Meaning & Analysis
A procession or ceremony is thoroughly corrupt when the devil—the embodiment of evil—takes on the role of carrying the cross or leading the event.
Insights
Corruption of Leadership
The proverb uses the image of the devil bearing a sacred symbol to illustrate situations where the worst or most unworthy individuals occupy positions of honor or authority, thereby perverting the entire enterprise.
Hypocrisy and Inversion
It highlights the hypocrisy or moral inversion that occurs when those meant to uphold virtue (represented by the cross, candle, or colors) are replaced or led by the embodiment of vice, undermining the ceremony’s or community’s integrity.
Warning Against False Appearances
The saying warns against being deceived by outward forms or ceremonies; even apparently holy or righteous activities are hollow if their leaders are corrupt or malevolent.
Historical and Religious Symbolism
The cross, candle, and colors are all potent Christian symbols of faith, purity, and unity. The presence of the devil in such roles evokes medieval and early modern anxieties about false prophets, heresy, and the subversion of the sacred by evil.
Universality and Variants
Many cultures have parallel sayings warning of the dangers when the unworthy lead the worthy, or when the signs of virtue are appropriated by vice. English and European proverbs frequently substitute 'the devil' and 'the cross' with other polar opposites to reinforce the theme of moral inversion.
Psychological Resonance
Psychologically, the proverb captures a deep distrust of appearances and rituals without substance. It expresses the fear that institutions or groups can become thoroughly tainted if evil is allowed into positions of visibility or power.
Rhetorical Devices
Symbolism
The cross, candle, and colors serve as highly charged symbols of goodness and purity, while the devil embodies ultimate evil, heightening the proverb’s emotional and moral impact.
Irony
The proverb’s power derives from the striking irony of its image: the very emblem of sin leading the most sacred of ceremonies.
Antithesis
Juxtaposes the sacred (cross, procession) with the profane (the devil), creating a vivid contrast that underlines the gravity of moral subversion.
Transcription
Quotations
O there's a Rank Regiment where the Devil carries the Colours.
It is an euill countrey where the deuill rules, or carieth the Crosse.
'Tis an ill company where the Devil beares the banner.
(holdeth the candle).
'Tis an evil battle where the Devil carrieth the colours.
When rogues go in Procession, the Devil bears the Cross.
It's an ill battel where the Diuel carries the colours.
(ill and holds the candle).
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.