English
Medieval schoolboy being birched
Etymology
Commonly claimed to have come from:
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, 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 , 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 )
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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
References