Meaning & Analysis
The proverb literally refers to a legend where the Devil is said to have looked upon Lincoln Cathedral with a grimacing, malicious, and envious expression, resentful of its sacred beauty and the devotion it represented.
Insights
Envy and Malice
The primary meaning is to look at someone or something with intense envy and ill-will. The Devil's gaze upon a holy site symbolizes a deep-seated resentment of goodness, success, or beauty that one cannot possess.
Scornful Contempt
The act of 'looking over' something implies a sense of scornful superiority and disdain. It describes a condescending glare that judges and dismisses its object, as if it were an offensive sight.
Impotent Rage
The legend implies the Devil can only look but not destroy the cathedral, suggesting a state of frustrated, powerless anger. The proverb can describe a look of bitter resentment from someone who is unable to act on their malicious desires.
Architectural Folklore
Rooted in English folklore, the proverb is linked to legends surrounding the magnificent Lincoln Cathedral. One story suggests the Devil viewed the church with envy and ill-will, a sentiment captured in a grotesque stone carving (the 'Lincoln Imp') within the cathedral, or possibly another carving overlooking it. This ties the expression to a specific architectural and cultural landmark.
Psychology of Malice
The proverb offers a powerful psychological portrait of envy mixed with contempt. By invoking the Devil, it elevates a mere 'dirty look' to a sign of profound moral corruption, suggesting the person is consumed by a spiteful resentment of another's success, virtue, or beauty.
Theological Dualism
The expression plays on the theological dualism of good (the cathedral, representing faith and devotion) and evil (the Devil). The Devil's look is one of impotent rage against a symbol of divine power he cannot destroy, capturing a timeless narrative of evil's resentment towards the sacred.
Rhetorical Devices
Simile
The proverb is a direct simile, using 'as' to compare a person's expression to the archetypal image of the Devil's malevolence, creating a vivid and powerful condemnation.
Allusion
The expression relies on an allusion to a specific piece of English folklore, drawing on shared cultural and historical knowledge to convey its meaning effectively.
Hyperbole
Comparing a human expression to that of the Devil is a deliberate exaggeration used to emphasize the extreme intensity of the perceived malice and envy.
Transcription
Quotations
Than wold ye loke ouer me, with stomake swolne, Lyke as the deuill lookt ouer Lyncolne.
As we say in a Proverb, as the Devil look'd over Lincoln.
(He ouerlooketh him as).
(He lookes or'e me as).
(He over-looks him as).
(the Devil over Lincoln).
(the Devil over Lincoln).
To look on one, as the Devil looks over Lincoln.
He looks like the Devil over Lincoln.
(She looked at me as).
Annotations
- The divel . . is supposed to have overlook'd this Church [Lincoln Minster] . . with a torve [grim] and tetrick [gloomy] countenance, as maligning men's costly devotion.
- Some fetch the original of this Proverb from a stone picture of the Devil, which doth (or lately did) over-look Lincoln Colledge . . Beholders have since applied those ugly looks to envious persons.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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