Meaning & Analysis
To be active primarily at night, like an owl. The proverb specifically refers to people who only go out after sunset, often to evade legal authorities or creditors, as officers might not have been permitted to make arrests during the night.
Insights
Illicit and Secretive Behavior
The proverb metaphorically describes engaging in illicit, secretive, or socially condemned activities under the cover of darkness to avoid detection and scrutiny.
Unconventional Lifestyles
It can refer to a person who is reclusive, anti-social, or who operates outside of conventional societal schedules and norms, not necessarily for criminal reasons but as a matter of habit or temperament.
Association with Darkness
Figuratively, it suggests an association with moral or intellectual darkness. To 'fly with the owl' is to align oneself with ignorance, danger, or forces that cannot withstand the 'light' of day or truth.
Historical Symbolism
The proverb taps into the dual symbolism of the owl. While revered for wisdom in some traditions (e.g., associated with Athena in ancient Greece), in many Western cultures, its nocturnal and predatory nature links it to witchcraft, ill omens, and darkness. This proverb clearly draws on the latter, more sinister association.
Debtor's Evasion
The 1622 quotation from Malynes provides a specific legal and social context: individuals, likely debtors or petty criminals, exploited legal customs that prevented arrests after sunset. 'Flying with the owl' became a direct descriptor for this form of legal evasion.
Psychology of Avoidance
The phrase psychologically profiles individuals who operate on the fringes of society. It suggests a life of avoidance, lived in the shadows to escape consequences, scrutiny, or social obligations, implying a state of constant vigilance and fear of exposure.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The entire phrase is a metaphor where the owl's nocturnal flight represents human activity conducted in secrecy or at night.
Symbolism
The owl serves as a potent symbol for the night, secrecy, and activities hidden from the public eye, leveraging cultural associations of the owl with darkness and mystery.
Brevity and Sound
The concise, alliterative quality of the phrase ('fly with the owl') makes it memorable and impactful, contributing to its proverbial status.
Transcription
Quotations
There is a Custome that no Officer may arrest after Sun set; such therefore as go abroad but at those times, are said to Fly with the Owle, by a common Prouerbe.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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