Jack is as good as his master
This proverb means that all people are fundamentally equal, regardless of their social status or rank. It implies that a person's worth is not determined by their position or who they work for.
It is often used in contexts where someone is challenging traditional hierarchies or asserting the equality of all people. It's a reminder that social status doesn't define a person's inherent worth or capabilities. The phrase suggests that even though there might be differences in social position, everyone is equal in terms of their basic human value and dignity.
The saying has its roots in historical social structures where "Jack" was a common name for a servant or a sailor or a serving mana or member of the common people, while "master" referred to someone of higher social standing.
Poem by McLachlan, Alexander (1818 - 1896)
Young Canada, or Jack's as Good as his Master
I love this land of forest grand!
The land where labour's free;
Let others roam away from home,
Be this the land for me!
Where no one moils, and strains and toils,
That snobs may thrive the faster;
And all are free, as men should be,
And Jack's as good's his master!
Where none are slaves, that lordly knaves
May idle all the year;
For rank and caste are of the past,--
They'll never flourish here!
And Jew or Turk if he'll but work,
Need never fear disaster;
He reaps the crop he sowed in hope,
For Jack's as good's his master.
Our aristocracy of toil
Have made us what you see--
The nobles of the forge and soil,
With ne'er a pedigree!
It makes one feel himself a man,
His very blood leaps faster,
Where wit or worth's preferred to birth,
And Jack's as good's his master!
Here's to the land of forests grand!
The land where labour's free;
Let others roam away from home,
Be this the land for me!
For here 'tis plain, the heart and brain,
The very soul grows vaster!
Where men are free, as they should be,
And Jack's as good's his master!
