He will find it in another WORLD

Meaning & Analysis

The proverb literally suggests that the consequences of a person's actions, whether good or bad, will be realized in the afterlife rather than in their current life.

Insights

Ultimate Justice and Karma

The proverb serves as a statement on ultimate justice, implying that a cosmic or divine system ensures all deeds are eventually accounted for. It suggests that earthly justice is incomplete and true reckoning is deferred to a higher plane of existence.

Consolation for Virtue

It functions as a source of consolation for unrewarded virtue. Those who perform good and charitable acts without immediate recognition are assured that their reward is not lost, but simply postponed to a future life.

Deferred Punishment

As a subtle warning, the proverb implies that wrongdoers cannot escape the consequences of their actions. Even if they evade punishment on Earth, they will face judgment and retribution in the afterlife.

Theological Justice

Rooted in theological concepts of divine judgment, the proverb reflects a widespread belief in an afterlife where ultimate justice is dispensed. This idea serves as a powerful motivator for moral behavior, promising that virtuous or evil acts will eventually receive their due reward or punishment.

Social and Moral Order

This proverb functions as a mechanism for social control, encouraging altruism and discouraging misdeeds by positing a system of ultimate accountability. It provides a framework for understanding suffering and injustice as temporary, to be rectified in a divine realm.

Psychological Consolation

For those who perform unrewarded good deeds or suffer injustice, the proverb offers profound psychological comfort. It reframes earthly struggles as transient, assuring individuals that their actions have meaning and will be recognized in a higher, more just existence.

Rhetorical Devices

Euphemism

The phrase 'another world' acts as a euphemism for the afterlife, softening the concepts of death and divine judgment into a more abstract and less intimidating idea.

Ambiguity

The pronoun 'it' is deliberately ambiguous, allowing the proverb to refer to a reward, a punishment, or justice in general. This vagueness broadens its applicability to various moral situations.

Metaphor

'Another world' functions as a metaphor for a state of perfect moral reckoning, contrasting the flawed and often unjust physical world with a spiritual realm where all accounts are settled.

justiceafterlifekarmamoralityconsequencefaith
Analyzed with gemini-2.5-pro on August 17, 2025

Transcription

Quotations

(We say of one that does a good and charitable deed, He will).

1611, COT., s.v. Trouver

Original Scan

He will find it in another WORLD - a scanned entry from Tilley's 1950 Dictionary of Proverbs.
Scan courtesy of HathiTrust Digital Library.
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.

© 2026 TilleyProverbs.com · About

Last updated: January 27, 2026