- English translation
Keep your head among everyone else's, and if theirs must fall, let yours fall with them.
- Literal wording
Put your head among the heads and call down cutting upon it.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying warns against arrogance and self-elevation. Rather than lifting your head above other people's, keep it level with theirs and count yourself as one of the group, claiming no special standing.
It also asks for solidarity in hardship. The call for the head to be cut is figurative, not a real wish for harm: if misfortune is fated for the others, accept that it may reach you too, rather than hoping to be spared.
- When it is used
Suited to cautioning someone who holds themselves above peers, expects special treatment, or tries to dodge a burden everyone else bears, urging humility and a willingness to share the common lot.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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