While the phrase does not have a single origin, it is deeply rooted in historical, literary, and philosophical traditions that explore the fall of power, the equality of death, and the natural cycle of decay.
Whether intended as a revolutionary statement, a poetic reflection, or an ecological metaphor, it carries a powerful message about the transience of kingship and human legacy.
Shakespeare captures this idea in Hamlet where Hamlet muses about how even kings become food for worms:
“A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.”
Comments
Denis Diderot
“A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.”