Meaning & Analysis
A family with no members who have committed shameful or criminal acts is considered lacking or unusual; such imperfection is commonplace and even expected within any lineage.
Insights
Universality of Flaws
The proverb asserts that every family harbors individuals with vices or disgraces, making moral imperfection a universal and almost inevitable aspect of human kinship.
Acceptance of Human Nature
It suggests a pragmatic or even cynical acceptance that vice and transgression are inherent in every social group, encouraging tolerance and humility rather than moral superiority.
Mockery of Respectability
The saying satirizes pretensions to familial purity or honor, mocking the idea that any kin can be free from scandal or blemish.
Historical Symbolism
Throughout history, lineage and family honor were highly prized, yet proverbial wisdom—across cultures—recognized that even the most ‘honorable’ lines contained shameful elements. The inclusion of both ‘whore’ and ‘thief’ encompasses both sexual and criminal transgression, reflecting a broad view of social deviance.
Cross-Cultural Parallels
Analogous proverbs from various traditions, such as 'There is no house but has something not to be spoken of' and 'Shame in a kindred cannot be avoided,' underscore the widespread recognition that social blemishes are part of the human condition.
Psychological Reflection
The proverb speaks to the psychological tendency to externalize blame or highlight others’ failings while downplaying one’s own, but here it invites a shared acknowledgment of fallibility—disarming moral condemnation with self-awareness.
Social Commentary
The saying has often been invoked defensively, especially when families are criticized for the misdeeds of relatives, serving both as consolation and a subtle rebuke to those who judge too harshly.
Rhetorical Devices
Hyperbole
The use of extremes—'whore' and 'thief'—serves to exaggerate common failings, making the proverb memorable and its message unequivocal.
Irony
It is ironically 'poor' not to have disgraceful kin, inverting expectations about what constitutes a fortunate or respectable family.
Antithesis
The contrast between perceived honor and actual disgrace highlights the tension between social ideals and realities.
Transcription
Quotations
It is a stock (they say) right honorable and good, That hath neither thefe nor whore in their blood.
It is a sillie kin ther is nather hoor nor theef in.
There's no family but there's a Whore or a Knave of it.
It is a poor Kin, that has neither Whore nor Thief in it.
Cross References
- F557 Who has neither fools nor beggars nor whores among his kindred was born of a stroke of thunder
- H782 There is no house but has something not to be spoken of
- K36 It is a good kin that none do amiss in
- P178 In great pedigrees there are governors and chandlers
- S273 Shame in a kindred cannot be avoided.
Annotations
- Spoken when some of our Relations, who have done an ill Thing, is cast in our Teeth.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.