proverb · Legacy record
Poverty is no disgrace, but it is a great inconvenience.
Poverty is no disgrace, but it is a great inconvenience.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Poverty called no disgrace but a serious inconvenience rejects a moral stain while acknowledging practical hardship. The saying separates circumstances from dignity.
What the words are saying
The mild word inconvenience should not minimise severe deprivation. A responsible reading recognises unequal access to essentials and support without assigning shame. A useful application listens to actual needs rather than assuming material difficulty is small, deserved or a character defect.
Everyday example
Someone offers practical support without treating another person’s limited resources as a personal disgrace.
When to use it
Use it to preserve dignity while taking hardship seriously.
Put a useful idea into practice: try the free seven-day guide ↗
What it does not mean
No triviality or deservedness of deprivation 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
Germany
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 783; PDF page 71; collection label: Germany
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Germany