spare the rod and spoil the child
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Alternative forms
- spare the rod, spoil the child
- 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
- If one does not discipline a child, the child will never learn obedience and good manners.
Related terms
Translations
if one does not discipline a child he or she will never learn respect or humility
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See also
References
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