Our FATHERS which were wondrous wise did wash their throats before they washed their eyes

Insights

Primacy of Pleasure or Habit

Suggests that established routines or indulgences (especially drinking) take precedence over other daily activities, sometimes humorously elevating pleasure above propriety.

Tradition as Justification

Invokes the wisdom of ancestors to justify contemporary habits, using the precedent of the past to defend or excuse present-day behavior—particularly morning drinking.

Irony of ‘Wisdom’

Wryly implies that what is called ‘wondrous wise’ may actually be questionable or self-serving, poking fun at the notion of inherited wisdom when it comes to bodily indulgence.

Cultural Attitude to Drinking

Reflects a time when drinking ale or beer in the morning was common, due in part to the poor quality or safety of water. The proverb thus preserves a window into daily life and health practices of early modern England.

Mock-Veneration of the Past

Employs playful reverence for ‘wondrous wise’ forefathers, exposing how tradition can be humorously (or cynically) used to legitimize questionable or indulgent customs.

Ritual and Routine

Reveals the psychological comfort and social bonding that can arise from shared rituals, even when those rituals center on habits that might otherwise be criticized.

Rhetorical Devices

Rhyme and Rhythm

The proverb uses internal rhyme and balanced phrasing (‘wash their throats before they washed their eyes’), lending it a sing-song, memorable quality typical of folk wisdom.

Irony

There is playful irony in referring to morning drinking as ‘wondrous wise,’ highlighting a humorous disconnect between the behavior and its justification.

Allusion

References to the habits of ‘our fathers’ invoke ancestral authority, lending the proverb the weight (and the mock-seriousness) of tradition.