proverb · Words worth keeping
Don’t try to fly like the Cóndor; mountains are high.
Don’t try to fly like the Cóndor; mountains are high.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A condor’s flight beside high mountains warns against copying an ability one may not possess. The saying connects ambition with the demands of an undertaking.
What the words are saying
The bird image is not a flight or climbing procedure. A qualified interpretation assesses actual capacities and support without dismissing every ambitious goal. The precise traditional application is unverified, and perceived limits can change; difference from another performer does not determine personal worth.
Everyday example
Someone checks the demands of an unfamiliar task instead of assuming another person’s ability makes it immediately feasible for them.
When to use it
Use it as a qualified capability-and-conditions image.
What it does not mean
No altitude rule, fixed personal inability or independently verified traditional application is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
Peru
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.- Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 229; PDF page 27; collection label: Peru
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Peru