- Text: “Από μικρό και από τρελό μαθαίνεις την αλήθεια.” or “From a child and from a madman, you learn the truth.”
- Informants context: When I was a kid, I was sometimes difficult to deal with. Maybe oftentimes. I was really energetic and rambunctious. You could imagine me as being pretty ADHD. My parents always were going back and forth trying to get a handle of me, particularly my mom who was most responsible for disciplining me. I had an issue with self-regulating, often saying out of line, maybe socially awkward things that would be perceived as rude. For example, during one summer my family was having a pool day. This meant that my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents etc were all present as we hung out. We got a great barbecue going. I have one older cousin who is my senior by about fourteen years. At this time I was probably seven years old. Long story short, while we were in the pool with our shirts off, I saw my older cousin and noticed that he was looking a lot heavier. So I just told him very directly that him and I should work out together because he’s been getting fat. I’m not sure what I was thinking because I didn’t even know how to work out at that time. My mom was in close-proximity while I said this and immediately snapped at me. She told me to apologize and take it back. I don’t think my cousin cared that much but I was pretty paralyzed in that moment. I apologized and felt like garbage. Later my Yiayia (grandmother) was talking about what I said with some of the other women, and then she pulled me into the conversation, laughing. She shared the expression, “Από μικρό και από τρελό μαθαίνεις την αλήθεια.” or “From a child and from a madman, you learn the truth.” My grandmother actually agreed that my cousin needed to get himself in better shape. I didn’t fully understand the saying at the time, but it always stuck with me. Now that I’m older, it seems increasingly clear that it requires someone unfiltered to give us full truths on difficult topics. It’s something my grandmother continues to say to this day. It’s one of her many sayings that she sourced from her time in Greece.
- Collectors interpretation: The concept of the child or madman as a source of truth is almost a radical concept. There are multiple possible implications of such a statement. Firstly being what the informant mentioned: the unadulterated truth will only be given by people untethered by social norms. This implies that truth is rarely spoken for in fear of people being persecuted. The second implication is that it requires the uninhibited mind of a child or crazed person in order to allow truthful thoughts to emerge. These are fascinating concepts. Ultimately, the proverb functions well because of how simple it is despite the complexity of its idea. Additionally, it feels distinctly folkloric as it stems from the small villages of Greece. The actual implications of this proverb on Greek culture are multi-varied. I believe the proverb implies that the culture is self-aware, honest about its shortcomings and irreverent of consequences. This is the mentality of a culture that values genuine honesty, even when its not practical or politically smart. This also echoes a Christian proverb: “And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.'” Children and madmen are pure in a way, abandoning political maneuvering in favor of genuine honesty, regardless of the consequences.
Fields
AGE: 21
Date_of_performance: May 9, 2025
Language: English
Nationality: American/Greek
Occupation: Student
Primary Language: English
Residence: United States of America