proverb · Words worth keeping
It is just that the priest should live by the altar.
It is just that the priest should live by the altar.
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
People doing a community’s work need a means of support. The altar represents the activity through which the priest serves and receives a livelihood.
What the words are saying
The proverb links a role’s responsibilities with the support required to carry them out. Its religious image can be read more broadly as a claim that useful labour should not be expected indefinitely without provision for the worker. An arrangement should make clear what service is offered, what support is available and what accountability accompanies it. The saying does not establish a particular religious entitlement or set a price. It raises the practical question of how a role can remain sustainable for the person performing it.
Everyday example
A community expects someone to coordinate weekly sessions, so it agrees reasonable expenses and a manageable workload rather than assuming unlimited unpaid time.
When to use it
Use it when discussing fair support for continuing work.
What it does not mean
Support does not excuse misconduct or remove accountability. Some voluntary work is freely chosen; the terms should be explicit and fair.
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 21; French section, paragraph 419; source wording: Il est juste que le prêtre vive de l’autel.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.