proverb · Legacy record
It is better to be the cub of a live jackal than of a dead lion.
It is better to be the cub of a live jackal than of a dead lion.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A live jackal’s cub preferred to a dead lion’s contrasts available support with prestigious but absent association. The saying values what remains practically present.
What the words are saying
The exact traditional comparison is unverified. A qualified reading can question status without treating bereavement as inferiority or making family origin a worth test. Needed support can come from different relationships, and the animal image does not rank actual people.
Everyday example
Someone values dependable present help rather than relying only on a celebrated connection that cannot assist.
When to use it
Use it only as a qualified available-support-and-status comparison.
Put a useful idea into practice: try the free seven-day guide ↗
What it does not mean
No human worth from ancestry or loss of dignity through bereavement 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 561; PDF page 53; collection label: Assyria/Ethiopia
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Assyria/Ethiopia