There is an ancient wisdom: an evil person will not live in the good of the ages. Alas, few now remember her, and, as a result, morality and spirituality are steadily falling down. But there were times when our grandfathers taught young people how to look at things correctly: avoid lying, do good and fiercely fight evil deeds.
Many of their teachings are still preserved in folklore. Moreover, proverbs about good and evil, even today, remain as relevant and useful as before. After all, they teach people what is good and what is bad. Therefore, let us consider the role of proverbs in the moral education of society.
Ancient wisdom
Once upon a time, our ancestors formed one important proverb: "A good man teaches good and teaches." It was she who guided the Slavs in educating their children in the hope that their words would pass on to their descendants, and, ultimately, good deeds would spread throughout the whole world.
In addition, they had one more unshakable truth, which they sought to put into many proverbs: good conquers evil. For example, “The Holy will not die, but the evil will perish” or “Good for the worse they do not change”.
Education of the highest moral values
In general, the proverbs about good and evil showed people how to act in a particular case. They explained why good is good, but evil is not, and what principles must be followed in order to achieve the moral prosperity of society.
For example, the following proverb was used quite often: "The good die, but their affairs do not disappear." Thus, the idea is formed in man that his bright deeds will remain in the memory of his descendants for many centuries, and this motivated him to act according to conscience.
Or a saying like “Do good, and it will definitely come back to you.” It can still be expressed a little differently: "What you sow, you will reap." Simply put, all our actions will entail consequences: the good will reward, the bad will condemn.
Moreover, in many proverbs evil is condemned in all its manifestations. Take, for example, an expression such as “And he is drowning, and drags others along with him.” Or, “An evil one with a crafty drive, but both will fall into the pit.”
Proverbs of Good and Evil: Case Studies
Unfortunately, some works of folklore have long sunk into oblivion. Indeed, a person’s memory is not unlimited, and sometimes even the greatest knowledge can disappear from it. Nevertheless, many proverbs about good and evil have survived to this day. It is impossible to enumerate all of them, but to give examples of the best of them is real.
- Do not resist the evil against good.
- An evil one cries out of envy, a kind person out of pity.
- A good head will feed the whole village, and a bad one will drive itself into a coffin.
- Life is given for good deeds.
- Beauty until evening, and kindness forever.
- Whoever does good, God will forgive everything.