Meaning & Analysis
The testimony of a single person who has personally seen an event is more valuable and reliable than the accounts of ten people who have only heard about it from others.
Insights
Primacy of Direct Experience
The proverb champions the superiority of direct, first-hand experience over indirect, second-hand knowledge. It suggests that true understanding and wisdom are gained through personal observation and participation, not by relying on the reports of others.
Unreliability of Hearsay
It serves as a powerful metaphor for the unreliability of information that has been transmitted through multiple sources. Like a game of telephone, hearsay is prone to distortion, embellishment, and error, making it a poor foundation for truth.
Quality over Quantity
The proverb argues that the quality of evidence is far more important than its quantity. A single, solid piece of direct proof outweighs a multitude of weaker, indirect accounts, highlighting the importance of substance over volume.
Legal and Evidentiary Principle
This proverb reflects a foundational principle in Western legal tradition, where the testimony of a direct observer is given far greater weight than hearsay. This legal standard underscores a cultural preference for empirical evidence, valuing what is seen over what is merely reported.
Psychology of Perception
The proverb reveals a deep-seated cognitive bias that privileges visual information. Psychologically, humans tend to process what they see as more concrete and truthful than what they hear, which is perceived as more abstract and susceptible to distortion.
Cultural Skepticism
As a cultural maxim, it champions skepticism and critical thinking, urging individuals to question second-hand information and seek direct verification. It serves as a timeless warning against the dangers of rumor, gossip, and uncorroborated claims in an age of information overload.
Rhetorical Devices
Antithesis
The proverb is built on a sharp contrast between 'eyewitness' and 'earwitness', and the numbers 'one' and 'ten', which effectively highlights the core argument about the value of different types of evidence.
Hyperbole
The numerical ratio of one to ten is a form of hyperbole used to dramatically emphasize the vast difference in credibility between direct observation and hearsay.
Parallelism
The term 'earwitness' is a neologism created in direct parallel to the more common 'eyewitness'. This parallelism makes the comparison clear, concise, and memorable.
Transcription
Quotations
One wytnes that sawe the dede: is worthe .X. that hearde of it.
One eye wytnesse, is of more value, then tenne eare wytnesses, that is to saye, Farre more credite is to be gyuen to suche as reaporte the thynge they sawe wyth theyr eyes, than to such as speake but by heare saye.
Of more force standes eye witnesse one, Than ten eare witnesses among.
But they say . . one eye witnesse is better to be belyued than a thousand eare witnesses besydes.
I will believe one that saw it, before tenne that heard it.
[As in 1616 Withals].
(than two heare-so's).
One eye-witness is worth a hundred ear-witnesses.
One eye-witness is worth ten ear-witnesses.
(better than ten Hearsays).
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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