Meaning & Analysis
Based on an old dietary belief, cheese was thought to help digest all other foods consumed in a meal, yet was considered to be heavy and indigestible on its own.
Insights
The Corrupting Agent
The proverb serves as a metaphor for a person, institution, or system that imposes order and resolves external issues but is itself fundamentally flawed, corrupt, or unable to be controlled.
The Tool That Cannot Fix Itself
It illustrates the paradox of a tool or solution that is effective in fixing external problems but cannot be applied to its own inherent flaws, highlighting a fundamental limitation or hypocrisy.
The Hypocritical Advisor
The proverb describes a person who is skilled at offering advice and resolving others' issues but is incapable of addressing their own personal failings or problems.
The Flawed Foundation
It can symbolize a foundational principle or entity that supports an entire structure, yet is itself the most unstable or problematic element within that system.
Historical Medical Beliefs
Rooted in medieval and early modern dietary theory, this proverb reflects the belief that cheese, eaten at the end of a meal, aided the digestion of other foods while being notoriously difficult to digest itself. This historical context provides the literal foundation for its rich metaphorical meanings.
Critique of Authority
The proverb serves as a powerful metaphor for hypocrisy, particularly in systems of power or authority. It critiques entities—be they individuals, institutions, or ideologies—that effectively manage or control others but are themselves internally flawed, corrupt, or unable to self-regulate.
The Unexamined Helper
The proverb resonates with the psychological concept of the 'unexamined life'. It describes individuals adept at analyzing and solving others' problems ('digesting all things') yet unable or unwilling to confront their own internal conflicts and shortcomings ('but itself').
Literary and Polemical Application
The 1614 citation by Thomas Adams powerfully applies the proverb to religious polemic, equating 'Treason' with the indigestible cheese. This illustrates how the proverb was used as a sharp tool in theological and political disputes to characterize an opponent as fundamentally corrupt.
Rhetorical Devices
Paradox
The core of the proverb lies in the paradox of an agent of digestion that is itself indigestible. This logical contradiction makes the saying memorable and intellectually engaging.
Personification
Cheese is personified as an active, almost sentient agent that 'digests'. The Latin source and Ray's citation extend this by calling it 'wicked' or a 'peevish elfe', giving it a mischievous and untrustworthy character.
Irony
The proverb is built on situational irony, where the supposed remedy for one problem (indigestion) is itself an example of that very problem.
Transcription
Quotations
Caseus est nequam, quia digerit omnia, Se quam.
It is against the old verse, Caseus est nequam. —Yea, but it disgesteth all things except it selfe.
To him are serued in . . a large and lauish feast of Crucifixes, vnctions, scrapings, traditions, Reliques, etc. And as Cheese to digest all the rest, yet it selfe neuer digested, Treason.
Cheese it is a peevish elfe, It digests all things but it self.
Annotations
- This is a translation of that old rhyming Latin verse, Caseus est nequam, quia digerit omnia se quam.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.