- English translation
If you must strike, strike your own chest rather than someone else's.
- Literal wording
Whoever pounds should pound on his own chest.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying tells a person to bear the effects of their own actions rather than direct harm, blame, or rough treatment toward others. Its image of pounding one’s own chest is figurative: it stresses personal responsibility, not an instruction to injure oneself.
It can also rebuke someone who tries to settle a personal matter at another person’s expense. The forceful image emphasizes that any burden or consequence should fall on the person choosing the action, rather than on other people.
- When it is used
Used as a caution or reproach when someone is about to vent anger, impose a cost, or pursue a personal aim by hurting or inconveniencing others. It urges them to keep the consequences of their choice to themselves.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: If you must strike, strike your own chest rather than someone else's.