Meaning & Analysis
The ultimate embodiment of sin, the Devil, is paradoxically criticizing or condemning someone for being sinful. This is a direct and absurd contradiction.
Insights
Critique of Hypocrisy
The proverb is a powerful indictment of hypocrisy, describing a situation where a person condemns others for the very faults they themselves possess. It highlights the audacity and moral emptiness of such criticism.
Deceptive Moralism
It suggests a deceptive maneuver where a person feigns righteousness to manipulate others. By loudly condemning minor sins, a major sinner can create a smokescreen to hide their own more significant wrongdoings.
Lack of Moral Authority
The act of a known sinner rebuking sin invalidates the criticism itself. It implies that for a moral judgment to have weight, the critic must possess some measure of moral authority or authenticity.
Theological Archetype
Rooted in Christian theology, the proverb uses the Devil as the ultimate archetype of evil and the 'father of lies'. His condemnation of sin is therefore the most extreme and absurd form of hypocrisy imaginable, providing a powerful cultural shorthand for calling out duplicity.
Psychological Projection
This proverb captures the psychological phenomenon of projection, where individuals attribute their own unacceptable faults to others. By 'rebuking sin', the hypocrite deflects attention from their own moral failings, a defense mechanism that preserves their self-image while undermining genuine moral discourse.
Cultural Expression of Hypocrisy
The proverb is a timeless satirical weapon against sanctimonious authority. It resonates with the biblical admonition about the mote and the beam and is a direct ancestor to sayings like 'the pot calling the kettle black', reflecting a universal and enduring human disdain for hypocritical judgment.
Rhetorical Devices
Paradox
The core of the proverb is a stark paradox. The juxtaposition of the ultimate sinner (the Devil) with a righteous act (rebuking sin) creates a memorable and potent image of hypocrisy.
Archetypal Symbolism
The Devil serves as a powerful, universally understood symbol for evil and deception. Using this archetype makes the abstract concept of hypocrisy immediate and visceral.
Satire
The proverb functions as a concise and cutting piece of satire, using irony to expose and ridicule the moral failings of those who judge others without acknowledging their own flaws.
Transcription
Quotations
As the English say, The Divil corrects sin.
The devil rebukes sin; one thief accuseth another.
How the devil rebukes sin.
*Spoken when we are reproved by wicked Men.
The diuell owes thee shame.
The diuell ought me a shame, and now hath paide it.
See see, the deuil ought my maister a shame and now he has paid him.
The Devil certainly owed him a shame, that put into his head, to take upon him the handling of this Argument.
The Devill sure Ought me a mischiefe, when he enabled that Old Wretch, my Father to beget me.
I was finely helpt up when I married you .. But the devil ow’d me a good turn!
The Press hath ought him a shame a long time, and is but now beginning to pay-off the debt.
The devil I think ow’d me a shame, and sought to pay it this way.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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