spare the rod and spoil the child
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English[edit]

Medieval schoolboy being birched
Etymology[edit]
Commonly claimed to have come from:
- 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.”
- “What medicine else can cure the fits
Proverb[edit]
spare the rod and spoil the child
- If one does not discipline a child, he or she will never learn obedience and good manners.
Translations[edit]
if one does not discipline a child he or she will never learn respect or humility