He deserves no PITY that chooses to do amiss twice

Insights

Accountability for Repeated Error

The proverb asserts that true pity is reserved for those who err unintentionally; if someone knowingly repeats a mistake, they forfeit claims to compassion, having demonstrated disregard for correction.

Limits of Compassion

It highlights that empathy has reasonable bounds—continued self-inflicted misfortune, especially through willful choices, exhausts the patience and compassion of others.

Responsibility and Consequence

Suggests a moral expectation that individuals must learn from their errors, and that persistent folly brings deserved hardship without recourse to sympathy.

Historical Moral Instruction

The proverb reflects traditional ethical teaching that distinguishes between error through ignorance and repeated, willful wrongdoing. The latter, being a conscious act, was historically met with less social sympathy.

Psychological Insight

The saying acknowledges a psychological truth: people are more inclined to help those who attempt to reform, while repeat offenders elicit frustration or withdrawal of support.

Social Utility

By discouraging pity for chronic offenders, the proverb encourages personal responsibility and learning from past experience, thus promoting social order and discouraging indulgence of self-destructive behaviors.

Rhetorical Devices

Conditional Structure

The use of an 'if/then' or conditional format ('He deserves no pity that...') delivers a categorical moral lesson with clarity and authority.

Antithesis

Contrasts the expectation of pity with its denial, heightening the sense of moral seriousness and consequence.

Generalization

Expresses the principle in absolute terms, making it applicable to a wide range of situations and individuals.