«THE NAIL AND THE HORSESHOE»…
A fable about the nail and the horseshoe is told from generation to generation in various cultures and admonishes, stressing conscientiousness toward work and each person’s responsibility in the success of a common undertaking.
«Once a horseman was preparing to set out on the road. His horse was strong and swift, but a nail in one of the horseshoes had grown loose. The horseman noticed this, but thought:
«What can come of one nail, I shall put it right later».
On the road the nail fell out. A little later the horseshoe loosened and came off. Without the horseshoe the horse began to limp, and then it stopped. At that moment the horseman could not continue his journey, did not reach his goal and lost an important affair.
And people say:
Because of one nail the horseshoe was lost,
because of the horseshoe — the horse,
because of the horse — the road,
and because of the road — the whole affair.
The moral – never ignore «seeming trifles»: sometimes it is precisely a small omission that becomes the cause of a great loss».
For centuries this wise thought is repeated and reminds us that negligence which seems «insignificant» can become the beginning of a great disaster, «a small problem can have great consequences»…
«For want of a nail a horseshoe fell.
For want of a horseshoe a horse fell.
For want of a horse a horseman fell.
For want of a horseman a battle was lost.
For want of a battle a war was lost.
For want of a war a fatherland was destroyed.
And all this because of that very man
who had not fastened the horseshoe well with a nail»…
The counsel: every trifle is a responsibility, for the world is often built precisely upon «nails».
«If our people’s head is thick, it does not recognize its right and its duty, it does not understand the good and the bad, it takes the false in the place of the true, the true in the place of the false, what more can you say, whose word can you make understood…
Boasting of their heads, inwardly cowardly and slavish wretched souls live on, they pass along the dark road, scorning and trampling underfoot the one who understands, flattering the one who does not understand, praising him, bowing before the shadow and begging salvation of it»,- Ghazaros Aghayan wrote with concern in 1890.
In the same year Hovhannes Tumanyan was ironically «giving bliss» to «the simple-minded».
TO THE SIMPLE-MINDED
Blessed are you, who do not understand
Why men do such things,
Blessed are you, who do not deprive a man
And do not even feel the blow that has reached you.
Blessed are you, who know nothing,
Who are calm in spirit, at rest in heart.
«Rome is going toward destruction, because the singers have ceased to educate and only amuse»,- some 2000 years ago the Greek writer Lucian (120-180) was warning.
Again in 1890 H. Tumanyan was directing his wise admonition to «the Poet».
TO THE POET
Hide, O poet, thy accumulated sorrows
In the great secret-chamber of thy tempest-wearied soul,
Do not sing them before the crowd,
And why lament in vain?
And thou art not called, that with the tears
Of faint-heartedness thou shouldst sing thy sorrows,
Thou must, before oppressed mankind,
Deny the existence of a black fate.
Even if the smile upon thy face be false,
Though it is hard for thee to feign,
Thou must, for the erring, uncultured and narrow-hearted
Crowd, create faith.
Cherish it as a naughty child,
In the time of punishment be merciless,
Have in thy hand a shining lash,
Strike it and drive it forward.
Lead it forward and stretch out thy hand,
Show the bloodstained path of salvation,
With mockery scoff at him who flees the fight,
With a song of glory praise the one who fights.
Give heart to the fallen, pull him up from the ground.
Never leave him to remain below.
With a living song awaken, stir
His despairing feelings.
Breathe with the fire of wrath against the evil
That with poison and with money has risen to the throne,
And enlighten, show the crowd
By what course it has worked evil.
Let it recognize and punish
His all-perfect wickedness,
And thereafter not say blindly:
«Great» or «philanthropist, benefactor of the nation»…
