“If a child does not witness an event, he will be told the story, and this story will matter more to him than to those who lived it.”
A story outlives the people who lived it — history speaks for itself, even generations later.
— Traditional Benin Wisdom, Benin
Source: Traditional Yoruba proverb (Benin), in Biao & Atidegla (eds.), "Proverbes du Bénin / Benin Proverbs," Globethics.net Praxis Series No. 3, 2015
More Proverbs from Benin
Silence is an attribute of the dead; he who is alive speaks.
Living, engaged people communicate; withdrawing into silence is a kind of death.
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Anyone who sees beauty and does not look at it will soon be poor.
Failing to notice and appreciate the good things in life leads to a poorer existence.
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Work is the medicine for poverty.
Labor and effort are the true remedy for hardship and want.
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The world is a journey; the afterworld is home.
Earthly life is temporary travel, while the true, lasting home lies beyond it.
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A great affair covers up a small matter.
A major issue easily overshadows and hides a lesser one.
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Anyone who plants a tree before they die has not lived in vain.
Leaving something lasting behind gives a life meaning and purpose.
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