Meaning & Analysis
Someone who possesses a large quantity of butter has the liberty to apply a generous layer to their bread.
Insights
Privilege of Abundance
The proverb signifies that individuals with abundant resources, such as wealth, power, or talent, can afford to use them generously, lavishly, or without restraint.
Discretionary Use of Resources
It suggests that those who are well-off have the freedom to indulge in luxuries and display their prosperity openly, contrasting with the forced frugality of those with fewer resources.
Justification for Lavishness
The act of laying butter 'thick' can be interpreted as a justification for extravagance. It implies that it is natural and permissible for the wealthy to live on a grander scale.
Historical Symbolism of Abundance
Historically, butter was a valuable commodity and a direct indicator of agricultural wealth. Having a surplus to 'lay on thick' was a conspicuous display of prosperity, unlike less visible assets like land or money. The act itself is a performance of economic security and social status.
Psychology of Scarcity vs. Abundance
The proverb reflects the psychological shift from a scarcity mindset (conserving every resource) to one of abundance (freedom to be generous or even wasteful). The 1670 variant 'put some in their shooes' is a hyperbolic extension that vividly illustrates the almost absurd extravagance that extreme wealth permits.
Folk Economic Principle
This folk saying illustrates a basic economic principle: as disposable resources increase, so does discretionary spending on luxuries. It's a timeless observation on consumption patterns, applicable whether the 'butter' is literal wealth, time, or specialized knowledge.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
'Butter' serves as a tangible metaphor for any valuable resource (wealth, knowledge, time), while 'laying it thick' symbolizes its generous or extravagant application.
Imagery
The proverb evokes a simple, powerful, and domestic image that makes the abstract concept of wealth and expenditure concrete and universally understandable.
Hyperbole
The related phrase 'put some in their shooes' employs hyperbole to humorously underscore the extreme and almost nonsensical levels of waste or luxury available to the very wealthy.
Transcription
Quotations
He that hath flesh good store may put the more i'th pot.
(much butter).
(on their bread, or put some in their shooes).
(They that have butter enough may).
(much Butter).
(may lay it on thick).
Annotations
- They that have much may spend the more magnificently.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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