A MAN must have an eye in the field and an-other in the village

Meaning & Analysis

A person, particularly one with responsibilities in both agriculture and community life, must simultaneously pay attention to what is happening in their fields (their work or property) and in their village (their home and social environment).

Insights

Balancing Professional and Personal Life

The proverb serves as a metaphor for the need to balance one's professional or work-related duties ('the field') with one's personal, family, and community obligations ('the village'). Success requires diligence in both domains.

Vigilance in Public and Private Spheres

It advises maintaining a dual awareness of one's immediate, private interests and the broader public sphere. One must tend to their own affairs while also keeping track of social dynamics, opportunities, and threats within the community.

Caution Against Narrow Focus

The saying warns against the dangers of tunnel vision. Focusing exclusively on one's work can make one blind to social or domestic problems, while ignoring work for social matters leads to material ruin.

Agrarian Social Structure

Originating from an agrarian context, the proverb reflects the fundamental tension between production (the field) and community life (the village). A person's success depended not just on their labor but also on maintaining social ties, reputation, and awareness of communal affairs.

Psychology of Awareness

The proverb encapsulates the cognitive challenge of managing divided attention. It highlights a timeless psychological truth: true success requires balancing focused, task-oriented work with a broader awareness of one's social and environmental context.

Work-Life Balance

This proverb is an early articulation of the modern concept of 'work-life balance'. It underscores that neglecting one's community and personal life for the sake of work, or vice-versa, is a recipe for failure.

Rhetorical Devices

Metaphor

The 'field' and 'village' serve as powerful metaphors for the distinct realms of work and community, making the abstract concept of balanced responsibilities concrete and relatable.

Juxtaposition

The proverb juxtaposes two contrasting settings—the solitary, work-oriented 'field' and the communal, social 'village'—to emphasize the division of attention required.

Hyperbole

The physical impossibility of having eyes in two separate locations is a form of hyperbole that effectively stresses the high degree of vigilance and awareness being advocated.

balancevigilanceawarenessresponsibilitycommunitywork-life

Analyzed with gemini-2.5-pro on August 24, 2025

Transcription

Quotations

— 1616, DR., no. 1752

Related Proverbs

H738 He is born in a good HOUR who gets a good name 91.8%H842 The HUSBANDMAN ought first to taste of the new-grown fruit 91.7%M188 A hungry MAN sees far 91.6%W3 Mend my WAGES and I'll mend my work 91.1%M479 An old MAN's end is to keep sheep 90.8%W777 A WORD and a stone let go (A word spoken) cannot be called back 90.8%M84 Command your MAN and do it yourself 90.7%G399 One GRAIN fills not a sack but helps his fellows 90.6%M555 MEN (Men's love), not walls, make the city (prince) safe 90.5%H834 A HUSBAND must be deaf and the wife blind to have quietness 90.3%H83 Lay thy HAND on thy heart and speak the truth 90.3%M409 When a MAN sleeps his head is in his stomach 90.2%M519 Good MEN are a public good 90.2%M905 MESSENGERS should neither be headed nor hanged 90.2%M173 He that is a wise MAN by day is no fool by night 90.1%H580 Where HONOR ceases there knowledge decreases 90.0%W176 Many WAYS meet in one town (city) 90.0%W264 Many WELLS many buckets 90.0%M446 The blind MAN's wife needs no painting 89.9%W450 Huge (High) WINDS blow on high hills 89.9%

These connections are generated using word-embeddings. Learn more.