Meaning & Analysis
The total volume of excrement from one large animal (an ox) is equivalent to the combined excrement of a thousand tiny insects (flies).
Insights
Concentration of Impact
The impact of one powerful or wealthy individual's actions, particularly in terms of spending or consumption, can equal or exceed the collective impact of many poorer or less influential people.
Significance of Scale
It is more effective to focus on resolving a single, large-scale problem than to be distracted by numerous trivial ones, as the single issue is the source of the most significant trouble.
Character and Influence
A single great virtue or vice in a person's character can outweigh a multitude of smaller, less significant traits, defining their overall nature and influence.
Economic Hierarchy
The proverb reflects the stark economic hierarchies of agrarian and early modern societies, where the consumption, waste, or impact of a single powerful entity (a lord, a merchant, the 'ox') could dwarf the collective impact of a multitude of common people (peasants, the 'flies').
Cognitive Bias
Psychologically, the proverb serves as a corrective to the cognitive bias of focusing on numerous small annoyances (the 'flies') while ignoring a single, much larger problem (the 'ox'). It urges a rational assessment of magnitude over quantity.
Strategic Focus
The principle applies to modern contexts such as business management or environmentalism, where addressing one major source of waste or inefficiency is often more effective than tackling countless minor issues.
Rhetorical Devices
Antithesis
The proverb is built on the stark contrast between the singular and large ('one ox') and the numerous and small ('a thousand flies'), which effectively highlights the theme of scale versus quantity.
Hyperbole
The use of 'a thousand' is a deliberate numerical exaggeration to create a memorable and dramatic image that underscores the vast difference in magnitude.
Animal Symbolism
The choice of a powerful, substantive animal (ox) versus a trivial pest (fly) uses familiar imagery to create an intuitive and visceral understanding of the core message about impact and significance.
Transcription
Quotations
*One rich man may spend more than many poore ones.
As much is shitten by one Oxe as by a thousand Gnats.
An Ox shites more then a hundred flies.
One Ox shites more then a hundred Swallows.
(An oxe shites as much as).
Annotations
- Some by this Prouerbe meane, that sparing should be onely in great matters.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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