Meaning & Analysis
Not everyone has the financial means or opportunity to travel to the ancient Greek city of Corinth. Historically, this was either because the journey was perilous or, more famously, because the city was known for its expensive luxuries and high-priced courtesans, making it a destination only for the wealthy.
Insights
Exclusivity and High Cost
The proverb signifies that certain goals, achievements, or luxuries in life are not accessible to everyone. They carry a high 'cost'—whether financial, social, or intellectual—and are thus reserved for a select, privileged few.
Aspiration versus Attainability
It serves as a cautionary statement about the gap between ambition and reality. While many may desire a particular outcome or status ('to go to Corinth'), only a small number possess the actual resources or fortune to achieve it.
Barriers to Achievement
'Corinth' can symbolize any desirable pursuit that is protected by significant barriers to entry. It suggests that success is not merely a matter of will, but is often contingent upon pre-existing advantages and resources.
The Prohibitive Price of Pleasure
Drawing on the historical association with the courtesan Lais, the proverb implies that intense pleasures and decadent experiences often come at a prohibitively steep price, placing them beyond the reach of ordinary individuals.
Historical Symbolism of Corinth
Ancient Corinth symbolized immense wealth, luxury, and hedonism, largely due to its strategic trading position and the famous temple of Aphrodite with its high-priced courtesans, such as Lais. The city itself became a powerful metonym for opulent pleasures and achievements that were financially or socially inaccessible to the common person.
Classical and Renaissance Resonance
Originating from the Roman poet Horace and popularized by Erasmus's 'Adagia', the proverb's adoption in Renaissance England reflects a fascination with classical antiquity. It served as a sophisticated way to comment on social stratification and the timeless reality that certain ambitions are reserved for the privileged elite.
Psychological Tension
The proverb taps into the psychological tension between aspiration and limitation. It acknowledges the existence of a social and economic hierarchy, forcing an individual to confront the reality that not all desires are attainable, which can lead to feelings of ambition, envy, or pragmatic acceptance.
Literary Euphemism
Shakespeare's sarcastic use of 'Corinth' in 'Timon of Athens' as a euphemism for a brothel demonstrates the proverb's cultural integration. It had become a well-understood shorthand for expensive, and often illicit, pleasures, confirming its association with both high cost and moral ambiguity.
Rhetorical Devices
Symbolism
'Corinth' functions as a powerful symbol, representing not just a geographical location but the broader concept of any exclusive, high-status, or costly ambition.
Understatement
The phrase 'It is not given to every man' is a form of understatement (litotes). Rather than stating directly 'Only the rich can go', it employs a more formal and fatalistic tone that heightens the sense of exclusivity.
Classical Allusion
The proverb's effectiveness relies on its classical origins, alluding to a shared cultural and historical knowledge. This lends it an air of timeless authority and intellectual weight.
Transcription
Quotations
Non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum.
Lais an harlot of Corinthe . . was for none but lordes and gentlemenne that might well paie for it. Whereof came vp a prouerbe that it was not for euery manne to go vnto Corinthe.
It is not for euerye man to arriue at Corinth. *The occasyon of this prouerbe grew after the mynde of some men of the harde and daungerouse arriual at the porte of Corinthe. Other there be which refer thoriginall of this prouerbe to the faire Lais an harlot of great name which dwelt at the sayd citie of Corinthe . . How she asked an excedyng great quantitie of moneye. And hereof they say arose this prouerbe.
(It is not fit for euery man).
As the Prouerb tells us, That it happens not to every one to see Corinth.
Shakespeare Citations
She's e'en setting on water to scald such chickens as you are. Would we could see you at Corinth!
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.