Meaning & Analysis
A direct curse wishing unhappiness and misery upon the home or environment in which a person is deceived or tricked.
Insights
Deception Comes Home to Roost
The proverb warns that the act of deception brings ruin not just to the victim, but to the deceiver's own domestic sphere. It suggests that dishonesty poisons the sanctuary of the home, ensuring that the perpetrator's personal life will be filled with misery.
Betrayal of Sanctuary
A 'house' is a symbol of trust and safety. To be 'beguiled' within one is a profound violation. The proverb implies that such a betrayal corrupts the very foundation of security, turning a place of refuge into a source of sorrow.
The Hollowness of Cunning
As the 1721 quotation suggests, this is a warning to overly clever or manipulative people. It implies that a life built on cunning and self-interest will ultimately lead to a home devoid of genuine happiness and filled with sorrow.
The Household as Social Unit
The proverb's focus on the 'house' rather than just the individual reflects a historical context where the household was the fundamental unit of society. A curse on the house was a curse on one's entire lineage, fortune, and social standing, making it a particularly potent condemnation.
A Social Corrective
This proverb functions as a powerful social deterrent. By articulating such a severe consequence for deceit—the poisoning of one's own domestic sanctuary—it reinforces communal values of honesty and warns against the corrosive effects of self-serving cunning.
Psychology of Deceit
The proverb captures the psychological truth that dishonesty is not an isolated act but an environmental poison. The 'sorrow' it invokes is the natural emotional fallout of broken trust, which inevitably follows the deceiver home and corrupts their most intimate relationships.
Rhetorical Devices
Malediction
The proverb is structured as a malediction or curse, a powerful speech act intended to invoke misfortune. Its force comes from this performative and condemnatory tone.
Symbolism
The 'house' serves as a powerful symbol for one's private life, family, and sanctuary. By targeting the house, the curse implies that the consequences of deceit are inescapable and will infect the most personal aspects of the perpetrator's life.
Apostrophe
The proverb has the quality of an apostrophe, as if directly addressing and cursing the deceiver. This creates a confrontational and intensely personal effect.
Transcription
Quotations
Sorrow be in that house he is beguyld in.
*Spoken to sharp expert People who have their Interest in their Eye.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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