He who complains lives — the person who is still able to complain is the person who is still alive. Complaints are a sign of vitality; the truly finished person has nothing left to say. Used with ironic affection for those who complain constantly but seem indestructible.
The Sicilian relationship to complaint was complex and ironic. The culture simultaneously discouraged weakness and complaint — the stoic silence of the dignified person — while recognising that those who complained loudest often outlived everyone around them. The proverb observes this paradox with amused realism: the grandmother who has complained about her back for forty years is still here; the stoic grandfather who never said a word about his pain died quietly at seventy. There is a perverse wisdom in complaint: it releases pressure, it communicates need, it keeps the complainer in relationship with others who respond. The proverb was used to defend the habitual complainer and to accept their complaints with philosophical tolerance: yes, they complain; but they live.
A Sicilian proverb of wry vitalistic philosophy, observing the paradoxical longevity of habitual complainers. 'Si lagna' = si lamenta (complains), 'campa' = vive (lives). Used with ironic affection across all of Sicily.
Tolerating an endlessly complaining elderly relative
Si lamenta da quando avevo cinque anni. Si lamenta ancora. Cu si lagna campa — e lei campa benissimo.
She has been complaining since I was five years old. She is still complaining. He who complains lives — and she lives very well.
A doctor noting a patient who complains but is fundamentally healthy
Viene ogni settimana con un nuovo dolore. Esami tutti negativi. Cu si lagna campa — probabilmente arriva a cent'anni.
He comes every week with a new pain. All tests negative. He who complains lives — he will probably make it to a hundred.
Responding to someone who complains about a habitual complainer
— Sempre con questo mal di testa! Non ne posso più di sentirla. — Cu si lagna campa — lasciala fare, è il suo modo di stare al mondo.
— Always with this headache! I cannot stand hearing it anymore. — He who complains lives — let her be, it is her way of being in the world.
Finding comfort in one's own complaints
Mi lamento di tutto stamattina. Bene. Cu si lagna campa — vuol dire che sono vivo e che me ne frega ancora qualcosa.
I am complaining about everything this morning. Good. He who complains lives — it means I am alive and I still care about things.