The CLOCK goes as it pleases the clerk

Insights

Manipulation of Truth

The proverb is a metaphor for the manipulation of truth and objective reality. The 'clock' symbolizes a system of record or fact, while the 'clerk' represents any authority figure who can alter or distort that system for personal gain or to control others.

Power and Authority

It illustrates how individuals in positions of trust, no matter how seemingly minor, can wield significant power. By controlling the 'clock'—the official measure of time—the clerk dictates the rhythm of the entire community's life, demonstrating that control over information is a potent form of authority.

Subjectivity vs. Objectivity

The saying explores the tension between objective reality and subjective control. It warns that what is presented as impartial fact is often filtered through human intervention, agenda, or error, making the 'official' version of events unreliable.

Corruption and Deceit

It functions as a caution against corruption and deceit. The clerk's ability to set the clock 'as it pleases' implies a potential for self-interest and abuse of power, cheating people of their time or misleading them for personal advantage.

Historical Power Dynamics

Historically, the town or church clock was the central regulator of civic and religious life. The clerk or sexton who maintained it held a position of immense trust, and this proverb reflects a deep-seated anxiety about the abuse of that power to control a community's reality.

Information Control

The proverb serves as a timeless allegory for the manipulation of information. In a modern context, the 'clerk' can be seen as any entity—a government, media outlet, or tech company—that controls the 'clock' by curating data or narratives to shape public perception and behavior.

Theological Allegory

The quotation from T. Adams, 'the Deuill is a false Sexton, and sets the Clocke too slowe', elevates the proverb to a theological warning. It frames the manipulation not just as a civic crime but as a moral and spiritual deception, where a false sense of security (time) leads to damnation.

Psychology of Trust

Psychologically, the proverb exposes the vulnerability inherent in our trust of systems. It serves as a cynical reminder that supposedly objective frameworks are managed by fallible, and potentially self-interested, individuals, urging a healthy skepticism toward accepted truths.

Rhetorical Devices

Metaphor

The entire proverb functions as a metaphor, where the 'clock' represents objective systems (like time, law, or data) and the 'clerk' represents the human element capable of manipulating those systems.

Personification

The phrase 'as it pleases' personifies the clerk's control, framing the clock's operation not as a neutral mechanical process but as an extension of the clerk's personal will and desire.

Irony

A strong sense of irony arises from the concept that a device created for objective, impartial measurement (the clock) is ultimately subject to the subjective whims of a human operator.