Meaning & Analysis
A wicked or malicious person will inevitably experience a day of misfortune, suffering, or punishment.
Insights
Karmic Retribution
The proverb suggests a universal moral law where wrongdoing is inevitably met with punishment, ensuring that justice is served over time.
Inevitability of Consequence
Beyond divine justice, it implies that a malicious person's actions naturally create conditions—such as making enemies or taking foolish risks—that will lead to their eventual downfall.
Cyclical Fortune
It reflects the belief that no one's fortune, especially if ill-gotten, is permanent. The 'ill day' represents the inevitable downturn in the cycle of luck and power.
Folk Justice
The proverb serves as a form of folk justice, offering psychological comfort to the wronged by promising that perpetrators will eventually face a reckoning, even outside of formal legal systems.
Psychological Coping
For victims of injustice, this belief acts as a coping mechanism, alleviating feelings of helplessness by placing faith in time and fate to balance the scales of justice.
Moral Warning
It functions as a concise moral deterrent, cautioning that malicious behavior has an expiration date and will ultimately lead to personal suffering and downfall.
Rhetorical Devices
Parallelism
The repetition of the word 'ill' creates a powerful parallel structure, linguistically linking the person's character ('ill man') directly to their fate ('ill day').
Economy of Language
Its brevity and directness make the statement impactful and memorable, embodying the straightforward nature of folk wisdom.
Alliteration
The soft alliteration in 'has his' adds to the proverb's rhythmic and aphoristic quality, making it more pleasing to the ear and easier to remember.
Transcription
Quotations
Every man hath.
will have an Ill Time.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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