The devil's flour turns to bran — wealth gained dishonestly does not last. Money made through fraud or injustice will eventually be lost or turn worthless.
In the milling culture of the Po Valley, flour and bran represented the fundamental distinction between value and waste. White flour was the precious product; bran was what remained after milling, fit for animal feed but not for human bread. This proverb uses that distinction to make a moral point: money made by the devil's methods — through cheating, usury, fraud — seems like flour but is really bran. It will turn to nothing. The Lombard merchant class, despite its commercial sophistication, retained a strong sense that honest dealing was the only sustainable business model: the cheater might gain in the short term but would eventually pay. The proverb is also cited about sudden fortunes made in suspicious circumstances — the lottery winner who dies broke, the speculator who loses everything in the next crash.
Lombard moral proverb with deep roots in the milling culture of the Po Valley. The distinction between flour (farina) and bran (crusca) was fundamental in pre-industrial food economy.
A Milanese businessman cheated by a supplier
— Ha frodato tutta la filiera. Ma adesso è ricchissimo. — Farina del diavolo va in crusca. Aspetta.
— He defrauded the whole supply chain. But now he is very rich. — The devil's flour turns to bran. Wait.
A grandmother watching a lottery winner spend recklessly
Ha vinto tre milioni e in due anni ha finito tutto. Farina del diavolo va in crusca — la fortuna non guadagnata non si sa tenere.
He won three million and in two years spent it all. The devil's flour turns to bran — unearned luck cannot be held onto.
A priest in a Lombard village after a business scandal
Non stupitevi. Chi costruisce sulla disonestà non costruisce. Farina del diavolo va in crusca — l'ha sempre fatto e lo farà sempre.
Do not be surprised. He who builds on dishonesty does not build at all. The devil's flour turns to bran — it has always been so and always will be.
Two retired workers in Sesto San Giovanni
— Quell'imprenditore che evadeva le tasse è fallito. — Farina del diavolo va in crusca. Noi abbiamo pagato tutto e siamo ancora in piedi.
— That entrepreneur who evaded taxes has gone bankrupt. — The devil's flour turns to bran. We paid everything and are still standing.