Birds of a feather flock together
There is a certain perfume of irony in this saying, do you smell it? The saying alludes to the natural inclination that leads to getting together with those of the same “temperament”, so to speak, to certain reprehensible behaviors… Bah, reprehensible for us…
What if! We usually say “God raises them and they come together” in a negative sense., when we want to reprove the behavior of “those” who have surely come together with disturbing, annoying purposes… Oh, you see! Although, in honor of the truth, it can also happen that this phrase refers to two or more people who got together for something constructive, it all depends on the tone with which it is said…
whatever the case, God, as he is, will always have his alibi: Just because I raise them, doesn’t mean I educate them… Well! The Dictionary of the Spanish Language already emphasizes that the verb to create is a verb of God: to give being to something that did not exist before, to create is to create…
Following the trails of google, it seems that until the first half of the 19th century only crea had been written, from then on the use of the word breeding was popularized and that is how it remained.
In Cuba this variant of the saying is used a lot: “God raises them and the devil gathers them”, there the literal becomes practically literary, while it is already known that there are no good devils…
The proverb is of Castilian origin, and is included in the Religious Sayings category. “God raises them and they get together” was the name of the comedy in three acts by Manuel Bretón de los Herreros, premiered in 1841: “My name is Ciriaco Palomo, ex faithful, to serve God and you”, said this theatrical creature who always knew very well who to hang out with, and for what…
