Meaning & Analysis
Eating one shoulder of mutton stimulates the appetite, making it easier or more desirable to eat a second one. The initial act of eating creates a desire for more.
Insights
Momentum and Escalation
One action, event, or indulgence creates momentum, making a subsequent, similar action more likely to occur. It speaks to the principle that starting a behavior makes continuing it easier.
The Nature of Appetite
Indulging a desire often strengthens it rather than satisfying it. The proverb serves as a metaphor for how habits, both good and bad, are formed through initial repetition.
Power of Precedent
The first act serves as a precedent that lowers the barrier for the second. It describes a psychological process where an initial commitment justifies further, often escalating, involvement.
Chain Reactions
A single event can trigger a chain reaction of similar or related events. The first shoulder of mutton is the catalyst that sets a sequence in motion.
Historical Dining Culture
Rooted in the historical context of English dining, where mutton was a staple, the proverb reflects observations from feasts where one indulgence begets another. It humorously captures the social and psychological dynamics of communal eating and abundance.
Psychological Momentum
The proverb is a classic illustration of behavioral momentum and the psychological principle of priming. The first action lowers the inhibition for the second, creating a feedback loop where desire increases with consumption rather than being satiated by it.
Economic Parallel
This concept extends beyond food to economic behavior. One purchase often necessitates or encourages another, reflecting modern patterns of consumerism where a single act of spending can trigger a cascade of related acquisitions.
Social Commentary
As shown by its use in Swift's 'Polite Conversation', the proverb serves as a witty social commentary on human nature, particularly the tendency towards excess and the self-justifying logic of indulgence.
Rhetorical Devices
Hyperbole
The image of eating two entire shoulders of mutton is an exaggeration used for humorous and emphatic effect, making the point about escalating appetite more memorable.
Metaphor
The proverb uses the concrete act of eating as a metaphor for the abstract concepts of momentum, habit formation, and the escalation of desire in any aspect of life.
Active Verbs
The strong, physical verbs 'draws' and 'drives' personify the first act, giving it an active agency that compels the second, thus emphasizing the force of the initial indulgence.
Transcription
Quotations
Words are like cherries, one draws another.
The English say, One shoulder of mutton draws down another.
As two Shoulders of Mutton drive down one another, so two powerful Griefs destroy one another.
(drives).
I think the more I eat the hungrier I am. —Why, colonel, they say, one shoulder of mutton drives down another.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.