proverb · Words worth keeping
A neutral man wants to feast on eggs and to break none.
A neutral man wants to feast on eggs and to break none.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A neutral person wanting eggs without breaking any questions a wish for benefit without an associated cost. The saying criticises avoidance of a difficult choice.
What the words are saying
The precise traditional context is unverified. A critical reading does not make all neutrality cowardly or justify harm as a necessary price of progress. A useful application checks what a proposed benefit actually requires and whether fair alternatives exist, without assuming every conflict demands taking a side.
Everyday example
Someone examines a proposal’s real trade-offs instead of promising that nobody will face any change.
When to use it
Use it only as a qualified benefit-and-cost image.
What it does not mean
No universal fault of neutrality or justification for harmful means 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 944; PDF page 82; collection label: Transylvania Province of Romania
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Transylvania Province of Romania