OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES AND SUCKLINGS Translated by: Eng. Hind Riyadh
FEBRUARY 6, 2015 هند رياض.م http://enghindriyadh.weebly.com
| Out of the Mouths of babes and Sucklings
خذوا الحكمة من أفواه المجانين أصل المثل أن رجال ثريا توفى في بلد بعيد عن بلده ووصل خبر وفاته إلى أوالده وحدد ولده األكبر يوما للعزاء ولكن إخوته طالبوا بالميراث ،فقال لهم :انتظروا حتى ننتهي من مراسم العزاء ،وبعدها لكم ما أردتم ولكنهم رفضوا ،وقالوا :بل نقسم التركة اليوم فرفض مطلبهم…. و قال لهم :إنها سبة علينا… فماذا ستقول الناس إن رأونا نقسم التركة قبل انتهاء العزاء! ذهب إخوته فورا إلى القاضي يشكون أخاهم ،فأرسل القاضي له أمرا بالحضور. فاخذ يفكر ماذا يفعل؟ ذهب الرجل إلى أحد عقالء البلد ليستشيره وكان صاحب رأي سليم ،فسرد عليه القصة وقال :انظر لي مخرجا. فقال له الحكيم :اذهب إلى فالن فإنه لن يفتيك ويعطيك الحل غيره .قال له :إن فالن مجنون فكيف يحل مشكلة عجز عن حلها العقالء؟! قال :اذهب إليه فلديه ما تريد فذهب إليه وسرد عليه القصة. فقال له المجنون :قل إلخوانك هل عندكم من يشهد بأن أبي قد مات؟ قال الرجل :أصبت وهللا ،كيف لم أفكر في هذا. وذهب إلى المحكمة وقال للقاضي ما قال له المجنون, ّ محق ,هل عندكم شهود؟ فقال القاضي :إنك قالوا :إن أبانا توفى في بلد بعيد وجاءنا الخبر وال يوجد شاهد على ذلك. قال لهم القاضي :أأتواااا بالشهود. وظلت القضية معلقة إلى سنة ونصف. وقال لهم أخوهم :لو صبرتم أسبوعا لكان خيرا لكم وأعقل. وذهب قوله مثال: خذوا الحكمة من أفواه المجانين.
رابط القصةhttp://www.flh7.com/vb/t117232.html :
Out of the Mouths of babes and Sucklings |
Out of the Mouths of babes and Sucklings The origin of this idiom comes from a story about a rich man who died far away from his country. When the news of his death reached to his children, the elder son set a day for the mourning, but his brothers demanded the inheritance first. He told them to wait till the end of the mourning and they shall get what they want. But they refused and said “we should divide the inheritance today”.
The oldest son refused and told them that is a shame on all of us; what will people say if they saw them dividing the inheritance before the mourning ended.
His brothers went immediately to the judge to complain their brother, and the judge demanded his presence.
He kept thinking of what to do, and so he went to a wise man in the town to council him. And yes he was a man of good judgment, so the son told him the whole story and asked him for a way out.
The wise man told the son to go to a man then said “No one will give you the solution but him.”
“That man is insane!” the son said. “How is he going to solve a problem that sane people couldn’t solve?”
“Go to him, he has what you want,” he replied.
Out of the Mouths of babes and Sucklings |
The son went to the insane man and told him his story.
“Ask your brothers if they have a witness for their father’s death.”
“God, you are right,” said the son. “How didn’t I think about that?”
He then went to the court and told the judge what the insane man told him.
“You are right,” said the judge. “Do you have any witnesses?”
“Our father died in a foreign country,” the brothers replied. “We heard the news but we don’t have a witness.”
“Bring the witnesses,” the judge then said. And thus, the case got suspended for a year and a half.
The oldest son then said to his brothers “If you were patient for a week, it would have been better for you.”
And it turned into the idiom, Out of the Mouths of babes and Sucklings.
Out of the Mouths of babes and Sucklings |
Note: Unlike Arabic, the English “Out of the Mouths of babes and Sucklings� is more than an idiom. Yes it is said when a child says something that surprises you because it shows an adult's understanding, but it is a shortening and revision of expressions in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. In Psalms 8:2, God ordains strength out of the mouth of babes and sucklings; in Matthew 21:16.