Harry Terhanian.com

A horse chestnut with its rind full of prickly spines
Fell to the ground waiting for the hedgehog to dine
Insects, worms, snakes, are the hedgehog’s treats
But all through the night it found few tasty sweets
Hungry still it came upon the horse chestnut
From which it took a good nibble for his gut
“What pricks my snout, why so unkind
These sharp bristles of the chestnut’s rind
These small spines cause untold pain so much
How much more painful must mine be to touch?”

One can never understand misery others feel
who has not himself suffered a great deal

sehruh guh pahtzahduhrvee, dahrduh guh bahdmuhvee

dard uhnogheen darduh chee bakseer

Dard is a word common to Turkish and Persian. It also exists in Hindi and Urdu. It generally means suffering from mental anguish, emotional problems, anxiety, etc. The Armenian equivalent to this word is hok which means mental preoccupation and anguish due to some event, agony, painful feelings. The word Dard has been popularized by its frequent use since long ago in the songs of traveling bards called ahsouk in Turkish or koussan in Armenian. These traveling bards used words commonly understood in Armenian, Turkish, Farsi, Kurdish, Assyrian, Albanian, Greek so that the common people could all understand. Dard is one of those universally understood words. It is used often in songs to express painful feelings.

This proverb expresses the sobering thought that those who like to give trouble to others will suffer the same fate and even worse in their own lives. Causing pain to another living entity is very sinful. If we at all want to live peacefully, we need to be careful not to cause unnecessary pain to others. This principle of nonviolence when genuinely practiced will create an atmosphere of peace.

Another proverb that conveys the same meaning is:

pogh ounetchogheen nebadakuh chee verchahnah - one who has wealth never sees the end of his desires.

Another version is: hahroustee tzangoutiounuh hahroust guh leenee - the rich man’s desires always remain richly endowed or in other words never ending.