The proverb "What is written with a pen, you can not cut out with an ax": the meaning and examples of use

There is a saying: "what is written with a pen, you can not cut out with an ax." It can not be heard right now, so the question arises: what does it mean? We will understand in the sense of sustainable expression and a little talk about its history.

Origin

The proverb "what is written with a pen, can not be cut down with an ax" appeared a very long time ago. Immediately after writing was written in Russia. And since any novelty causes excitement, the written word was given great importance.

Meaning

The meaning of the proverb is two:

• It is not necessary to sign documents when a person is not sure. Because after the put signature it is already impossible to fix anything.
• If anything written has gained wide popularity, then there is no way back.

But they do not always say a saying, implying an original meaning. Some people remember better when they write something on paper. For example, a student preparing for an exam is guaranteed to pass the test better, if he makes himself small notes with an answer to each question. You can, of course, call it cribs, but they do not have to carry with you to the test procedure.

It is enough that the person first read, then wrote out the main thing, then read it again. And so every question. Is not it true that the saying "what is written with a pen, you can not cut down with an ax" here, too? Because the serrated thus will be remembered for ever!

English-language school and Russian proverb

There is a completely unexpected meaning of the proverb that gives us daily life. In schools in England and America there is such punishment: if a child is guilty, for example, he became hooliganized in the classroom, and the teacher found him behind this matter, then the buzoter should stay after the lessons and write 500 times on the blackboard "I will not behave badly at the lesson" . According to the logic of this method, the child not only has to remember that one has to keep himself within the bounds of decency in a public place, but also, being afraid of repeated such punishment, do not repeat such antics. And so it turns out: the proverb "what is written with a pen, can not be cut down with an ax" acquires punitive meaning.

To make sure of the truth of the above, you need to watch the animated series "The Simpsons", and specifically those series where Barta is punished. Or if laziness, you can include the movie "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." In it, the protagonist was also punished by writing the same words, but since we are dealing with a magical world, Harry wrote them on paper, and they were imprinted on his hand, and it turned out that he wrote with his own blood. As a result, as the attentive spectator remembers, the affair ended in scars on his hand. In this case, the proverb "written with a pen - you can not cut out with an ax" acquires a frightening meaning. In the situation of a young wizard, the pen and ax merge into a single instrument of torture.

The written word is still stronger than the oral

In the fairness of the title can easily be seen by any person. People pay little attention to who said what. Is that women are neighbors, but it's not about them. History knows relatively few examples of when a person was persecuted for what he said. But the burning of books or the unenviable share of some writers is memorable to many.

Indeed, what is written with a pen, you can not cut out with an ax. The meaning of the proverb is understandable to almost everyone now and even without any excursions into history, for in man for a long time there have been built in fear and trembling before the word, but certainly before the word written.