Meaning & Analysis
To share a meal with the devil, one would need a very long spoon to keep a safe physical distance from such a dangerous and malevolent being.
Insights
Caution in Dangerous Company
The proverb is a strong warning that anyone who must engage with corrupt, malicious, or deceitful people must exercise extreme caution and maintain a safe emotional and practical distance to avoid being harmed or ensnared.
Navigating Moral Hazard
Engaging with evil or temptation ('eating with the devil') is inherently risky. The 'long spoon' symbolizes the foresight, wisdom, and protective measures one must employ to navigate morally hazardous situations without becoming corrupted or victimized.
Strategic Detachment
It advises against underestimating the subtle influence and manipulative power of treacherous individuals. The proverb suggests that proximity to evil is contaminating, and only through deliberate, strategic detachment can one maintain their integrity and safety.
Historical and Religious Symbolism
The Devil in Renaissance England was a symbol of ultimate deceit and temptation. Dining with him implies a dangerous familiarity or negotiation with evil. The proverb grounds this theological peril in the domestic act of eating, making the warning both dramatic and relatable. The 'long spoon' transforms a common utensil into a symbol of necessary caution and strategic distance.
Literary Resonance
The proverb's frequent use by Shakespeare and Marlowe demonstrates its cultural currency in the Elizabethan era. In 'The Tempest', Stephano's realization, 'I have no long spoon', serves as a moment of comic dread, showing how this folk wisdom was deeply embedded in the popular imagination as a shorthand for recognizing and retreating from a perilous situation.
Political and Diplomatic Wisdom
This proverb serves as a timeless warning in diplomacy and politics, advising that any engagement with treacherous or hostile entities requires extreme safeguards and a clear-eyed understanding of the risks. The 'meal' can be a treaty or negotiation, and the 'spoon' represents the protective measures and strategic distrust needed to avoid being outmaneuvered or betrayed.
Psychology of Self-Preservation
Psychologically, the proverb cautions against naivete and the overconfidence that one can 'handle' a toxic or manipulative person without being harmed. It underscores the importance of setting firm boundaries (the 'long spoon') to protect oneself from emotional, financial, or moral corruption when forced to interact with untrustworthy individuals.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The entire proverb functions as a powerful extended metaphor where 'eating with the devil' represents any dealing with a malevolent force, and the 'long spoon' symbolizes the necessary caution and self-preservation.
Vivid Imagery
The striking and slightly surreal image of a person dining with the devil is highly memorable, making the proverb's cautionary message vivid and impactful.
Symbolism
The Devil is a universal symbol of ultimate evil and deception. This powerful symbolism elevates the proverb from simple advice to a profound warning about the nature of treachery.
Hyperbole
The act of dining with the devil is a form of hyperbole, exaggerating the danger to emphasize the absolute necessity of caution when dealing with even ordinary human wickedness.
Transcription
Quotations
(spoone, shal eate with the deuyl).
He had nede to haue a longe spone that shuld eate with the deuyl, meanynge, that he which must haue to do with crafty persons oughte hym selfe to knowe crafte.
Who dippes with the Diuel, he had nede haue a long spoone, Or els full smale will be his fare.
He that eats with the devil without a long spoone, his fare wil be ill.
(that eates with the Diuell).
He that eats with the devil had need of a long spoon.
He should hav ane long shafted spoone that sups caill with the devill.
He had need of a long spoone, that should eate with the deuill.
Here's a Latin spoone, and a long one, to feed with the Devill.
They are the fire-brands and bustuaries of kingdomes .. in a word, long spoons for traytours to feed with the Deuill.
He had need have a long spoon that eat[s] with the Devil.
[As in a1598 Ferg.].
[As in 1659 N.R.].
He mun have a lang shafted speaun that sups kail with the devil.
He had need of a long Spoon that sups Kail with the Dee'l.
He had need of a long Spoon, that sups with the Devil.
Shakespeare Citations
Marry, he must have a long spoon that must eat with the devil.
This is a devil, and no monster. I will leave him; I have no long spoon.
Annotations
- He that has to do with wicked and false Men, had need to be cautious, and on his Guard.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.