proverb · Source-linked selection
The ox comes to the yoke at the call of his feeder.
The ox comes to the yoke at the call of his feeder.
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 established relationship can make a call more persuasive. The ox responding to its feeder links provision and cooperation, without making help a purchase of obedience or turning people into dependent animals.
What the words are saying
The ox comes to the yoke at the call of the person who feeds it. As a human comparison, a request may receive a more willing response within a relationship where care and reliability have already been shown. That connection is different from demanding compliance because something was provided. The image does not justify controlling a person who depends on help, and it is not a universal claim about animal behaviour. Ask whether cooperation is welcome and freely agreed, rather than assuming that provision entitles the giver to command.
Everyday example
A coordinator who consistently supports volunteers asks for help with a new task and gives them a real choice about taking it on.
When to use it
Use it to consider how an established relationship affects a request for cooperation.
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What it does not mean
Help must not become leverage for obedience; dependence does not remove another person’s freedom to refuse.
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 197; Spanish section, paragraph 4105; source wording: Al llamado de quien le piensa viene el buey á la melena.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.