- English translation
Once on rough sacking, now up on a mat: only God's grace keeps him from flying off with joy!
- Literal wording
He used to be on coarse sacking and now he is on a mat; that he does not fly is a favour from our Lord.
- Meaning and lesson
The picture contrasts two humble seats: coarse sacking woven from halfa grass, which the poor use in place of a mat, and a proper woven mat. The closing words say that if he keeps from flying off with delight, it is purely by God's favour.
It is said of someone who has moved from one condition into a better one. The rise is pictured through a modest household step up, from the roughest floor covering to a real mat, and the elation it might bring.
- When it is used
Use it of a person whose circumstances have improved, framing the change as a step from rough sacking to a woven mat. Whether a speaker means it approvingly, wryly or mockingly is not established, so let the context decide.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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