Whom WEAL pricks sorrow comes after and licks

Insights

The Dangers of Hubris

The proverb warns that material success and good fortune often lead to arrogance or hubris (the 'prick'). This pride makes one vulnerable to a subsequent downfall, which is followed by an all-consuming grief ('sorrow... licks').

Transience of Fortune

'Weal' represents the fleeting nature of good fortune, which carries the seeds of its own demise. The 'prick' is the moment this fortune sours or reveals its hidden costs, leading to an inevitable and persistent state of sorrow.

Inevitable Retribution

The proverb illustrates a cause-and-effect relationship where worldly success is the direct cause of future suffering. It suggests a moral universe where prosperity, if it makes one arrogant or careless, will be balanced by a period of corrective misery.

Moral Ambiguity of Wealth

This proverb reflects a deep-seated moral suspicion of worldly success, common in pre-modern European thought. 'Weal' (prosperity) is not a benign force but an active agent that 'pricks', suggesting it can wound by fostering arrogance, complacency, or envy, thus making a person vulnerable to a fall.

Psychology of Misfortune

The personification of Sorrow as a creature that 'licks' the wound inflicted by Weal is psychologically powerful. It suggests that sorrow is not just a passive state of sadness but an active, almost predatory force that feeds on the misfortunes that follow pride or success. The image evokes an animal licking a wound, implying a lingering, consuming, and intimate relationship with misery.

Critique of Worldly Vanity

The proverb functions as a 'memento mori' (a reminder of death and worldly vanity). It cautions that the pleasures and status derived from wealth are temporary and inherently dangerous, inevitably leading to a painful reckoning. This aligns with a broader philosophical and religious tradition that warns against attachment to earthly things.

Rhetorical Devices

Personification

Both 'Weal' (wealth) and 'Sorrow' are treated as active, sentient beings. Weal 'pricks' and Sorrow 'comes' and 'licks', transforming abstract concepts into characters in a moral drama.

Metaphor

The actions of 'pricking' and 'licking' serve as powerful metaphors. The 'prick' symbolizes the sharp, unexpected pain or moral injury caused by wealth, while 'licking' represents the consuming, persistent nature of the resulting sorrow.

Antithesis

The proverb establishes a stark contrast between the initial state of 'weal' (prosperity) and the subsequent state of 'sorrow', highlighting the dramatic reversal of fortune.