Theseus
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As it happens it is one of the older proverbs in the language. Shakespeare uses it in All’s Well that Ends Well: “My poor body, madam, requires it: I am driven on by the flesh; and he must needs go that the devil drives”.
However, it is actually older — the earliest version seems to be in John Lydgate’s Assembly of Gods, written about 1420: “He must nedys go that the deuell dryves”.
The usual modern form isn’t so easy to understand, as it is abbreviated and is usually only the phrase 'needs must.'
It is thus semi-proverbial and means:' When you are desperate, you must do things you ordinarily would not do'.
--We're going to have to get an enormous loan to pay for your mother's surgery. I hate to go into debt, but needs must when the devil drives meaning “necessity compels”.
The Shakespearean wording makes the meaning clearer: if the devil drives you, you have no choice but to go, or in other words, sometimes events compel you to do something you would much rather not.:devil::up:
However, it is actually older — the earliest version seems to be in John Lydgate’s Assembly of Gods, written about 1420: “He must nedys go that the deuell dryves”.
The usual modern form isn’t so easy to understand, as it is abbreviated and is usually only the phrase 'needs must.'
It is thus semi-proverbial and means:' When you are desperate, you must do things you ordinarily would not do'.
--We're going to have to get an enormous loan to pay for your mother's surgery. I hate to go into debt, but needs must when the devil drives meaning “necessity compels”.
The Shakespearean wording makes the meaning clearer: if the devil drives you, you have no choice but to go, or in other words, sometimes events compel you to do something you would much rather not.:devil::up: