Meaning & Analysis
When a pocket or purse is empty, there is no money inside. Historically, coins were often marked with a cross, so an empty pocket literally lacks the Christian symbol believed to ward off the devil, leaving a space for him to occupy.
Insights
Poverty and Temptation
Poverty and a lack of resources can lead a person to desperation, making them more susceptible to temptation, immoral acts, or criminal behavior as a means of survival.
Idleness and Mischief
The 'empty pocket' symbolizes a state of idleness or lack of purpose. This void creates an opportunity for negative thoughts, mischief, and destructive behaviors to take root, akin to the proverb 'the devil finds work for idle hands'.
Financial Ruin and Despair
The proverb can represent the internal turmoil and despair that accompanies financial ruin. The 'dancing devil' symbolizes the tormenting and chaotic thoughts that thrive in a state of destitution and hopelessness.
Moral and Spiritual Void
An 'empty pocket' can also stand for a state of spiritual or moral emptiness. When a person lacks a strong moral compass or spiritual foundation, they become vulnerable to corrupting influences.
Historical Symbolism of Currency
The proverb's historical context is rooted in the physical attributes of currency. Many early modern coins were stamped with a cross, which was believed to offer spiritual protection. The absence of a coin ('cross') in one's pocket therefore meant a literal and symbolic lack of defense against evil, allowing the devil free rein.
Psychology of Desperation
The proverb powerfully illustrates the psychological link between poverty and moral vulnerability. The 'dancing' devil is a vivid metaphor for the anxiety, desperation, and chaotic thoughts that can plague a person in financial distress, making them more susceptible to temptation and unethical choices.
Social and Moral Commentary
This saying reflects a societal belief that idleness and want lead to mischief and sin. It serves as both a moral caution to the individual against financial imprudence and a reflection of a social bias that often equated poverty with a lack of moral character.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The proverb uses the 'empty pocket' as a potent metaphor for poverty, want, and a state of spiritual or moral vulnerability.
Personification and Imagery
The image of the devil actively 'dancing' personifies evil as a gleeful, triumphant force that thrives in conditions of lack and despair, making the abstract concept of temptation feel immediate and dynamic.
Alliteration
The alliterative 'd' in 'Devil dances' creates a memorable, rhythmic effect that enhances the proverb's folkloric and cautionary tone.
Transcription
Quotations
The deull may daunce in my purse for ony peny.
The deuyll myghte daunce therin for ony crowche.
The deuille may daunce in crosslesse purse [= a coin bearing the impression of a cross].
My Barrell of golde .. ranne so on the lees, that the Diuell daunced in the bottome, where he found neuer a crosse.
For well might the Divell dance there [in his empty pocket], for euer a crosse to keepe him backe.
Some wanting money shall both ban and curse That the devill hath roome to dance in their purse.
The devil sleeps in my pocket; I have no cross To drive him from it.
The Devil a farthing left, Idem, the English say to that purpose, if I mistake not, The Devil is got into the pockets.
The Devil might dance upon his [the grocer's] counter, for there was never a cross to keep him from it.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.