There is such a proverb: “what is written with a pen cannot be cut down with an ax”. One can hear it infrequently now, therefore the question arises, but what does it mean? We will understand the meaning of sustainable expression and talk a little about its history.
Origin
The proverb “what is written with a pen cannot be cut with an ax” appeared a very long time ago. Immediately after writing arose in Russia. And since any novelty causes excitement, they attached great importance to the written word.
Meaning
The proverb has two meanings:
- Do not sign documents when a person is not sure. Because after the signature is put, nothing can be fixed.
- If something written has gained wide popularity, then there is no turning back.
But the proverb is not always pronounced, implying the original meaning. Some people remember better when they write something on paper. For example, a student preparing for an exam is guaranteed to pass the test better if he makes himself small summaries with the answer to each question. Of course, you can call it cheat sheets, but they do not have to be carried with you to the set-off procedure.
It is enough that a person first read, then wrote out the main thing, then read again. And so every question. Is it not true that the saying “what is written with a pen cannot be cut down with an ax” also fits here? Because the memorized in this way will be remembered forever!
English language school and Russian proverb
There is also a completely unexpected sense of the proverb that gives us everyday life. In schools in England and America there is such a punishment: if a child was guilty, for example, he became a bully in the classroom, and the teacher caught him, then the busoter should stay after school and write on the board 500 times “I will no longer behave badly in the classroom” . According to the logic of this method, the child not only needs to remember that he needs to keep himself within the bounds of decency in a public place, but also, fearing repeated such punishment, not to repeat such antics. And so it turns out: the proverb “what is written with a pen cannot be cut down with an ax” acquires a punitive meaning.
To verify the veracity of the above, you need to watch the animated series The Simpsons, and specifically those episodes where Bart is punished. Or if laziness, then you can turn on the movie "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." In it, the main character was also punished by writing the same words, but since we are dealing with a magical world, Harry wrote them on paper, and they were imprinted on his hand, and it turned out that he wrote with his blood. As a result, as an attentive viewer remembers, the case ended in scars on his hand. In this case, the proverb “written with a pen - you can’t cut it with an ax” takes on a frightening meaning. In the situation of a young wizard, the pen and ax merge into a single instrument of torture.
The written word is still stronger than the spoken
Anyone can be sure of the title without difficulty. People pay little attention to who said what. Is that women neighbors, but it's not about them. History knows relatively few examples of when a person was persecuted for what was said. But burning books or the unenviable share of some writers is memorable to many.
Indeed, what is written with a pen cannot be cut down with an ax. The meaning of the proverb is understandable to almost everyone now and even without any excursions into history, for fear and awe in a word have been built into a person for a long time, but certainly before a written word.