Meaning & Analysis
For every person born (a mouth), God will provide the necessary food (meat) to sustain them. It is a statement of absolute faith in divine providence.
Insights
Faith in Divine Provision
The proverb serves as a metaphor for faith in divine provision, suggesting that for any challenge, need, or responsibility ('mouth') that one faces in life, a divine power will also supply the necessary resources or solutions ('meat') to handle it.
Justification for Procreation
As noted in historical commentaries, the proverb is used as a justification for having children despite lacking the financial means to support them. It frames procreation as an act of faith, trusting that sustenance will inevitably follow the birth of a child.
Inherent Potential and Balance
The proverb can be interpreted as a statement about inherent potential. Every problem or need ('mouth') that arises in the world naturally contains the seed of its own solution or fulfillment ('meat'), suggesting a self-regulating balance in life.
Psychological Comfort
The proverb serves as a powerful psychological coping mechanism against the anxieties of poverty and scarcity. By framing sustenance as a divine guarantee, it provides comfort and justification for having large families, transforming potential irresponsibility into an act of faith.
Social Critique and Class Tension
An annotation from 1670 reveals a significant social critique, noting the proverb is used by the poor 'who get children, but take no care to maintain them'. This highlights a class-based tension between fatalistic faith and the middle-class virtue of provident self-reliance.
Theology of Providence
This proverb encapsulates a theological tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. It emphasizes God's role as a universal provider but has been criticized for potentially absolving individuals of the personal duty to plan for and support their dependents.
Belief in Natural Equilibrium
The proverb's logic connects to a broader folk belief in a divinely maintained equilibrium, as seen in the cross-referenced proverb, 'God sends cold after (according to) clothes'. This reflects a worldview where needs and resources are believed to be naturally and supernaturally balanced.
Rhetorical Devices
Synecdoche
The proverb uses 'mouth' to represent a person in need of food, and 'meat' to represent all forms of sustenance. This use of a part to represent the whole makes the phrasing concise and impactful.
Parallelism
The balanced structure of 'sends mouth... but he sends meat' creates a memorable and authoritative rhythm, reinforcing the direct and unbreakable link between the creation of a need and its fulfillment.
Antithesis
The proverb presents a simple, direct contrast between a state of need (an empty mouth) and a state of provision (meat), effectively highlighting the core message of divine intervention and care.
Transcription
Quotations
He is nothing solicitous or careful for his liuing: he thinketh God neuer sent the mouthe but he sent the meate for it.
God sendeth and giueth both mouth and the meat.
God sent neuer the mouth but the meat with it.
(mouths).
God that sendeth mouthes will send meat.
As the English say, God never sends a mouth, but he sends meat for it.
God sends never the mouth, but the meat with it.
(mouths).
This Proverb is much in the mouth of poor people: who get children, but take no care to maintain them.
He that sends Mouths sends Meat.
(mouths).
God never sends the Mouth, but the Meat with it.
Spoken to those that grudge their having many Children.
(Mouths).
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.