Ní túalaing mór nad·fhulaing in mbec.

(not * capable of * great(ness) * who does not endure * the * small)

He who cannot bear the small is not capable of the great.

This saying, in a slightly more wordy version, is found in “Beochobra Con Culaind” (LL fol. 120a), the story that tells how Cú Chulainn died. It was taboo for him to pass a cooking fire without tasting the food, and it was equally taboo for him to eat dog flesh. He sees three old women cooking a dog over a fire. He tries to get past them, but they call out to him. When he refuses to share their food, one of them says that if it were a big barbecue he’d join them, but it’s not, so he won’t. She then says “Ní túalaing mór nad·fhulaing nó nad·geib in mbec.” = He who cannot put up with or accept the small is not up to greatness. Shamed by that taunt, Cú eats the dog meat and breaks the fatal taboo.

Topics: Proverbial Sayings