- English translation
The sweeper whose needs are met is a sultan no one can see.
- Literal wording
A rubbish collector who has enough is a concealed sultan.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying holds that a man whose material needs are fully covered enjoys something like royal standing, even if he earns his living as a sweeper clearing refuse from people's homes. His sovereignty is unseen: no crown or court marks it, yet by being spared want he holds what keeps a ruler secure.
By placing a household rubbish collector beside a sultan, it suggests that well-being rests on sufficiency rather than on title or trade. Having one's needs met appears as a quiet kind of power and independence, with contentment following from it, one that onlookers may miss because it carries none of the outward signs of rank.
- When it is used
Suitable when stressing that someone in a modest trade whose material needs are met is better off than appearances suggest, or when reassuring a person that a livelihood which fully supports them brings its own unseen dignity and security.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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