Bulgarian proverbs and sayings are often portrayed by researchers delving into the depths of Bulgarian national psychology as an emanation of the nation’s soul, and as the core of the Bulgarian worldview. Whenever lifelong experience and profundity of thought become shaped into a laconic statement, the result will be a short sentence astounding in its wittiness, and perceived as a revelation. Bulgarian people have often been characterized as down-to-earth folks seeking to avoid anything extreme in their day-to-day life. According to a wide-spread belief, sticking to a conformist policy will keep you on the safe side. This psychological paradigm was probably in the origin of proverbs such as “If he had remained sitting, he would have suffered nothing” (the rough equivalent of “Curiosity killed the cat”.) Even in love matters, Bulgarians remain firmly with their feet on the ground: “Love your sweetheart with his or her failings,” old people say. However, there is also another, parallel mindset, a different existential formula, which gave birth to the saying “By the time the wise put their wisdom to good use, the fools will have put their foolishness to a bad one” ( “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread“.) People are going further yet, affirming: “If God doesn’t want me, the Devil will offer bribes to get me.” The latter also voices the traditional – at least, according to some – lack of religious beliefs; this is probably a misconception, still-surviving from the Communist era. When people would say “If the priest gets drunk, the village will never sober up,” the judgment is loaded with social, rather than religious criticism.

Bulgarians are used to facing challenges all by themselves: “If your wheels get stuck in the mud, do not expect help from Jack.” The general feeling is that the “Bulgarian lot” is to overdo one’s work rather than their rest: “A donkey got invited to a wedding, but was ordered to bring its harness along.” The streak of individualism is also apparent from the saying “Joint work gets eaten by wolves” ( “Too many cooks spoil the broth”), i.e., you should only rely on yourself.

For these down-to-earth people, a sharp mind is one of the most valued qualities: “His wit is so sharp as to split threads and make pants for fleas.” Hard workers are held in high esteem, but people able to praise their own achievements are equally shown as an example (sic): “It is not the hen that cackles most which lays most eggs.”

There is also a lot of humour in Bulgarian proverbs: “It agrees with him as a stick with a beaten dog.”

Bulgarian proverbs and sayings are as pure and perfect as gemstones – a literary heirloom passed to us by our fathers that we must preserve for our children’s children.