Meaning & Analysis
To attempt to gain sustenance from something that offers no nourishment, like smoke. It describes an act that is futile and based on illusion, as smoke cannot be eaten or provide any nutritional value.
Insights
Deception and False Hope
The proverb signifies the act of believing in or relying on false hopes, empty promises, or flattering words that have no substance. It is a metaphor for being deceived by appearances or rhetoric that ultimately provides no real benefit or truth.
Self-Deception
It can also describe the act of deceiving oneself by indulging in vanity, daydreams, or unrealistic ambitions. In this sense, a person actively chooses to sustain their ego or desires with illusions rather than tangible achievements.
Vain Pursuits
The metaphor extends to pursuing goals or engaging in activities that are ultimately pointless and yield no tangible reward. The effort is real, but the outcome is as fleeting and insubstantial as smoke.
Historical Symbolism
Smoke has historically symbolized the ephemeral, the insubstantial, and the sacred (as in incense). In this context, it represents the profane illusion—promises or hopes that vanish upon inspection, leaving nothing of substance behind.
Psychological Insight
The proverb taps into the psychological tendency to engage in wishful thinking or self-deception. Humans may consciously or unconsciously choose to believe in pleasing falsehoods ('smoke') to avoid confronting a harsh or empty reality, highlighting a preference for comforting illusions over stark truths.
Social Commentary
The act of 'feeding' on smoke serves as a powerful social critique against demagoguery, empty rhetoric, and speculative ventures that promise wealth or fulfillment but deliver only transient, insubstantial results. The 1614 quotation explicitly links this 'smoke' to 'fayre words'.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The core of the proverb is a powerful metaphor where 'smoke' represents anything illusory, deceptive, or insubstantial, and 'feeding' symbolizes the act of relying on these falsehoods for sustenance.
Imagery
The sensory image of attempting to eat smoke is potent and immediately conveys a sense of futility, absurdity, and lack of fulfillment, making the proverb's meaning both memorable and visceral.
Irony
A strong situational irony exists in the juxtaposition of 'feeding'—an act essential for life—with 'smoke'—something not only devoid of nutrition but potentially harmful. This contrast underscores the perverse and self-destructive nature of embracing illusion.
Transcription
Quotations
The smoake of fayre words . . will serve to feede fooles. [1617]
Feed me no longer with emptie smoake, for the plot is desperate.
*To be deceiv'd.
I . . took my leave, as perceiving him fuller of smoak than of meat.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.