Meaning & Analysis
According to Greek mythology, the hero Achilles possessed a spear that had the magical ability not only to inflict wounds but also to cure the very injuries it caused.
Insights
The Source of Harm as the Source of Remedy
The proverb signifies that the source of a problem often holds the solution. The entity, person, or action that caused harm is frequently the only one capable of providing the true remedy or resolution.
Duality of Power
It illustrates the inherent duality of power, knowledge, or influence. Any potent tool or authority—be it a weapon, a word, or a political office—has the capacity for both creation and destruction, for causing injury and for providing relief.
Love and Emotional Healing
In relationships, the person who inflicts emotional pain through words or actions is often the only one who can truly heal it through apology, kindness, or changed behavior. The proverb speaks to the dynamics of hurt and reconciliation in love and friendship.
Accountability and Restoration
The saying implies a principle of restorative justice and accountability. It suggests that the one responsible for causing a wound bears the ultimate responsibility for healing it, emphasizing the need to make amends for one's actions.
Mythological Origins
Originating from the Greek myth of Telephus, who, after being wounded by Achilles, was told by an oracle that only the weapon that inflicted the wound could cure it. The healing was accomplished with rust scraped from the spear. This classical origin lends the proverb an aura of ancient, authoritative wisdom.
Literary and Political Resonance
The proverb was a favorite in Elizabethan literature, used by writers like Lyly and Shakespeare to explore the dual nature of power. In '2 Henry VI', Shakespeare applies it to a monarch, 'Whose smile and frown, like to Achilles' spear, Is able . . to kill and cure', effectively translating the myth into a potent political metaphor for royal favor and disfavor.
Psychological Truth
The proverb resonates with the psychological need for the agent of harm to be the agent of repair. True reconciliation or healing from an emotional wound often requires an apology or restorative action from the person who caused the pain, as they hold the unique 'power' to undo the damage they inflicted.
Cross-Cultural Analogy
This idea is not unique to Greek myth, as shown by parallels like 'Seek your salve where you got your sore' and 'Those that are stung by the scorpion are healed by the scorpion.' It reflects a widespread folk belief in 'like cures like' (similia similibus curantur), the principle that the source of an ailment often contains its remedy.
Rhetorical Devices
Antithesis
The core of the proverb's power lies in the direct and memorable contrast between two opposite actions, 'wound' and 'heal', encapsulating a complex idea in a simple, paradoxical phrase.
Classical Allusion
The proverb is a classical allusion to a specific story from Greek mythology. This reliance on shared cultural knowledge lends it depth and intellectual weight.
Symbolism
The spear is not just a literal weapon but a potent symbol of agency and power, representing any force that has the dual capacity to cause and cure, to build and destroy.
Transcription
Quotations
Telephi vulnus eadem hasta sanatum est, quae vulnus infixerat.
Achilles speare could as well heale as hurte.
You have in your hands the weapons of Achilles, with the which you both wound and heale.
Great Achilles speare, Could heale the wound it made.
Which as a wound with a spear of Achilles, is so made and caused, must so be cured.
To do as Achilles his lance, viz. to wound and heal both at once.
Shakespeare Citations
Whose smile and frown, like to Achilles' spear, Is able . . to kill and cure.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.