Meaning & Analysis
Wisdom or knowledge ('wit') that is acquired through personal, often negative, experience is very expensive in terms of suffering, loss, or hardship.
Insights
The High Price of Experience
Symbolizes the high cost of learning from one's own mistakes. The 'price' paid is not monetary but rather emotional and material loss, suggesting that experience is a harsh and costly teacher.
The Tragedy of Hindsight
Highlights the inherent value of foresight and caution. The proverb implies that wisdom is 'dear' when it arrives only after a disaster, underscoring the tragedy of gaining understanding too late to prevent harm.
Personal vs. Vicarious Knowledge
Contrasts direct, personal learning with vicarious learning. 'Bought wit' is the knowledge one pays for personally, which is implicitly compared to the 'cheaper' wisdom one could gain by observing the mistakes of others.
The Irreversibility of Consequences
Represents the irreversible nature of consequential mistakes. The wisdom gained cannot undo the damage done, making the lesson a permanent and costly reminder of a past failure.
Economic Metaphor for Wisdom
The proverb uses the language of commerce ('bought', 'dear') to frame the acquisition of wisdom. This economic metaphor reflects a worldview where life's lessons are transactional, each carrying a tangible cost in suffering, loss, or regret.
Psychology of Regretful Learning
The 'dearness' of the lesson speaks to its psychological weight. Wisdom gained through painful experience is often accompanied by shame and regret, as noted in Heywood's 1633 quotation. This emotional toll makes the knowledge deeply ingrained and unforgettable.
The Duality of Experience
This proverb exists in tension with its counterpart, 'Bought wit is best' (W545). Together, they capture a profound truth: while learning from personal mistakes is the most painful and costly path, it often yields the most lasting and valuable wisdom.
A Warning Against Heedlessness
As a didactic statement, the proverb serves as a moral warning, implicitly advocating for prudence and learning vicariously from others' failures ('beware by other men’s harms', M615) to avoid paying the high price of personal experience.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The proverb's central power comes from its metaphor of treating wisdom ('wit') as a commodity that can be 'bought' at a high price ('dear'), framing a complex life lesson in simple transactional terms.
Conciseness
The phrase is characterized by its brevity and epigrammatic quality, making the profound and cautionary message both memorable and impactful.
Antithesis
The proverb creates a stark contrast between the desirable abstract concept of 'wit' and the harsh, tangible reality of its 'dear' cost, effectively conveying its cautionary message.
Transcription
Quotations
Bought witte is deare, and drest with sower salte.
But wit bought with the price of woe, is a litle to deare.
Deare wisdome bought too late.
But Time, at last, hath taught me wit, Although I bought my wit full deere.
Like mis-spent youth, which after wit deere bought, Turns his Eyes inward, sorrie and ashamed.
Wit may be bought too dear.
Cross References
- M615 It is good to (He is wise who can) beware by other men’s harms
- R81-2 To buy repentance too dear
- W545 Bought wit is best.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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