Every culture produces proverbs, adages, aphorisms, truisms.  No matter what we call them, they are short, often humorous sayings that come from popular wisdom and common experience.  For instance, if we say to someone: “Act in haste, repent at leisure” we are telling them that they are making what is probably an impulsive, and probably bad, decision.  Obviously, the first person who came up with that sentence was summing up a bad experience in two quick sentences.

Again, these adages come out of a particular culture, out of common experience.  The Italian culture, from which I come, has been profoundly shaped by the Catholic culture, and many of our sayings reflect it, and quite often the devil is the “goat” of the story.  Here are some examples:

“la farina del diavolo va’ sempre in crusca,” which means, “the devil’s flour always turns into chaff.”  I love the origin of this one.  Centuries ago, friars went around the Country during harvest time, with a sack on their shoulders, begging for food for their convents and for the poor who knocked at their doors.

One of these begging friars, a holy man, was making his usual rounds.  He had not been very successful, every farmer had many excuses to give very little, but the good friar would smile, bless the donor, and move on.

He finally arrived at the granary of a very large, very successful, but also very selfish farmer.  Every year, the friar knocked, and every year the farmer would turn his dogs against him, but he persisted:  surely, one of these days, the Lord would touch the man’s heart! At the approaching of the familiar figure dressed in brown, the farmer said to his sons:  “Here comes that beggar again.  Let’s teach him a lesson!” They quickly fill two sacks with chaff, sprinkling a handful of flour at the top to make it look real.  The good man, overwhelmed by what appeared to be a very generous gift, thanked and blessed the farmer, loaded the sacks on his back and slowly walked back to his convent… where upon opening the gift, his brethren were astonished to find the very finest wheat flower.

Meanwhile, back at the farm… the owner and his sons went to bed laughing, picturing the face of the poor friar as he opened their “gift.” The next morning, they went back to their granary, to fill the sacks of flour and take them to the market… but, you guessed it:  all their wonderful bins were full of chaff.  Thus:  “The devil’s flour always turns into chaff.” This is how, in Italy, we warn someone who is trying to cheat on a test, for instance, or tries to harm an innocent person.

Here’s another:  “beati gli ultimi…se I primi saranno discreti,” that is “blessed are the last… if the first are discreet.” Everyone knows Jesus’ blessing on the humble, but this is a proverb with a twist.  Many years ago, when families were large and food was scarce, those who arrived first at the table tended to pile up and leave not much for the late arrivals.  Actually, I remember not so very many years ago, in my own family; food was not scarce, but there were four of us kids, and especially when it came to treats, we tended to be a bit “piggish.”  My mom, invariably, would chant:  “blessed are the last… if the first are discreet,” that was enough to stop the “indiscreets” right in their tracks.  Today, although food is very abundant, I can still hear my mother’s voice repeating the same words every time that, at a gathering, I watch the first “indiscreet” pile up their plates without realizing that “the last” may not get much of anything.

How about “Anche il prete sbaglia a dire la Messa,” “Even the priest makes mistakes while celebrating Mass.” A Catholic culture knows that the Mass is the most important, most sacred thing that there could ever be; therefore, everything should be practically perfect, right?  But, try as they might, priests are human, and they make mistakes.  Italians tend to be easygoing (for the most part), and when they see that someone is doing their best, they will excuse unintentional mistakes.  After all, “even the priests makes mistakes while celebrating Mass!”

A few more: “Dio li fa’ e poi li accoppia,” “God makes them and then He pairs them up.” Have you ever seen “the odd couple” that, nevertheless, manages to get along just fine and have a great marriage?

And here’s the opposite proverb: “Andar d’accordo come il diavolo e l’acqua santa,” “Getting along like the devil and holy water.” People who fight all the time.  A great saying when there couldn’t be any two more opposite people (or things).

Finally:  “Il diavolo fa le pentole ma non I coperchi,” “the devil makes pots, but not lids.” Meaning:  every dirty deed will eventually be discovered.