He who has health is rich and does not know it — health is a form of wealth that is invisible to its possessor because it is taken for granted until it is lost. Only illness reveals what health was worth.
This proverb is the companion piece to 'la saluti è la megghiu ricchizza,' but with an added psychological truth: the healthy person does not feel rich because they cannot perceive what they have. Wealth, in the ordinary sense, is felt as a presence — you can count your money, feel its weight. Health is only felt in its absence: the morning without pain, the breath that comes easily, the step that requires no thought — these are invisible to the healthy person and achingly present to the sick one. Sicilian experience of illness — without adequate medical care, without paid sick leave, without the infrastructure that makes illness survivable — made this truth vivid and immediate. The healthy man who complained about minor inconveniences was gently reminded: you do not know what you have.
A companion proverb to the Sicilian health-as-wealth tradition, adding the psychological observation that health's value is only felt in its absence. 'Cu hà' = chi ha (he who has), 'nun lu sapi' = non lo sa (does not know it). Widely used across all Sicily.
After visiting a friend in hospital
Lo vedo lì e penso a come mi lamento per le cazzate. Cu hà la saluti è riccu e nun lu sapi — io sono ricchissimo e non lo vivo.
I see him there and think about how I complain about nonsense. He who has health is rich and does not know it — I am very rich and I am not living it.
A recovered patient reflecting on taking health for granted
Prima di ammalarmi non ci pensavo mai. Cu hà la saluti è riccu e nun lu sapi — adesso ogni mattina ringrazio di stare in piedi.
Before getting sick I never thought about it. He who has health is rich and does not know it — now every morning I give thanks for being on my feet.
A grandmother pointing out health as the true wealth
Siete giovani, siete sani, avete le gambe per correre. Cu hà la saluti è riccu e nun lu sapi — godetevela adesso.
You are young, you are healthy, you have legs to run with. He who has health is rich and does not know it — enjoy it now.
Comforting someone who feels poor but is healthy
Hai pochi soldi ma stai benone. Cu hà la saluti è riccu e nun lu sapi — i soldi si possono cercare, la salute no.
You have little money but you are perfectly healthy. He who has health is rich and does not know it — money can be sought, health cannot.