proverb · Legacy record
Fifty lemons are a load for one person, but for fifty persons they are perfume.
Fifty lemons are a load for one person, but for fifty persons they are perfume.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Fifty lemons a load for one but perfume for fifty transform a burden through distribution. The saying pictures a task becoming more manageable when many share it.
What the words are saying
The counts are illustrative rather than measured carrying limits, and perfume is an appreciative image. A useful application considers fair allocation and whether participants have capacity and consent. Sharing does not automatically remove every difficulty or justify imposing work on others.
Everyday example
A group divides a manageable task fairly instead of leaving its full burden with one member.
When to use it
Use it to discuss shared contribution with capacity and consent retained.
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What it does not mean
No universal load limit or guaranteed ease from adding people is established.
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
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 557; PDF page 52; collection label: Assyria/Ethiopia
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Assyria/Ethiopia