Say What? In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king & He who lives by the sword shal
Welcome to your Friday and another edition of Say What?. Today’s proverbs are both about power and ability-who might have them and what might happen. Let’s take a look at in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king and he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword, assisted our friends the Avengers.
In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
Our first saying comes to us from Erasmus and his collection of proverbs published in 1500, called Adagia. It appears there in its Latin form-in regione caecorum rex est luscus. While many of the proverbs in Adagia were considered common wisdom for the day, it’s possible that Erasmus was assembling them from another source: the Christian Bible. He was doing a great deal of research into providing a Latin version of the New Testament using Greek texts as a source, and may have come across this and most of the other sayings he collected in the course of that research.
This saying has variants in a number of different languages, including Italian, French, and German. In English usage, sometimes just the first half of the proverb is used, trailing off and allowing the reader to infer the rest. In all of these versions, however, the theme is the same. When surrounded by people who are less able, someone who is only moderately talented outshines them all. Because that person has more ability, he or she will also have more power. Kurt Vonnegut’s pithier version states “If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you’re a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind.”
You may find this saying useful when your characters want to compare relative abilities … or mock them:
“Seriously?” Tony’s incredulous voice blasted over the comms. “We get called out for these … these retro-engineered rejects? Whoever this idiot is, Justin Hammer could do better than this, I swear.”
Clint huffed, clearly amused. “Isn’t Hammer the one you said you could out-engineer with a concussion, a hangover, and your right hand in a cast?”
“That is so true, you have no idea. Hammer is an incompetent schlub, but he is miles better than this.”
Steve glanced at Natasha, and she gave him a smirk in return. “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king, Cap.”
“Incompetent schlubs and all,” Steve replied with a grin.
He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword.
While our first saying may have come from the Christian Bible, this one definitely does. It’s found in Matthew 26:52, where Jesus tells one of his disciples to let him be arrested: “Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” Intervening years have changed the wording slightly but it’s still recognizably the source. You may also see it simply as “live by the sword, die by the sword.”
Swords bring to mind high fantasy, but they were also very real weapons of war, and people who lived by the sword in the past mostly lived short, violent lives. So this saying has come to mean that if you use the power of the sword against others, it’s very likely that someone will use the sword against you and possibly kill you.
The Avengers are no strangers to violence in their lives:
When Steve found him, Tony was pouring himself a drink. “Tony, it seemed like that fellow who attacked your limo today was pretty offended that you stopped making weapons.”
Tony tossed back the amber liquid in his glass. “Yeah, well, I’ve offended a lot of people with that, most of them on my board of directors, and no one’s made me change my mind yet, never mind that guy.”
“Why’s that?”
“Maybe I’ve just come to believe in that old adage that those who live by the sword die by the sword.” Tony stalked away, leaving his glass to create a puddle on the polished bar top.
Steve stared after him. “But you fight every day,” he said softly.
Whenever you include any proverbs like these in your work, you’ll want to use them sparingly and appropriately. Depending on whether the situation calls for talent, violence, or simple power, you might be able to slip these into your story. It’s worth it to remember, however, that violence doesn’t pay, and an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Sources:
In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
Our first saying comes to us from Erasmus and his collection of proverbs published in 1500, called Adagia. It appears there in its Latin form-in regione caecorum rex est luscus. While many of the proverbs in Adagia were considered common wisdom for the day, it’s possible that Erasmus was assembling them from another source: the Christian Bible. He was doing a great deal of research into providing a Latin version of the New Testament using Greek texts as a source, and may have come across this and most of the other sayings he collected in the course of that research.
This saying has variants in a number of different languages, including Italian, French, and German. In English usage, sometimes just the first half of the proverb is used, trailing off and allowing the reader to infer the rest. In all of these versions, however, the theme is the same. When surrounded by people who are less able, someone who is only moderately talented outshines them all. Because that person has more ability, he or she will also have more power. Kurt Vonnegut’s pithier version states “If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you’re a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind.”
You may find this saying useful when your characters want to compare relative abilities … or mock them:
“Seriously?” Tony’s incredulous voice blasted over the comms. “We get called out for these … these retro-engineered rejects? Whoever this idiot is, Justin Hammer could do better than this, I swear.”
Clint huffed, clearly amused. “Isn’t Hammer the one you said you could out-engineer with a concussion, a hangover, and your right hand in a cast?”
“That is so true, you have no idea. Hammer is an incompetent schlub, but he is miles better than this.”
Steve glanced at Natasha, and she gave him a smirk in return. “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king, Cap.”
“Incompetent schlubs and all,” Steve replied with a grin.
He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword.
While our first saying may have come from the Christian Bible, this one definitely does. It’s found in Matthew 26:52, where Jesus tells one of his disciples to let him be arrested: “Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” Intervening years have changed the wording slightly but it’s still recognizably the source. You may also see it simply as “live by the sword, die by the sword.”
Swords bring to mind high fantasy, but they were also very real weapons of war, and people who lived by the sword in the past mostly lived short, violent lives. So this saying has come to mean that if you use the power of the sword against others, it’s very likely that someone will use the sword against you and possibly kill you.
The Avengers are no strangers to violence in their lives:
When Steve found him, Tony was pouring himself a drink. “Tony, it seemed like that fellow who attacked your limo today was pretty offended that you stopped making weapons.”
Tony tossed back the amber liquid in his glass. “Yeah, well, I’ve offended a lot of people with that, most of them on my board of directors, and no one’s made me change my mind yet, never mind that guy.”
“Why’s that?”
“Maybe I’ve just come to believe in that old adage that those who live by the sword die by the sword.” Tony stalked away, leaving his glass to create a puddle on the polished bar top.
Steve stared after him. “But you fight every day,” he said softly.
Whenever you include any proverbs like these in your work, you’ll want to use them sparingly and appropriately. Depending on whether the situation calls for talent, violence, or simple power, you might be able to slip these into your story. It’s worth it to remember, however, that violence doesn’t pay, and an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Sources:
- Quotations Page here and here
- Idiomation at Wordpress.com
- Wicktionary
- The Free Dictionary
- English Proverbs
- Oxford Dictionary