- English translation
If you are going to incur blame, let it be for something substantial.
- Literal wording
If you fall in love, love a moon; and if you steal, steal a camel.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying argues that a person who chooses an act likely to draw reproach should not do so for a trifling result. Its paired images make the point that the scale of the undertaking should match the blame one is prepared to bear.
It frames this idea through deliberately extreme examples: an idealized object of love and a highly valuable theft. The point is not to commend either act, especially stealing, but to contrast a consequential aim with conduct that attracts blame while achieving little.
- When it is used
It can be applied when someone accepts the consequences of a questionable course for a minor payoff. The saying presents a standard of proportion: if blame is unavoidable, the objective should be important enough to justify bearing it; its theft image is illustrative, not an endorsement of stealing.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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