Meaning & Analysis
To fill one's purse, coat, or hand with money—i.e., to enrich oneself, often by accumulating or receiving money.
Insights
Personal Enrichment
The proverb refers to acquiring wealth, whether by honest means, personal gain, or opportunistic advantage—literally lining one's belongings with money.
Corruption and Self-Interest
When used in the context of 'lining the hand,' the phrase often implies taking bribes or engaging in corrupt practices for personal profit.
Hidden Prosperity
Conveys the idea of discreet or surreptitious accumulation of wealth, suggesting that enrichment is not always visible but may be hidden 'in the lining.'
Historical and Literary Resonance
The phrase appears in literature as early as the 16th century and is found in Shakespeare, where it carries both the sense of honest gain and subtle allusions to bribery or exploitation, reflecting complex attitudes toward personal advancement.
Social Critique
In political and social contexts, 'lining one's purse' can be a veiled criticism of those who use their positions for personal gain, pointing to issues of integrity, privilege, and abuse of power.
Psychological Motivation
The proverb acknowledges the perennial human drive for security and comfort through financial accumulation, but also hints at the moral ambiguities involved in the pursuit of wealth.
Rhetorical Devices
Metonymy
'Purse,' 'coat,' and 'hand' stand in for personal gain or enrichment, allowing the phrase to be flexibly applied to various contexts.
Euphemism
The verb 'line' softens the act of taking or accumulating money, especially when the means are questionable, lending the proverb an ambiguous tone.
Parallelism
The coordinated listing ('purse, coat, hand') enhances the phrase’s rhythm and broadens its applicability.
Transcription
Quotations
He had a pautner [net bag] with purses manyfolde, And surely lined with siluer and with golde.
Who had her purse well lyned.
Shakespeare Citations
Others there are Who . . throwing but shows of service on their lords, Do well thrive by them, and when they have lin'd their coats, Do themselves homage.
What If I do line one of their hands? 'Tis gold Which buys admittance.
Cross References
- See Sm., p. 528.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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