Meaning & Analysis
The proverb asserts that while astrology may contain truth, those who practice it—astrologers—are incapable of discovering or interpreting that truth correctly.
Insights
Misguided Expertise
It critiques the overconfidence or inadequacy of supposed experts who claim insight but fail to access the deeper truths they profess to master.
Truth Eluding Human Grasp
The proverb suggests that even if some cosmic or metaphysical order exists, it remains fundamentally beyond the reach of human comprehension or flawed instruments of inquiry.
Skepticism Toward Divination
Presents astrology as an alluring but ultimately elusive science—perhaps valid in theory, but in practice rendered useless by those who attempt to wield it.
Seventeenth-Century Epistemological Crisis
This proverb emerges during a time when traditional systems of knowledge—like astrology—were being challenged by empirical science. It reflects cultural ambivalence: nostalgia for a cosmic order and frustration with those who falsely claim to interpret it.
Irony of Authority
It undercuts institutional authority by exposing the incompetence of those who assume expert roles, a sentiment that has wide resonance beyond astrology in domains like politics, medicine, or religion.
Philosophical Paradox
The proverb embodies a paradox: belief in an inaccessible truth. This creates an epistemic double bind, where the structure of meaning is affirmed but permanently deferred—casting human inquiry as perpetually inadequate.
Rhetorical Devices
Irony
The irony lies in the idea that something may be true yet perpetually undiscoverable, especially by those who dedicate their lives to uncovering it.
Antithesis
The contrast between the truth of astrology and the ineptitude of astrologers sets up a sharp rhetorical opposition, enhancing the proverb’s wit and skepticism.
Philosophical Aphorism
Structured like a gnomic statement, the proverb delivers a compact, paradoxical insight that invites contemplation and debate.
Transcription
Quotations
(but where is the Astrologer?)
Condemned although every where it be for Falshood, yet Astrology may be true, though the Astrologers can never find it.
(but the Astrologer is hard to find)
Related Proverbs
Original Scan

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