Meaning & Analysis
The proverb asserts that the truest and most severe form of poverty is not the lack of material wealth, but the state of being despised or forsaken by God.
Insights
Spiritual vs. Material Poverty
It establishes a clear distinction between material and spiritual well-being, arguing that spiritual destitution (divine disfavor) is the only form of poverty that truly matters.
Fatalistic Justification
The proverb can be interpreted as a fatalistic justification for suffering and inequality, suggesting that a person's impoverished state is a direct and inescapable consequence of divine will.
Ultimate Source of Worth
It functions as a moral declaration that a person's ultimate value and fortune are determined by their relationship with the divine, rather than by worldly success or possessions.
Theology of Prosperity
This proverb reflects a theological worldview where material conditions are seen as direct indicators of divine favor or disfavor. It suggests that the social order is divinely ordained, a perspective common in the 17th century when these quotations were recorded.
Psychological Defense
Psychologically, the proverb serves as a powerful coping mechanism for the impoverished, reframing their suffering in spiritual rather than material terms. It can also be used as a sharp retort to insults about one's financial status, as noted by Kelly in 1721.
Social Judgment
The proverb carries a strong undercurrent of social judgment, potentially justifying the wealth of the rich as a sign of righteousness and the struggles of the poor as a consequence of divine wrath, a concept famously challenged in the biblical Book of Job.
Rhetorical Devices
Aphorism
The proverb is an aphorism, a concise and authoritative statement that presents its claim as an undeniable truth.
Antithesis
It creates a powerful antithesis between the conventional understanding of poverty (material lack) and its proposed true meaning (divine abandonment).
Anthropomorphism
The attribution of the intense human emotion 'hates' to God makes the concept of divine judgment feel personal, immediate, and severe.
Transcription
Quotations
Poore is the man whom God abhorres.
They are poore, whom God hateth.
Ther's none poor, but such as God hates.
He is truly poor whom God forsakes.
There are none poor but such as God hates.
*A surlish Return to them who, tauntingly, call us Poor.
He's poor indeed, whom God hates.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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