaski, The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991 (1998), p. 135

 * In the opinion of another historian, Bruce Miroff, Kennedy's reaction to Krushchev's blustering revealed an acute inferiority complex, which the president manifested by a perverse need to prove his leadership capabilities. As a result, rather than ignoring or minimizing Krushchev's threats, as Eisenhower usually did, Kennedy personalized them and converted them into tests of will, in the process manufacturing crises that need not have been. "There was really nothing in that [ Eisenhower] era comparable to the Berlin crisis of 1961 and the Cuban missile crisis of 1962," Miroff observes, both of which represented the closest approaches to a superpower nuclear war during the Cold War. For whatever reasons, whether they were primarily ideological, political, or psychological- and all were important- in formulating his initial response to the Soviet Union Kennedy chose to emphasize Krushchev's bellicose actions rather than his friendly gestures. Only after Kennedy had proved to the Soviet leader that he was not soft on communism would diplomacy make any headway during his presidency.
 * Ronald Powaski, The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991 (1998), p. 136

 * Partly to offset America's nuclear superiority, but primarily to deter another U.S.-backed invasion of Cuba, Krushchev decided in early 1962 to deploy on that island nation thirty-six medium-range ballistic missiles (with a range of 2,200 nautical miles). Since the United States had deployed Jupiter IRBMs in Turkey, the Soviet leader had no qualms about trying to do the same thing in Cuba. "It was high time," he recalled thinking in his own memoir, "America learned what it feels like to have her own land and her own people threatened."
 * Ronald Powaski, The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991 (1998), p. 142

 * It is probable that Krushchev also wanted a dramatic way of achieving a breakthrough on the Berlin problem, and perhaps expected that the successful deployment of missiles in Cuba would do much to neutralize U.S. nuclear superiority, thereby enabling him to increase Soviet pressure on that beleaguered city. In addition, some analysts believe, the successful deployment of Soviet missiles in Cuba would distract attention from Krushchev's growing domestic problems, primarily the mediocre performance of Soviet agriculture, and solidify the leadership of the Soviet Union in the international communist movement, which was being increasingly challenged by the Chinese.
 * Ronald Powaski, The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991 (1998), p. 142

 * Ironically, the enhanced short-term prestige that Kennedy experienced in the wake of the Cuban missile crisis only produced greater long-term insecurity for his country. The humiliation Krushchev suffered at the hands of Kennedy during the missile crisis contributed to his removal from power in October 1964. The new Soviet leadership, headed by Leonid Brezhnev, was determined to avoid a repetition of the humiliation Krushchev had experienced. Beginning in early 1965, the Kremlin embarked on a massive expansion of the Soviet nuclear arsenal that would enable the Soviet Union to achieve nuclear parity with the United States by the end of the decade.
 * Ronald Powaski, The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991 (1998), p. 144
 * Let’s set the record straight. There is no argument over the choice between peace and war, but there is only one guaranteed way you can have peace—and you can have it in the next second—surrender. Admittedly there is a risk in any course we follow other than this, but every lesson in history tells us that the greater risk lies in appeasement, and this is the specter our well-meaning liberal friends refuse to face—that their policy of accommodation is appeasement, and it gives no choice between peace and war, only between fight and surrender. If we continue to accommodate, continue to back and retreat, eventually we have to face the final demand—the ultimatum. And what then? When Nikita Khrushchev has told his people he knows what our answer will be? He has told them that we are retreating under the pressure of the Cold War, and someday when the time comes to deliver the ultimatum, our surrender will be voluntary because by that time we will have weakened from within spiritually, morally, and economically. He believes this because from our side he has heard voices pleading for “peace at any price” or “better Red than dead,” or as one commentator put it, he would rather “live on his knees than die on his feet.” And therein lies the road to war, because those voices don’t speak for the rest of us.
 * Ronald Reagan, "A Time for Choosing" speech, (1964)
 * Both Khrushchëv and his successor Brezhnev asserted that communism around the world outdid the West’s advanced capitalist countries in freedom and welfare. They ignored the point that elections were pointless when a single candidate from one party alone was allowed to stand in them; they glossed over the detention of political, intellectual and religious dissenters in the Gulag. But Soviet leaders were frequently thought to score better on other matters. There was no unemployment in the USSR. Citizens were guaranteed shelter, heating, fuel, schooling, public transport and healthcare at little or no cost. Tourists to the Soviet Union reported that muggings were rare and graffiti scrawls practically unknown; and neon-light advertisements were nowhere to be seen. What is more, Soviet spokesmen castigated racism, imperialism and nationalism. The USSR was a multinational state. Its spokesmen insisted that it had eliminated the iniquities of imperialism, nationalism and racism. Although the European empires dissolved themselves in the 1950s and 1960s, the former colonies continued to face difficulties of economic dependency and under-development. Soviet Azerbaijan was compared favourably with ex-British Nigeria, ex-French Algeria and ex-Dutch Malaysia.
 * Robert Service, Comrades: A History of World Communism (2009)

 * in January 1961, she (Carol Ruth Silver) saw Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev bang his shoe on the table during his famous address declaring the Soviet Union's support for national liberation struggles in Cuba and Vietnam. Witnessing Khrushchev's historic challenge to U.S. hegemony in international affairs broadened Silver's thinking.
 * Debra L. Schultz Going South: Jewish Women in the Civil Rights Movement (2002)

 * Even so, the new leadership, among whom Nikita Khrushchev slowly emerged as the head, went ahead with gradually setting free many of those imprisoned in the GULag. While labor camps would continue to exist right up to the end of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev removed them as a key part of the country’s economy, which under Stalin had been completely dependent on prison labor. Hundreds of thousands of prisoners—political protesters, petty thieves, foreign soldiers, those who belonged to the “wrong” nationality, and those many who had no idea why they had been arrested—started to emerge from the camps, and struggled to get home or find a new place in society. These are the people the Russian Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn immortalized in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and the process Ilya Ehrenburg called “The Thaw.” But Khrushchev himself later admitted that the new leaders “were scared—really scared. We were afraid that the thaw might unleash a flood, which we wouldn’t be able to control and which would drown us.”
 * Odd Arne Westad, The Cold War: A Global History (2017)
 * The new Soviet leaders understood that some of Stalin’s policies had created the resistance that had boiled to the surface after his death, not just in East Germany but elsewhere as well. But they were also afraid that the East German rebellion could be repeated elsewhere if they were not careful. By late 1953 they had therefore developed what they called a “new course,” which was intent on reform without weakening the Communists’ monopoly on power. The main parts of the reform program were reducing the number of people who were arrested or otherwise excluded from society, amnesty for most political prisoners, cuts in heavy industry and defense industry output, and improvements in the production of food and consumer products.
 * Odd Arne Westad, The Cold War: A Global History (2017)

title: Nikita Khrushchev