The ultimate decision on who and what to let into the house is the prerogative of the owner of the house.
The house and the landlord are metaphors. The unveiled meaning is that whoever heads a business, a company, a political office, or, in some way, is in charge of something, he or she is the person entitled to make the ultimate decision on what concerns the goods or people that are subject to his authority.
What would happen if instead of the master, the servants decided who to let into the house? What if the CEO of a company delegated his power to the employees? I could give other similar examples in the political, administrative and above all in the military fields. In other words, according to the proverb, whoever is in command of something cannot give up his leadership! He has the duty to lead the group.
This proverb, although seemingly harsh, is still valid. It is based on moral and religious principles, provided that they who exercise power, both women and men, do so not arbitrarily but with a spirit of service.
Ettore Grillo, author of these books:
– November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily (English edition)
– A Hidden Sicilian History (English edition)
– The Vibrations of Words (English edition)
– Travels of the Mind (English edition)
– Una Storia Siciliana Nascosta (edizione in lingua italiana)
– Viaggi della Mente (edizione in lingua italiana)
Ettore Grillo's Blog 