Meaning & Analysis
Wine is as essential and nourishing for an old man as milk is for a baby, serving as a primary source of sustenance and comfort in later life.
Insights
Sustenance and Vitality
The proverb metaphorically equates wine with a life-sustaining force for the elderly. Just as milk provides all necessary nutrients for an infant's growth, wine is presented as a source of vitality and strength that can rejuvenate and sustain an aging body.
Comfort and Solace
Beyond physical nourishment, the proverb suggests that wine provides emotional and psychological comfort. It serves as a soothing agent that eases the anxieties, pains, and hardships of old age, similar to how milk pacifies a crying child.
A Necessary Indulgence
By framing wine as 'milk', the proverb elevates it from a mere recreational beverage to a near-essential element of an elderly person's diet and well-being, implying it is a legitimate and necessary indulgence for health.
Historical Medical Beliefs
This proverb reflects early modern medical beliefs, where wine was considered a vital restorative for the elderly, believed to counteract the 'coldness' and 'dryness' associated with old age. It was prescribed as a form of liquid nourishment, much like a medicinal tonic.
The Cycle of Life
The comparison draws a poignant parallel between the beginning and end of the human lifespan, suggesting a 'second childhood' where dependency on a simple, life-giving liquid returns. This frames the needs of the elderly with both tenderness and a degree of infantilization.
Cultural and Commercial Resonance
The cross-reference to 'Bristol Milk', a popular type of sherry, grounds the proverb in English social and economic history. This specific branding leveraged the proverb's cultural authority to market wine as a healthful, almost essential, commodity for the affluent elderly.
Psychological Comfort
Psychologically, the proverb sanctions wine as a permissible source of comfort and solace for the elderly, acknowledging the physical and emotional challenges of aging. It elevates a simple pleasure into a therapeutic necessity.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The proverb is built on a powerful and direct metaphor comparing wine to milk, creating a memorable and evocative image by linking two disparate substances through their shared function as sources of comfort and nourishment.
Juxtaposition
The proverb juxtaposes the two extremes of the human lifespan—infancy ('milk') and old age ('old man')—to create a striking and poignant statement on the cyclical nature of life and dependency.
Declarative Statement
The simple, declarative structure ('A is B') gives the proverb a tone of indisputable fact, making it concise, easy to remember, and highly effective in its assertion.
Transcription
Quotations
To old men, wine is as suck to young children: and is therefore called of some, old mens Milke.
You are not ignorant of the Proverbe, That wine is old mens milke.
Wine is the mans bubby.
Bristol Milk.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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