- English translation
Press your own eye and feel it: what hurts you hurts others just the same.
- Literal wording
Put your hand on your eye; just as it hurts you, it hurts someone other than you.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying asks the listener to test an action on their own body before inflicting it on anyone else. Pressing a hand against your own eye shows at once how much it stings, and that feeling gauges what another person would suffer. The wording leaves unstated exactly what does the hurting, but the point is unchanged.
More broadly, it is a call for empathy grounded in shared humanity. Other people feel pain exactly as you do, so whatever you would not want done to yourself, you should not do to them. It reminds the hearer that everyone is equally vulnerable.
- When it is used
Use it to remind someone that others can be hurt by what hurts them, particularly before an action likely to cause pain or after thoughtless behavior. It can be an appeal for empathy or a gentle rebuke.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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