Meaning & Analysis
Based on historical botanical beliefs, the proverb literally means that consuming the darnel weed (a common grain contaminant) was thought to cause impaired vision or blindness.
Insights
Impaired Judgment from a Corrupt Source
The proverb serves as a metaphor for impaired judgment or lack of foresight. 'Dim-sighted' refers to an inability to perceive truth or reason clearly, while 'eating darnel' symbolizes the corrupting influence, false information, or bad counsel that caused this mental blindness.
Deception and Hidden Dangers
Darnel, a tare that grows deceptively among wheat, symbolizes hidden dangers or insidious ideas. The proverb warns that consuming what seems harmless—be it bad advice, false teachings, or subtle propaganda—can poison one's perception and lead to ignorance.
A-Cause-for-Error
It functions as a cause-and-effect explanation for foolishness or error. A person's poor decisions or lack of understanding are attributed to an external 'poison' they have ingested, framing their failure as a consequence of being misled rather than inherent deficiency.
Folk Toxicology
The proverb is rooted in the actual toxic properties of darnel (*Lolium temulentum*), a weed that, when infected with a fungus, can cause visual disturbances and dizziness. This folk observation reflects a pre-scientific understanding of toxicology, connecting a specific plant to a neurological symptom.
Biblical and Moral Allegory
This proverb strongly resonates with the biblical Parable of the Tares (Matthew 13:24–30), where darnel symbolizes evil sown among good. 'Eating darnel' thus implies internalizing corrupting influences or false doctrines that impair one's moral or spiritual vision.
Psychology of Blame
Psychologically, the proverb externalizes a personal failing. Rather than calling someone inherently foolish or unperceptive, it attributes their 'dim-sightedness' to an external cause, suggesting their judgment has been compromised by a specific, corrupting influence they have 'consumed'.
Rhetorical Devices
Extended Metaphor
The proverb uses 'dim-sighted' as a direct metaphor for intellectual or moral blindness, and 'eating darnel' as a metaphor for the act of internalizing a corrupting influence.
Symbolism
Darnel itself functions as a potent symbol of hidden corruption, deceit, and impurity, drawing its power from its real-world status as a toxic weed that contaminates valuable grain.
Aphoristic Statement
The proverb is structured as a concise, diagnostic statement of cause and effect, which gives it a memorable, aphoristic quality and an air of folk wisdom.
Transcription
Quotations
Darnell hurteth the eies and maketh them dim . . and heereupon it seemeth that the old prouerbe came, that such as are dim sighted should be said to eate of Darnell.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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