Meaning & Analysis
Trusting in something unreliable or decayed—a rotten post (wooden support)—is as foolish as relying on it to bear weight, since it will inevitably fail.
Insights
Unreliability
The proverb warns against putting faith in weak, unreliable people or foundations, suggesting that such trust is certain to lead to disappointment or collapse.
False Security
It also highlights the danger of being lulled into a sense of security by outward appearances, when the underlying reality is unsound or corrupt.
Historical Symbolism
Posts and beams were vital structural elements in premodern buildings; a rotten post threatened the integrity of an entire structure. The proverb draws on this practical knowledge, translating it into a metaphor for human relationships and systems.
Cultural Resonance
The image recurs in multiple cultures and languages, reflecting universal experience with failed supports, both literal and metaphorical—whether in construction, trust, or moral character.
Psychological Insight
The proverb exposes wishful thinking and denial, warning against the tendency to trust what is familiar or convenient despite evidence of its unsoundness.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The rotten post stands in for unreliable people or institutions, vividly conveying the risks of misplaced trust.
Irony
There is an implicit irony in the idea of deliberately choosing to rely on something visibly untrustworthy, amplifying the folly of such action.
Ellipsis
The proverb’s brevity and omission of explicit consequence ('as good trust to a rotten post [as to trust at all]') make its warning sharper and more memorable.
Transcription
Quotations
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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