Meaning & Analysis
The content of dreams is factually untrue; they are fabrications of the mind and should not be believed or trusted as accurate representations of reality.
Insights
Deceptive Aspirations
The proverb serves as a cynical warning that aspirations, hopes, and ambitions are ultimately illusions that do not correspond to reality and are therefore untrustworthy.
Unreliability of Intuition
It suggests that intuition and subconscious feelings, often expressed through dreams, are unreliable guides for navigating life, advocating for logic and waking consciousness as the only valid sources of truth.
Rejection of Prophecy
Historically, dreams were often seen as prophecies. The proverb rejects this, framing dreams as false omens that mislead rather than enlighten, promoting a skeptical view of divination.
Skeptical Rationalism
This proverb reflects a rationalist departure from ancient beliefs that treated dreams as divine omens. It champions an empirical worldview, dismissing the subconscious as a source of deception rather than insight, a view that contrasts sharply with later psychological theories.
Psychological Naivety
From a modern psychological standpoint, the proverb is flawed. While dreams are not literally true, they are not 'lies' either; rather, they are symbolic expressions of inner conflicts, desires, and fears. The proverb's cynicism overlooks the potential for self-discovery through dream analysis.
Disillusionment and Reality
The proverb's bluntness serves as a powerful caution against wishful thinking and mistaking aspirations for reality. It speaks to the pain of disillusionment, where cherished hopes ('dreams') are revealed to be unfounded ('lies').
Rhetorical Devices
Hyperbole
The proverb is a stark, absolute statement that uses exaggeration for effect. By declaring all dreams to be lies, it creates a memorable and provocative claim that dismisses any nuance.
Metaphor
The proverb functions as a metaphor where 'dreams' represent hopes, fantasies, and the subconscious, while 'lies' represent unreliability, falsehood, and illusion.
Declarative Statement
Its power lies in its construction as a short, blunt, and authoritative statement. This declarative form presents a subjective opinion as an objective, undeniable fact.
Transcription
Quotations
Dreames be seldome to be trusted.
There is no truth in dreames.
He erreth as much who holdeth all dreams to be true, as he who holdeth there is none.
Dreams are dotages or lyes.
Cross References
- See St., no. 500.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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