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[Evgeny Steiner]

I second Gasan's interpretation with the addition that it can  said not only about some foolish behavior. It can oscillate between 1) "OK, I'll dare this risky thing if I'm in a good company" and 2) "I'll challenge the situation because even my possible failure will be called a honorable thing by the people." The last evokes the ancient notion of heroism.

Evgeny Steiner

-----Original Message-----
From: Gasan Gusejnov <gusejnov at GOOGLEMAIL.COM>
To: SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2008 08:12:12 +0400
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] "Na miru i smert' krasna"

I am afraid, both the explanation by S.L. and the French examples miss the
point of "na miru i smert' krasna": which means the extreme form of doing
something out of vanity.
In the same discourse:
Дурак любит красно, солдат любит ясно, Рад дурак красному.
'A fool is ready to die under public gaze'.

However, there is another saying: В семье и смерть красна, which is covered
with the interpretation of Sophia Lubensky.


2008/6/5 Robert A. Rothstein <rar at slavic.umass.edu>:

> Sophia Lubensky, in her Russian-English Dictionary of Idioms, explains the
> proverb as follows: "misfortunes are easier to bear when a person has his
> friends around him, or when he is with people who share a similar fate
> (formerly referred specifically to death)."
>
> In addition to the translations already suggested (by Alina and Alfia)
> there's also "Troubles shared are troubles halved" and two French versions:
> "Chagrin partagé, chagrin diminué" (Shared trouble/sorrow is diminished
> trouble/sorrow) and "Malheur partagé, n'est malheur qu'à demi" (Shared
> misfortune is only half a misfortune).
>
> These remind me (by rather free association) of the very different
> sentiment expressed in one of the late historian Kamil Dziewanowski's
> favorite quotations, François de la Rouchefoucault's Maxim 19: "Nous avons
> tous assez de force pour supporter les maux d'autrui/" /(We all have
> strength enough to endure the misfortunes of others).
>
> Bob Rothstein
>
>
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