proverb · Words worth keeping
He flays enough who holds the foot.
He flays enough who holds the foot.
In print by 1857 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Helping another person carry out an action can make you part of its consequences. The supporting role in the image matters even though it does not perform the whole act.
What the words are saying
Holding the foot assists the flaying described in the proverb. The image gives an apparently secondary action a place in the main undertaking. A critical application asks whether help enables something unfair or harmful rather than looking only at who performs the most visible step. It does not establish a legal rule of responsibility, and participation, knowledge and freedom to refuse can differ. The useful question is what the support makes possible in this particular situation.
Everyday example
A staff member refuses to supply private messages for a colleague’s attempt to publicly humiliate someone.
When to use it
Use it critically to examine what a supporting action enables.
What it does not mean
The saying is not a legal finding; consider knowledge, coercion and the actual effect of the assistance.
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 (French-language collection)
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1857 AD · industrial
In print by 1857: recorded in A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857) (1857 AD)
Printed page 5; French section, paragraph 101; source wording: Assez écorche qui le pied tient.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.