Meaning & Analysis
Literally, this proverb states that for someone who is filthy (morally or otherwise), everything seems or tastes filthy, regardless of its true nature.
Insights
Subjective Corruption
Suggests that those with corrupt minds or hearts interpret everything through their own moral lens, so even goodness appears tainted or base to them.
Projection of Character
Implicates the observer's own nature in their perception of the world—what people see, hear, or experience is colored by their inner disposition.
Pervasive Negativity
Highlights the phenomenon where a negative or cynical worldview contaminates all experiences, making it impossible to appreciate purity or virtue.
Ancient and Literary Resonance
The proverb echoes classical (pravis omnia prava) and Shakespearean wisdom—'Filths savour but themselves'—underscoring the longstanding human insight that perception is shaped by character.
Psychological Projection
Articulates a psychological truth: those burdened by guilt, vice, or bitterness often project their own inner state onto the world, perceiving corruption where none exists.
Moral Relativity and Caution
Warns against hasty judgment and encourages self-examination: when one sees only filth, it may be a reflection of their own mind rather than the reality of what is observed.
Rhetorical Devices
Antanaclasis
Repeats 'filthy' with a shift in meaning—from a descriptor of the person to the flavor of experience—reinforcing the link between character and perception.
Universalization
The phrase 'all things' generalizes the effect, dramatizing the totalizing power of internal corruption.
Parallelism
Balanced structure ('to the filthy, all things taste filthy') makes the proverb memorable and rhythmic.
Transcription
Quotations
There's nothing uttered but carries a double sense, one good, one bad; but if the hearer apply it to the worst, the fault lies in his or her corrupt understanding .. for, to answer your Latin, pravis omnia prava.
Shakespeare Citations
Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile; Filths savour but themselves.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.