Hovhannes Tumanyan was an Armenian writer, poet, public figure of immense talent and skill. His works are so deep that we discover his genius in them over and over again, and only a few can say they have understood their full meaning.
Today, on the 150th anniversary of the Poet of All Armenians, Mediamax Sport presents his thoughts on healthy lifestyle.
Tumanyan was a curious man who loved to study. From philosophy to medicine, from theology to natural science – he wanted to learn everything he could. Tumanyan’s library contains over 8000 books, with a separate section for the works on medicine (books, magazines, articles).
He was certain that people had to stay healthy, do exercise and keep themselves fit. The medical works in his collection often bear his own notes, and medicine he made from various plants is still preserved.
The writer’s daughter Nvard Tumanyan wrote: “Father had strong belief in healing properties of plants and flowers. He hated whatever was called medicine and it was difficult to make him take it, but when he was told that it was made from a familiar plant or a flower, he took it with firm belief and he would start talking about the properties of different herbs.”
Nvard also writes that when they went to Dsegh (Tumanyan’s native village) in summer, Tumanyan often wrote to them and advised to spend time in nature, breathe clean air. He was well-versed in the herbs of Armenian highlands: thymus, wild mint, rose hip.
Photo: toumanianmuseum.am
The great poet attached great importance to exercise, which he believed should be done early in the morning on the balcony or in nature.
Tumanyan wrote some thoughts down on cards and hang them on the walls of the dining room so the children would read and remember. The cards read, for instance: “Cleanliness is the foundation of health”, “Please, no smoking”, “A sound mind in a sound body”.
Tumanyan was convinced that each Armenian should serve their homeland, and the first thing they had to do for that purpose was to be healthy.
Let’s conclude with an excerpt from the letter that Tumanyan wrote to his son Artavazd:
“Always, first of all, stay healthy. A sick person, a feeble and weak person can learn anything, but there will be no substance to that: they won’t live their lives fully and they won’t give life to anything. With a sound mind in a sound body, armed with modern science and lighting – that is what the person should be like.”
Materials from Hovhannes Tumanyan Museum archive were used for this article.
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