“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people... See if they will not live again. See if they will not laugh again.”
A defiant declaration of Armenian survival and identity, written in memory of the 1915 Armenian Genocide.
— William Saroyan, Armenia
Source: William Saroyan, "The Armenian and the Armenian," in Inhale and Exhale (Random House, 1936)
More Proverbs from Armenia
The apple does not fall far from the tree.
Children tend to resemble their parents in character, values, and habits.
Traditional Armenia Wisdom
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As the mill needs two stones, so friendship needs two hearts.
A real friendship, like a working mill, cannot function unless both sides take part in it.
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Whatever you sow, that is what you will reap.
Your actions determine the results you will eventually receive.
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You are as many a person as the languages you know.
Learning new languages multiplies who you are and how much of the world you can reach.
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Even if the nightingale is kept in a golden cage, she still dreams of returning to the forest.
No amount of comfort can replace true freedom; the heart still longs for home.
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The sun will not stay behind the cloud.
The truth will not remain hidden forever; it always comes out in the end.
Traditional Armenia Wisdom
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