- English translation
However hard you chase after a livelihood, you cannot obtain more than the share destined for you.
- Literal wording
You may run as the wild beasts run, yet you will gather nothing beyond your allotted sustenance.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying sets a vivid picture against a sober limit: someone dashing about with the frantic speed of a wild animal, and a portion of provision that remains exactly the size it was always going to be.
Its lesson leans toward contentment rather than panic. Whatever livelihood is meant to reach a person will arrive in any case, so frenzied grasping brings no real advantage over a calmer outlook.
- When it is used
Use it when advising against exhausting oneself in the pursuit of a livelihood, especially where relentless effort is thought able to increase one's allotted provision.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: However hard you chase after a livelihood, you cannot obtain more than the share destined for you.