- English translation
Sooner or later the slave goes free: either death takes him or his master releases him.
- Literal wording
Either the slave dies, or his master frees him.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying holds that a hardship cannot last forever: a bound servant will eventually be released, either through his owner granting freedom or through his own death. Since either outcome ends the bondage, the sufferer is counselled to endure patiently rather than despair.
More broadly, it voices a resigned confidence that an oppressive condition will end, even if the sufferer cannot choose how. Its image rests on historical chattel slavery and counts death as one form of release; it reflects that past outlook rather than endorsing it.
- When it is used
Can encourage someone to bear a burden they cannot escape by their own effort, stressing that it must eventually end one way or another. Its slavery and death imagery make it a sensitive choice where real servitude or terminal illness is involved.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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