proverb · Words worth keeping
Plough or not plough, you must pay your rent.
Plough or not plough, you must pay your rent.
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
An obligation may remain even when the activity expected to support it is not performed. Ploughing and rent are separated, so stopping the work does not itself settle the payment.
What the words are saying
The demand for rent is the same whether the tenant ploughs or not. As a comparison, a commitment can continue despite inactivity or a change in plans. Check what was actually agreed instead of assuming that leaving a task undone removes every obligation associated with it. The saying does not establish a valid contract or a universal rule about rent. Conditions, fairness and available remedies belong to the actual situation. It highlights a distinction rather than settling a legal dispute.
Everyday example
A club member checks the agreed cancellation terms before assuming that skipping an event cancels a previously confirmed booking.
When to use it
Use it to distinguish not doing an activity from ending a commitment associated with it.
What it does not mean
This is not legal or financial advice; the actual agreement and circumstances must be examined.
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 (Spanish-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 202; Spanish section, paragraph 4200; source wording: Ares, no ares, renta me pagues.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.