To rob the SPITTLE¹

Insights

Exploiting the Vulnerable

To prey upon the most helpless and defenseless members of society. It signifies an act of ultimate cruelty and moral bankruptcy, as it involves taking from those who have the least and are in the greatest need of compassion.

Hypocritical Charity

To perform a seemingly benevolent act using funds or means obtained through immoral actions, thereby negating the good deed. It particularly critiques charity that is funded by exploitation, suggesting the act is hollow and self-serving.

Immoral Justification

Warns against the ethical fallacy of 'the ends justifying the means'. The proverb illustrates a scenario where a supposedly noble goal is pursued through reprehensible methods, rendering the entire enterprise morally corrupt.

Historical Context of Charity

In the 17th century, a 'spittle' or hospital was a sacred, charitable institution for the sick and poor. Robbing one was not merely a crime against property but a profound violation of a sacred trust, making it a powerful symbol of impiety and social transgression.

Critique of Usury

The proverb was explicitly used in the 17th century to condemn usury (predatory lending). It frames usurers as those who 'rob the spittle', powerfully illustrating how they profit from the suffering and desperation of the community's most afflicted members.

Psychological Deception

The phrase exposes the psychology of self-deception. The ironic image of 'robbing the spittle to raise an hospital' brilliantly captures the cognitive dissonance of believing one can create a moral good from an immoral act, revealing the action's inherent hypocrisy.

Rhetorical Devices

Symbolism

The 'spittle' (hospital) serves as a powerful symbol for sanctuary, charity, and extreme vulnerability. To 'rob' it is to commit a transgression against the very concept of societal care and compassion.

Hyperbole

The act of robbing a hospital is an extreme, shocking image used to amplify the perceived immorality of other exploitative behaviors, such as usury, by equating them with this heinous crime.

Irony

The associated idea of 'robbing the spittle to raise an hospital' employs deep irony to expose the absurdity and futility of attempting to create a social good through a fundamentally immoral act.