The sea wants only those who respect it — the sea chooses those who approach it with knowledge, caution, and reverence; the arrogant or careless sailor is not welcome on its waters. A proverb of the Sicilian fishing communities encoding the maritime code of humility before the power of the sea, extended as a metaphor to any domain where arrogance invites catastrophe.
For the fishermen of Palermo, Catania, Mazara del Vallo, and the smaller fishing villages of the Sicilian coast, the sea was their livelihood, their danger, and their spiritual landscape. Every fishing community had its stories of boats that went out and did not return, of experienced captains taken by sudden storms, of young men drowned in waters their fathers had fished safely for decades. These losses were not attributed simply to bad luck — they were read as evidence of insufficient respect. The fisherman who boasted of his ability to read the sea, who went out when others stayed in port, who ignored the advice of the elders — this man was courting the sea's wrath. The proverb was a transmission of practical meteorological and maritime wisdom in the form of a moral principle: respect the sea not as superstition but as the correct epistemological attitude toward something vastly more powerful than you.
A proverb of the Sicilian fishing communities encoding the maritime ethic of respectful humility before the sea's power. 'Lu mari' = il mare (the sea), 'lu voli' = lo vuole (wants), 'chiddu chi' = quello che (those who), 'rispetta' = rispetta (respects). Collected in fishing villages along the entire Sicilian coastline.
Warning a young fisherman who wanted to go out in bad weather
I vecchi restano a terra — questo ti dovrebbe dire qualcosa. Lu mari lu voli chiddu chi lu rispetta — non chi lo sfida.
The old men are staying ashore — this should tell you something. The sea wants only those who respect it — not those who challenge it.
After a diver had a close call with rough conditions
Ha rischiato la vita per un'ora di immersione in più. Lu mari lu voli chiddu chi lu rispetta — e lui non l'aveva rispettato.
He risked his life for an extra hour of diving. The sea wants only those who respect it — and he had not respected it.
Teaching marine safety philosophy
In mare non esiste coraggio, esiste giudizio. Lu mari lu voli chiddu chi lu rispetta — e il giudizio è sapere quando non andare.
At sea there is no courage, there is only judgement. The sea wants only those who respect it — and judgement means knowing when not to go.
Extended metaphor about any powerful force
Vale per la montagna, per il fuoco, per qualsiasi forza grande. Lu mari lu voli chiddu chi lu rispetta — l'arroganza è sempre il primo passo verso il disastro.
It applies to the mountain, to fire, to any great force. The sea wants only those who respect it — arrogance is always the first step toward disaster.