Proverbial Wisdom from Africa

Q. What did the Sufi dervish say to the Zen master?
A. One hand washes the other.

Which is to say, as they say in Zimbabwe (and as quoted in Michael Raeburn and Hanna Broadbridge's version of Jit done as a text for Danish schoolchildren), "Proverbs are horses for solving problems."

And on precisely that note, we thought we might want to offer up some other Zimbabwean proverbs from Jit. If Danish schoolchildren have profited (and consider the worldwide proliferation of IKEA, for example – but wait: they may be from Sweden...), perhaps so shall we all:

"If you do not use your head, you will have to use your legs."

"The man who gave up did not become rich."

"You will not have to buy what you find."

"If you are not there to work, your share of the harvest will not be there either."

"If you eat alone, you will cough alone."

"Good thinking is better than good money."

We hope these have proven morally instructive and perfectly sensible. After all, as we all know, "The ass's gratitude is farting."