The term for proverb in Irish is seanfhocal /shan-uk-ull/. I’m sure that you are familiar with the English language proverb ‘Love makes the world go round’. So true! Now lets learn a saying with a similar message in Irish!
Here we go (or as we say in Irish, seo linn)..
Capall na beatha an grá /koh-pul nuh ba-ha un graw/
Translated to English, this means ‘Love is the horse of life’.
If this proverb sounds strange to our modern ears we must remember that it dates back to a time prior to the invention of motorised transport and machinery. In those days the horse was an integral part of life, whether as a means of personal transportation, pulling the plough in the fields or getting produce to the market.
The horse lightened the burden of everyday life and made the impossible possible. This seanfhocal reflects that love, like the horse, makes the world go round.
Let’s take a little look at the grammar of this seanfhocal..
Capall na beatha /koh-pul nuh baa-ha/ means the horse of life (i.e. life’s horse).
The word capall (masculine singular noun) /koh-pul/ means ‘horse’.
The words na beatha /nuh baa-ha/ are the genitive singular form of the feminine singular nominative noun beatha ( ‘life’) + the definite article an (‘the’). The genitive case here indicates possession of the horse (‘the horse of life’)
Using a poetic structure, this proverb is completed by the words an grá (masculine singular noun) + definite article /un graw/ meaning simply ‘love’.
Can you think of anything that we might substitute for the word capall (‘horse’) in a modern-day version of this seanfhocal? I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments section!
Great as always, Ben 🙂
I came across such an old saying “Grá inneall na beatha agus tiománaí an tsaoil” – “Love is the engine of life and it drives the world”
I think of the word “engine” as a substitute for “horse”, and although the above saying looks like a modern-day version, it still functions as an old saying.
Go hálainn, a Anna.
Go haoibhinn, a Ben! Lovely.