Meaning & Analysis
It is better to live in poverty with safety and peace of mind than to be rich but constantly fearful or insecure.
Insights
Security over Wealth
Prioritizes the value of safety, peace, and stability above the accumulation of material riches, suggesting that wealth accompanied by anxiety is less desirable than humble means with contentment.
True Wealth Is Peace
Proposes that the truest form of prosperity lies in tranquility and freedom from fear, rather than in possessions or external status.
Historical Symbolism
Reflects long-standing moral and philosophical traditions, from Aesop to early Christian teachings, which counsel that security and virtue are preferable to dangerous or morally compromised wealth.
Cultural Resonance
Similar proverbs exist across cultures—such as 'Better a dry crust with peace than a house full of feasting, with strife'—underscoring a widespread appreciation for contentment and inner security over outward riches.
Psychological Dimensions
Addresses the universal longing for psychological safety, acknowledging that material affluence is often accompanied by new vulnerabilities and anxieties.
Rhetorical Devices
Antithesis
Juxtaposes 'poverty in surety' and 'riches in fear,' creating a memorable contrast that dramatizes the proverb’s moral lesson.
Parallelism
Uses balanced phrasing to reinforce the equivalency of the two states being compared, enhancing clarity and impact.
Alliteration
The repeated 's' sounds in 'surety' and 'safety' (implied) and the 'r' in 'riches' and 'fear' contribute to the proverb’s pleasing rhythm and memorability.
Transcription
Quotations
Better worthe is to lyve in pouerte surely, than to lyue rychely beyng euer in daunger.
Pouerty with suretie, is better than honour mixed with feare.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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