Meaning & Analysis
Money provides the necessary incentive to make a horse (a mare) work or move, and similarly motivates people (like an old woman) to act.
Insights
The Power of Capital
The proverb serves as a metaphor for the power of capital to drive any enterprise, system, or individual. Whether it's a simple work animal or a complex human endeavor, money is the fuel that overcomes inertia and initiates action.
Economic Incentive
On a broader level, the proverb encapsulates the core principle of economic incentive. It suggests that labor, services, and progress are fundamentally transactional, requiring financial reward to function effectively in society.
Instrument of Influence
The saying can be interpreted cynically, suggesting that money has the power to corrupt or unduly influence. It implies that financial payments can make anyone, regardless of their position or principles, compliant or active in a desired way.
Overcoming Reluctance
The 'mare' and 'old wife' symbolize reluctance or stubbornness. Money is therefore depicted as the ultimate tool for persuasion, capable of making even the most unwilling or sluggish subjects perform as desired.
Economic Catalyst
The proverb's imagery, rooted in a pre-industrial world, uses the 'mare'—a vital asset for labor and transport—to symbolize that all economic activity requires capital. The saying reflects the transition to a cash-based economy where financial payment, not just obligation or barter, becomes the primary engine of work.
Universal Motivator
The pairing of a 'mare' (a beast of burden) with an 'old wife' (a human, often stereotyped as stubborn or frail) powerfully illustrates money's universal influence. It suggests that financial incentive can overcome physical inertia, social status, and even personal reluctance, making it a great equalizer in motivation.
Cynical Social Commentary
As seen in the 17th-century quotations about lawyers, the proverb carries a cynical undertone about human nature and societal structures. It implies that money can not only encourage but also corrupt, compelling individuals and institutions to act in ways that might otherwise conflict with their duties or morals.
Psychology of Incentive
The proverb captures a fundamental psychological principle: behavior is strongly driven by reward. It bypasses complex motivations like altruism or duty, offering a starkly realistic, if materialistic, view that financial gain is one of the most reliable predictors of action.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The 'mare' and the 'old wife' serve as metaphors for any person or entity that can be spurred into action by payment, representing labor, services, or compliance.
Alliteration
The repetition of the 'm' sound in 'Money makes the mare' creates a memorable and forceful rhythm, reinforcing the proverb's message.
Parallelism
The parallel structure of 'makes the mare to go' and '[makes] the old wife trot' strengthens the proverb's claim of money's universal power by applying it to two distinct subjects, animal and human.
Transcription
Quotations
In the hey-weyes ther joly palfreys yt [money] makyght to lepe and praunce.
Money makes the horsse to goe.
Money maketh horses runne.
Money .. makes the olde Mare trot, and the young Tit amble.
Money makes the gray Mare to go.
This [money] makes the old wife trot, and makes the mare to go.
(It's money makes).
'Tis money makes the mare goe.
Our Lawyers call it Pone legem: but the plain English is, 'Tis Money makes the Mare to goe.
('Tis Mony makes).
As Money makes the Mare to go, Even so it makes the Lawyer too.
[Money] makes the old Wife trot, and makes the Mare to go.
Money makes the Old Wife Trot. Money makes the Mare to go.
(It is Money that).
(It is Money, that).
Money, as well as Need makes the old Wife trot.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.