Tithes - a proverb

"A good tither a good thriver" - Somerset.

Ray 1768

[A tithe was a sort of tax taken by the church. It used to consist of every 10th animal / plant produced, but by the 19th century was more usually paid for with its monetary equivalent. The church did play the part of (a rather inadequate) welfare state, but also used the profits for 'spiritual' purposes, such as paying clergy, feeding abbots, entertaining nobility, sending off missionaries etc. On top of this taxes where paid. As tithes where means based it would be a reasonable indicator of your relative wealth.]