spare the rod and spoil the child

spare the rod and spoil the child

English

Medieval schoolboy being birched

Alternative forms

• spare the rod and you will spoil the child

Etymology

Commonly claimed to have come from the King James Version of the Bible, Book of Proverbs, 13:24: “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.”

Due to the associated “spoil" concept which is not in the Bible, it more likely came from a 17th-century poem by Samuel Butler called Hudibras. In the poem, a love affair is likened to a child, and spanking is mockingly commended as a way to make the love grow stronger. The actual verse reads:[1]

• “What medicine else can cure the fits
  Of lovers when they lose their wits?
  Love is a boy by poets styled
  Then spare the rod and spoil the child.”

Proverb

spare the rod and spoil the child

1. If one does not discipline a child, he or she will never learn obedience and good manners.

Translations

if one does not discipline a child he or she will never learn respect or humility

Arabic: please add this translation if you can Chinese: Mandarin: 不打不成器 (bù dǎ bù chéng qì), 省了棍子，慣壞了孩子／省了棍子，惯坏了孩子 (shěng le gùnzi, guànhuài le háizi) Czech: please add this translation if you can Danish: den man elsker, tugter man Dutch: zachte heelmeesters, stinkende wonden Esperanto: amo kaj puno loĝas komune Finnish: joka vitsaa säästää, se lastaan vihaa French: qui aime bien, châtie bien (fr) German: wer mit der Rute spart, verzieht das Kind, wer sein Kind liebt, der schlägt es Greek: όποιος αγαπά, τιμωρεί (ópoios agapá, timoreí) Ancient Greek: ὃς φείδεται τῆς βακτηρίας μισεῖ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, ὁ δὲ ἀγαπῶν ἐπιμελῶς παιδεύει (hòs pheídetai tês baktērías miseî tòn huiòn autoû, ho dè agapôn epimelôs paideúei) Hebrew: חָסַךְ שבטו שׂוֹנֵא בְּנוֹ‎ (khásakh [?] soné b'no) Hungarian: néha jól jön egy jól irányzott pofon, elkel néha egy jól irányzott pofon Italian: chi ama bene, castiga bene Japanese: 可愛い子には旅をさせよ (ja) (kawaii ko ni wa tabi o sase yo), 獅子の子落とし (ja) (ししのこおとし, shishi no ko otoshi) Latin: quī bene amat, bene castīgat Polish: kto dobrze kocha, ten tęgo bije, dzieci trzeba trzymać krótko, kto się lubi ten się czubi Portuguese: quem ama, castiga Russian: пожале́ешь ро́згу — испо́ртишь ребёнка (požaléješʹ rózgu — ispórtišʹ rebjónka), кого́ люблю́ — того́ и бью (kovó ljubljú — tovó i bʹju) Spanish: escatima el palo y malcría al hijo, quien bien te quiere, te hará llorar, la letra con sangre entra Swedish: den man älskar, agar man, aga din son medan han är liten, annars agar han dig när han blir stor Turkish: insan sevdiğine takılırmış Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

See also

• give him enough rope and he'll hang himself
• Orbilian

References