Meaning & Analysis
The proverb means that anyone who tries to please everyone must begin very early—or work exceedingly hard—because the task is so demanding and unrealistic.
Insights
Impossibility of Universal Approval
Highlights the futility of attempting to satisfy all people, implying that no amount of effort will suffice to meet everyone’s expectations.
Burden of People-Pleasing
Suggests that constantly seeking to win everyone’s favor is exhausting and self-defeating, requiring near-superhuman effort or constant vigilance.
Irony of Overexertion
Conveys a subtle irony: the person who aims to please all must never rest—possibly not even sleep—implying the absurd toll of such a goal.
Moral Commentary on Selfhood
Echoes a broader moral stance in folk wisdom: that striving for universal approval leads to the erosion of individuality, and that one must choose integrity over popularity.
Connection to Vanity and Insecurity
The proverb also gestures at the psychological need for external validation, critiquing those who expend energy not for their own goals but for the praise of others.
Time and Labor as Social Currency
Suggests that social approval is a kind of economy in which time and effort are invested—but with diminishing returns when spread too thinly across conflicting audiences.
Rhetorical Devices
Hyperbole
Exaggerates the amount of effort (‘rise betimes’) needed to please everyone, enhancing the proverb’s sarcastic tone and critical edge.
Irony
Implied irony critiques the very premise of universal people-pleasing, presenting it as an unrealistic and thankless endeavor.
Colloquialism
Uses informal and accessible phrasing (‘rise betimes’) to express folk wisdom in a tone that resonates with everyday experience.
Transcription
Quotations
They must rise betimes, that please all.
He must rise early, yea, not at all go to bed, who will have every ones good word.
He must rise betimes who will please every body.
(who would).
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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