proverb · Legacy record
However kind a man is he would never give his wife as a gift to his friends.
However kind a man is he would never give his wife as a gift to his friends.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A kind man unwilling to give his wife to friends contrasts generosity with a purported limit. The saying frames a spouse as something that could be offered.
What the words are saying
A critical interpretation rejects the property assumption: a partner has independent agency and consent. A useful reading can discuss boundaries without suggesting one spouse controls the other’s relationships or can transfer them as a gift. Generosity never supplies authority over another person.
Everyday example
Someone rejects a request that treats another adult as transferable property rather than asking for their own decision.
When to use it
Use it critically to affirm agency and limits of another person’s authority.
Put a useful idea into practice: try the free seven-day guide ↗
What it does not mean
No ownership of a spouse or power to grant another person’s consent 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
Ghana
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 650; PDF page 58; collection label: Ghana
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Ghana