proverb · Source-linked selection
A thousand pounds and a pottle of hay is all one thing at doomsday.
A thousand pounds and a pottle of hay is all one thing at doomsday.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Earthly possessions lose their comparative importance in the imagined final judgment. Money and a small amount of hay are placed on the same level.
What the words are saying
The saying uses a dramatic contrast in value: a large sum and a modest quantity of hay become equivalent at doomsday. That setting shifts attention from ordinary buying power to the ultimate matters by which a life might be judged. It can support a religious reflection or a broader question about what remains important beyond possessions. The expression is not a claim that money has no practical use now; it asks whether wealth is being treated as the measure of every kind of value.
Everyday example
A person preparing a remembrance speaks about kindness and relationships rather than listing the possessions someone accumulated.
When to use it
Use it to question the ultimate importance assigned to material wealth.
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What it does not mean
The final-judgment setting is a religious image, not an independently established event.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 444 · Doomsday
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English