What did Montague mean?

What did Montague mean? - Dictionary Text in Bokeh Effect

In The Tudors, when Edward (late queen Jane's brother) came to the tower for Lord Montague to take him to a better place, after his guilt had been established, Montague said,

You know, my lord.. this is the truth: The king never made a man but he destroyed him again. So take good care, my lord.

What did he mean?



Best Answer

He's saying that the king had a habit of elevating men to higher positions, but then abandoning them when they displeased him (and often even had them executed).

In Henry's case, old friends fell by the wayside. Old allies were executed. Thomas Cromwell, broker for Henry's failed marriage to Anne of Cleves and architect of the English Reformation, was one of the more sensational victims. After botching Rome's support for Henry's first divorce, 20-year-plus retainer Cardinal Thomas Wolsey only escaped execution through a natural death.


You're probably tripping over the "never... but" structure of the sentence. Perhaps you'll grasp its meaning in the sentence "It never rains but it pours", which can be "translated" as "Whenever it rains, it pours", i.e. the first part cannot exist without the second part.

See also https://english.stackexchange.com/a/280537/91509 .




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What type of name is Montague?

The name Montague is boy's name of French origin meaning "pointy hill". The family name of Shakespeare's Romeo has an effete, monocled image.

What does the word Montague mean?

Wiktionary. Montaguenoun. A member of Romeo's family in William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. Montaguenoun. By analogy with the Shakespearean play, a member or citizen of the family, party, or country of the husband in a Romeo and Juliet couple.

What does the last name Montague mean?

Montague Name Meaning English (of Norman origin): habitational name from a place La Manche in France, so named from Old French mont 'hill' (see Mont 1) + agu 'pointed' (Latin acutus, from acus 'needle', 'point').

Is Montague Italian?

It was published in 1562. The famous tale of Romeo & Juliet originated from a real political faction of 13th century Italy. Then, the families of Montagues (in Italian, \u201cMontecchi\u201d) and Capulets (in Italian, \u201cCapuleti\u201d), two reputed houses of Italy, were fighting over political supremacy.



Montague Meaning




More answers regarding what did Montague mean?

Answer 2

Google's dictionary provides an archaic definition for "but":

without it being the case that

Dictionary.com provides a similar definition (though without the archaic note):

without the circumstance that

We can therefore modify the quote slightly, to be this:

The king never made a man without it being the case that he destroyed him again.

In other words, the king has never made a man - given him power, wealth, respect, etc. - without also destroying him later on.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Pixabay, Craig Adderley, Pixabay, Steve Johnson