"Man proposes, God disposes"; Painting and Proverb - and a Lyric by Brecht (Anna, weine nicht; Άννα μην κλαις)

A saying I sometimes heard as a child.

"Man proposes, God disposes"

Sir Edwin Henry Landseer RA (1802 – 1873)

"Man Proposes, God Disposes is an 1864 oil-on-canvas painting by Edwin Landseer. The work was inspired by the search for Franklin's lost expedition which disappeared in the Arctic after 1845. The painting is in the collection of  Royal Holloway, University of London" (Wikipedia).

About the saying (English Club):

Origin: This proverb is a translation from "The Imitation of Christ" by the German-born Thomas à Kempis (c.1380-1471): "For the resolutions of the just depend rather on the grace of God than on their own wisdom; and in Him they always put their trust, whatever they take in hand. For man proposes, but God disposes; neither is the way of man in his own hands." This may be a reflection of a verse in the Bible (Proverbs 16:9): "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps." Shakespeare, too, had a similar message in Hamlet by Hamlet: "There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will."

This song seems to speak to the Greek people these days:

Brecht/Mikroutsikos: "Anna, don't cry" (Anemourion blog)

On YouTube, Yiannis Koutras

Live Γιάννης Κούτρας - Άννα μην κλαις

Maria Dimitriadi

Milva

Milva and Mikroutsikos

Song lyric in German and English

Anna, weine nicht

Sie sprechen wieder von großen Zeiten
(Anna, weine nicht)
Der Krämer wird uns ankreiden.

Sie sprechen wieder von Ehre
(Anna, weine nicht)
Da ist nichts im Schrank, was zu holen wäre.

Sie sprechen wieder vom Siegen
(Anna, weine nicht)
Sie werden mich schon nicht kriegen.

Es ziehen die Heere
(Anna, weine nicht)
Wenn ich wiederkehre
Kehr ich unter andern Fahnen wieder.


Greek lyric (from Anemourion blog)

Μιλάνε για καιρούς δοξασμένους, και πάλι / (Άννα, μην κλαις) / Θά γυρέψουμε βερεσέ απ' το μπακάλη. / Μιλάνε για τού έθνους, ξανά, την τιμή / (Άννα, μην κλαις) / Στο ντουλάπι δεν έχει ψίχα ψωμί. / Μιλάνε για νίκες που το μέλλον θα φέρει / (Άννα, μην κλαις) / Εμέναν όμως δε με βάζουν στο χέρι. / Ο στρατός ξεκινά / (Άννα, μην κλαις) / Σαν γυρίσω ξανά / θ' ακολουθώ ξανά / άλλες σημαίες.