Scattering beads in front of pigs is the meaning of a phraseological unit. The meaning of the phraseological unit “Throw pearls in front of pigs. "Civil defense" and phraseology

When a person is sprayed in front of someone to no avail, we, in order to save his strength and nervous system, we can say: "You should not throw pearls in front of pigs." What exactly the latter means, we will analyze today.

Bible

The expression under consideration goes back to the Bible, namely to the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ. Let us quote the dictum in full: “Do not give holy things to dogs and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample it under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.”

Someone will ask, what does the beads have to do with it? Beads are here despite the fact that there is also another translation of the Bible - Church Slavonic. We will not give it here in full, because it is difficult to understand. modern man. Let's just say that there pearls are beads. Accordingly, the expression "throwing pearls in front of pigs" is a kind of hybrid of two translations of the Bible: on the one hand, the Synodal, and on the other, Church Slavonic.

Meaning

The interpretation of Christ's instruction is multifaceted, but usually they say so when a person does not measure the strength of his eloquence with the capabilities of the audience. Moreover, of course, the form of the saying is quite harsh, but not always the person using it wants to offend people.

For example, there is an opinion that a teenager is able to perceive philosophy only from the age of 14–15, it makes no sense to pump him up with wisdom before, because he will not absorb it. Thus, if a teacher speaks to schoolchildren who have not reached the designated age, then he will be doing exactly what can be defined as “throwing beads”.

Thus, we understand that when they say “do not cast pearls before pigs”, they just want to emphasize, albeit in an unnecessarily harsh form, the difference between the speaker and the addressees of his speech. In more general form it can also be said that in this way a person is advised not to waste energy on those who do not appreciate it.

The cult film by E. Ryazanov and the saying about beads

Despite the fact that the film "Office Romance" was released in Soviet times, when, in general, references to the Bible were not welcomed at all, two very interesting quotes "crawled" into E. Ryazanov's masterpiece. One - referring us to the topic of our today's conversation, and the other, although not biblical, but also very curious.

Everyone is well aware that when a new deputy director, Yuri Grigorievich Samokhvalov, came to the institution where the heroes work, he arranged an evening of acquaintance with subordinates and employees. On it, a former classmate of Novoseltsev urged Anatoly Efremovich to hit on Lyudmila Prokofievna Kalugina so that he could take the vacant position of head of the light industry department.

Anatoly Efremovich, as a gentle person, for a long time did not dare to implement the plan of his institute friend, but now he is gaining courage and with the words: “Now I’ll refresh myself and start throwing beads,” boldly rushes towards, as it turned out, his fate. True, the audience knows that all this was not at all easy, because the plot of the entire Ryazanov film is built around the hatred-love of Kalugina and Novoseltsev.

An incomplete quote from the Bible was covered by an incomplete quote from a Spanish communist?

In addition to the reference to Jesus Christ and the adage "throwing pearls before swine", there is something in the film that may have covered up biblical wisdom.

When Novoseltsev came the next day to apologize to his boss for his “concert” yesterday, the following dialogue took place between them:

Sit down, comrade Novoseltsev...

No, thanks…

Anatoly Efremovich, sit down, don't be shy.

Better to die standing.

The last phrase is attributed to many people, but it was definitely uttered in 1936 at a rally in Paris by the Spanish communist Dolores Ibarruri: "The Spanish people prefer to die standing than to live on their knees."

Surprisingly, two truncated, almost hidden quotes in Soviet cinema classics are connected by one theme - the preservation of human dignity. The difference is that “throwing pearls in front of pigs” is a phraseological unit that calls not to get involved in disputes and disputes with people who are not worth it, and the saying of the Spanish communist suggests active resistance to evil by violence. Moreover, the rally at which the woman spoke was anti-fascist. After a rather fascinating, as it seems to us, linguistic journey into the world of cinema, we turn to the morality of expression.

Moral phraseologism

At this point, God himself ordered to do interpretation. The moral is simple and wise, like much of what is written in the most printed book in the world. If you are told “you should not cast pearls before swine” (the Bible gave us this expression), then this can mean in different variations that you should not pay attention to those who do not deserve it. In other words, it is better to save strength and eloquence for another place, perhaps for another time.

There is a more general moral here, it sounds like this: do not waste yourself. And here it doesn’t matter whether a person has an audience in the form of “pigs” or not. It is a pity that a person begins to understand such a simple morality only when the heat of youth subsides and the reasonable coldness of maturity replaces the youthful ardor.

In youth, people usually scatter their pearls around them without regret. Youth has a lot of energy and time, so everything is spent without looking back, but when resources become scarce, a person begins to think.

Surprisingly, according to the history of the phraseological unit “throwing pearls in front of pigs” (its origin clearly indicates this to us), a still young man by modern standards reached such wisdom with his mind.

Inferences from Wisdom

There are many benefits to using your time wisely. Firstly, if a person does not get angry at many, then he gives more attention to those who deserve it. Secondly, he saves his nerves. Thirdly, as a consequence of the second, it lives longer and enjoy life.

One thing is bad: the ability not to throw beads in front of pigs (the meaning of the expression was considered a little earlier from many sides) comes to a person, as a rule, too late. Therefore, readers can be advised to quickly join the biblical wisdom and draw from it extremely useful and practical conclusions for themselves.

Beads are not cast before pigs: the meaning of phraseology

“Beads are not cast before swine,” Jesus Christ said in his Sermon on the Mount. Time flies, forgetting about the brakes, and the meaning of some ancient sayings is lost. Therefore, today we will analyze the meaning of a phraseological unit, its synonyms and consider (quite a bit) cultural influence.

Story

Let's start, as always, with the origin. The reader is primarily interested in what is the source of the expression. We are happy to explain: this stable phrase comes from the Bible - the most printed book so far. Speech turnover “Do not throw pearls before swine” The Gospel of Matthew gave us. After all, it contains the famous Sermon on the Mount of the Savior, in which the core of the Christian doctrine finds its refuge.

Let's explain the terms "beads" and "pig". In general, pigs are pretty cute creatures, especially if they are decorative, of course, boars that bliss in the mud can hardly be called cute, but still. For Jews, as is well known, pigs are dirty, vile animals, so in this sense to call the audience pigs is to give a very harsh assessment. Now you can understand how much Christ “highly” appreciated the ignorant crowd.

Difficulties in translation

Now the expression "beads are not cast before pigs" can be bewildering, because baubles are firmly associated with the word "beads". And here the rebus is solved simply: the whole point is in the difficulties of translation. But first, let's give the full text of the saying. “Do not give anything holy to dogs, and do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample it under their feet and, turning around, tear you to pieces.” Now it's time to talk about linguistic subtleties: in the Church Slavonic translation, pearls are beads. And we have given the full classical, synodal version of the expression a little higher. Here it is difficult to refrain from a remark: it is not surprising that the Bible is the most printed book in the world - what an energy of expressions!

Meaning

When the source of the aphorism “beads are not cast before pigs” (see above for the history of the origin of the expression) is established, you can move on to the meaning. So they say about unsuccessful attempts to convince someone of something. Usually, a speech turnover comes to mind when the speaker and the audience do not match in terms of intellectual capabilities, sometimes such a contradiction is imaginary.

For example, remember the case of A. E. Novoseltsev and L. P. Kalugina from E. Ryazanov’s comedy “Office Romance”. This biblical phrase sounds there, in the episode where Yu. G. Samokhvalov notes his appointment to a new position.

"Coot" Novoseltsev is sure that his boss cannot speak on high topics and appreciate the beauty of subtle matters. But it turns out that she understands poetry no worse than the "orator".

Is it clear now what it means "do not throw pearls before swine"?

Synonyms

About the words and expressions that are intended to replace the biblical aphorism, one should understand only one thing: they must convey the meaninglessness of the action. For example:

Crush water in a mortar.
Sisyphean labor.
At least a stake on your head.
Everything is wasted/wasted.
Everything is ashes.

In fact, there can be as many substitutions as there are contexts. Most of the replacements are stylistically justified. For example, with foreigners who may know the Bible well, but Russian poorly, you need to express yourself more simply so that there is no confusion. In other words, the speech turnover “they don’t cast pearls before pigs”, the meaning of which we are analyzing, needs to be fully replaced. Although a full-fledged synonym can hardly be found, the expression is too beautiful.

Hermann Hesse and his Glass Bead Game

You do not need to be a recognized literary critic to understand: the title of the novel and the idiom are connected. Only throwing beads turns into a game. You can re-read the novel several times, but you don’t really understand what the Masters of the game are doing. It is clear that they created a synthesis of art, religion and philosophy. The goal of the game is an endless interpretation of cultural meanings closed on itself.

Characteristically, the Masters of the game have lost the public: no one understands their studies. They do this in their narrow community in a closed state in a state - Castalia. The latter arose as a response and response to the vulgarity that swept the world. Modern, right? Castalia is the citadel of spirituality.

The game competitions are broadcast on the radio, but there is a suspicion that no one is listening to them, no one needs them. Why delve into something that you still don’t understand?

And so it happened: the speakers and the audience in Hesse's utopia (or dystopia, or parable) became separated.

The German writer drew certain conclusions from the biblical saying and turned the throwing of beads into an aesthetic gesture. But if the reader here at this place thought that the classic of world literature is at the same time with the Castalians, then he was mistaken. To clarify the position of the Master, we recommend reading the novel.

"Civil defense" and phraseology

Yegor Letov has such a song "The Glass Bead Game". The reader, if desired, can listen to it quite easily, because it lasts a little more than two minutes. So, for a Russian musician, the phrase "bead game" takes on new colors, even in comparison with Hesse, and not just with Christ. Throwing beads in front of a "pack of pigs" is a clear provocative act. Moreover, it is difficult to say who the poet meant by pigs, either his own audience, which does not understand the deep or deep (as you like) the meaning of the song, or party functionaries who at one time tried to fight rock music without sparing their belly .

And yes, if Hesse (let's reveal the secret) balances the game with life, then E. Letov revels in intellectualism and opposes himself to the "low" crowd of pigs.

"There are strange encounters." Who would have thought that Christ, Hesse and Letov would gather under one flag.

Not modesty, but rationality

We have already understood that it is pointless to practice eloquence in front of an unprepared public. Let's leave that side alone for now and talk, finally, about the personality of the speaker. What does phraseologism teach him?

Pride is the worst sin. And in order not to succumb to it, you need to vigilantly monitor yourself. Indeed, sometimes a person knows in advance that the audience is so-so, but still he is drawn to speak out, why? It's simple: he wants to show off, build a bridge between himself and people. It seems that if one interprets the expression "Do not throw pearls before swine" from the Gospel, one can also extract such a meaning.

Who needs guidance the most? Of course, young people. Youth still believes that it can fundamentally change something in the world, inflame the hearts of people. Ideological guys and girls believe, just like Socrates: people live this way and not otherwise, only because they wander in the dark and do not know the truth.

But Christ, by his saying, calls not to waste time on those who do not want to follow the path of light, but prefer to wander in darkness. As practice shows, strength may be needed for something else, for something more important and intimate.

Is on Russian television such a program "The Glass Bead Game". Its presenter Igor Volgin ends each issue with the same phrase: "Read and reread the classics." Good advice especially since the Bible is an eternal book, regardless of confessional preferences. Moreover, even atheists can read it - there will be no harm.

What does the proverb "don't cast pearls before swine" mean?

Rostov

Don't throw beads before pigs

Gelya Nathan

This is not a proverb, this is an inaccurate quote from the Gospel of Matthew. I won’t quote the words of Christ literally, because I don’t remember, but the point is that you shouldn’t prove something to people who cannot and do not want to understand and accept your point of view due to their beliefs, upbringing, etc. The mention of pigs here is not offensive, but is given as an example - the pigs are deeply indifferent to beads, no matter how beautiful and valuable they are, give them acorns, so it’s not worth throwing.

What does the phrase "throwing pearls before swine" mean?

User deleted

Sometimes means the highest degree of conceit :-))

In general, here is a Dictionary of popular expressions.
From the Bible (Church Slavonic text). The Gospel of Matthew (ch. 7, v. 6) quotes the words from the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ (Russian translation): have not torn you to pieces."

The word "beads" (as pearls used to be called in Russia) entered modern Russian speech from the Church Slavonic text of the Bible.

Often quoted in Latin: Margaritas ante porcos [margaritas ante porcos]. Translation: Pearls before pigs.

Allegorically: it is not worth talking about what the interlocutors can neither understand nor appreciate properly. A. S. Pushkin (letter to A. A. Bestuzhev, end of January 1825): “The first sign smart person- to know at a glance who you are dealing with, and not to cast pearls in front of the Repetilovs and the like.

Who are the pigs, in front of which, according to the Bible, it is not necessary to cast pearls?

Aleksandr lxxv

No such name

Etymology of the word beads: In Russian. came from Church Slavonic. Corresponds to national pearl. Loans. through Turk. *bu:sr from Arabic. busra "imitation pearls, glass beads". Pigs here are just animals. And the meaning of the expression is “do not scatter the light of your wisdom before those who do not heed it, for you were not born to heed (originally upon the fact of birth).

The expression "throwing pearls before swine" came to us from the Gospel and has an allegorical meaning. It is used if they want to talk about wasted efforts to explain or prove something to someone who does not understand or DOES NOT WANT to understand. In the original, it sounds like this: "Do not give shrines to dogs and do not throw your pearls (beads) before swine, so that they do not trample it under their feet and, turning, do not tear you to pieces."

007 C sergey

This Biblical expression: Throwing pearls before swine has a deep allegorical meaning. Beads, if I'm not mistaken, these are the pearls of innermost thoughts and high feelings, the word of God. Pigs are a type of people who can neither accept, nor understand, nor appreciate - the WISDOM OF THE WORD.

Story

Let's start, as always, with the origin. The reader is primarily interested in what is the source of the expression. We willingly explain: this stable phrase comes from the Bible - the most printed book so far. Speech turnover “Do not throw pearls before swine” The Gospel of Matthew gave us. After all, it contains the famous Sermon on the Mount of the Savior, in which the core of the Christian doctrine finds its refuge.

Let's explain the terms "beads" and "pig". In general, pigs are pretty cute creatures, especially if they are decorative, of course, boars that bliss in the mud can hardly be called cute, but still. For Jews, as is well known, pigs are dirty, vile animals, so in this sense, to call the audience pigs is to give a very harsh assessment. Now you can understand how much Christ “highly” appreciated the ignorant crowd.

Difficulties in translation

Meaning

"Coot" Novoseltsev is sure that his boss cannot speak on high topics and appreciate the beauty of subtle matters. But it turns out that she understands poetry no worse than the "orator".

Is it clear now what it means "do not throw pearls before swine"?

Synonyms

About the words and expressions that are intended to replace the biblical aphorism, one should understand only one thing: they must convey the meaninglessness of the action. For example:

Crush water in a mortar.
At least a stake on your head.
Everything is wasted/wasted.
Everything is ashes.

Hermann Hesse and his Glass Bead Game

Characteristically, the Masters of the game have lost the public: no one understands their studies. They do this in their narrow community in a closed state in the state - Castalia. The latter arose as a response and response to the vulgarity that swept the world. Modern, right? Castalia is the citadel of spirituality.

The game competitions are broadcast on the radio, but there is a suspicion that no one is listening to them, no one needs them. Why delve into something that you still don’t understand?

And so it happened: the speakers and the audience in Hesse's utopia (or dystopia, or parable) became separated.

"Civil defense" and phraseology

And yes, if Hesse (let's reveal the secret) balances the game with life, then E. Letov revels in intellectualism and opposes himself to the "low" crowd of pigs.

"There are strange encounters." Who would have thought that Christ, Hesse and Letov would gather under one flag.

Not modesty, but rationality

There is such a program on Russian television "The Glass Bead Game". Its presenter Igor Volgin ends each issue with the same phrase: "Read and reread the classics." Good advice, especially since the Bible is an eternal book, regardless of confessional preferences. Moreover, even atheists can read it - there will be no harm.

In modern Russian, the expression “to throw in front of pigs” took root after the publication of the famous comedy by D.I. Fonvizin "Undergrowth". One of the heroes in his monologue tells that on his application for exclusion from the theological seminary it was written: “Fire all teaching: it’s written for there is - do not cast pearls in front of pigs, but they will not trample him underfoot.” It is in this meaning that people use today. However, in the process of semantic development, this expression has undergone some semantic changes.

Traditional interpretation

The gospel is the traditional source of the enduring expression "throwing pearls before swine." “Do not give anything holy to dogs, and do not throw yours before swine, lest they trample it under their feet and, turning around, tear you to pieces.” This sentence is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 7 6. Direct meaning - do not humiliate yourself and pay attention to unworthy people. It is important to note that small river pearls mined in in large numbers in local rivers. Such pierced pearls were used to decorate clothes. In the future, pearls and any small glass items intended for needlework began to be called beads. Therefore, pearls ceased to be associated in the minds of native speakers with precious stone i.e. depreciated. In this regard, the expression "throwing pearls in front of pigs" began to be used in the sense of "saying something to those who cannot truly understand and appreciate it."

Some linguists believe that the original meaning of the phraseologism was lost due to the initial distortion of the biblical phrase. The meaning of the phrase is directly related to the fact that you should not trust sacred to people who do not believe in the highest spiritual values of the world and do not believe in divine origin. By trusting them, you are blaspheming and offending God. Jesus calls not to cast pearls of great price in front of swine, which cannot appreciate anything sacred. As a result, pearls become cheap beads, and the biblical basis of phraseology becomes meaningless.

Modern interpretation

In the phraseological dictionary of the Russian literary language, the expression "throwing beads in front of pigs" means "in vain to talk about something or prove something to someone who is not able or does not want to understand it." At the same time, it has a dictionary mark “iron.”, “express.”, which indicates the emotional coloring of the phraseological unit. There is a version that the expression "throwing pearls" refers to the slang of card players. So they say when they want to emphasize the winning and original layout of the cards. It is useless to explain this alignment to a person who does not know a lot about card game. Such a person will be called a pig. This version is less plausible than the traditional one.

Don't throw pearls before swine
From the Bible (Church Slavonic text). The Gospel of Matthew (ch. 7, v. 6) quotes the words from the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ (Russian translation): have not torn you to pieces."
The word "beads" (as pearls used to be called in Russia) entered modern Russian speech from the Church Slavonic text of the Bible.
Often quoted in Latin: Margaritas ante porcos (margaritas ante porcos). Translation: Pearls before pigs.
Allegorically: it is not worth talking about what the interlocutors can neither understand nor appreciate properly. A. S. Pushkin (letter to A. A. Bestuzhev, end of January 1825): “The first sign of an intelligent person from the first look to know who you are dealing with, and not to cast pearls in front of the Repetilovs and the like.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: "Lokid-Press". Vadim Serov. 2003 .

See what "Do not throw pearls before swine" is in other dictionaries:

From the Bible (Church Slavonic text). The Gospel of Matthew (ch. 7, v. 6) quotes the words from the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ (Russian translation): “Do not give anything holy to dogs and do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample it underfoot ... ...

See Do not cast beads in front of pigs Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. Moscow: Locky Press. Vadim Serov. 2003 ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

CAST PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

Scatter BEADS BEFORE THE PIGS- who [before whom] Express thoughts and feelings to someone who is not able or does not want to understand and appreciate them. This means that the person or group of persons (X) does not assume that the person or group of persons (Y) to whom the speech is addressed will not understand them and ... ... Phrasebook Russian language

Cast pearls before swine- Express. Iron. It is in vain to talk about or prove anything to someone who is unable or unwilling to understand it. Michel, you forgot the commandment of the Savior: do not throw beads in front of swine, you forgot that everything sacred in life should be a mystery to ... ... Phraseological dictionary of the Russian literary language

Husband. small glass beads or small piercings, for dresses and low jewelry, also for various women's work. | To church. pearl tongue. Throw not pearls in front of pigs, let them not trample them underfoot. Tears are not beads, you can’t lower them down. Bead, ... ... Dictionary Dalia

Pearls (beads) of eloquence to squander (inosk.) to use, use refined expressions, big words, but not always convincing Cf. The head of this house is the mother ... In front of her, he intended to scatter his beads. Gr. L.N. Tolstoy. Anna Karenina ...

THROW BEADS- who [before whom] Express thoughts and feelings to someone who is not able or does not want to understand and appreciate them. This means that the person or group of persons (X) does not assume that the person or group of persons (Y) to whom the speech is addressed will not understand them and ... ... Phraseological dictionary of the Russian language

SCATTER BEADS- who [before whom] Express thoughts and feelings to someone who is not able or does not want to understand and appreciate them. This means that the person or group of persons (X) does not assume that the person or group of persons (Y) to whom the speech is addressed will not understand them and ... ... Phraseological dictionary of the Russian language

To squander (inosk.) to use, to use refined expressions, big words, but not always convincing Cf. The head of this house is the mother ... In front of her, he intended to scatter his beads. Gr. L.N. Tolstoy. Anna Karenina. 2, 1. Cf. Die Perle… … Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary

Throwing beads in front of pigs - to show innermost thoughts, feelings to those who are not able to understand, accept, appreciate them.
The origin of the phraseologism is biblical. The Gospel of Matthew tells of Christ's conversations with his followers. In one of the sermons, the so-called Sermon on the Mount, which is considered “programmatic” in the teaching, it says: “Do not give holy things to dogs and do not cast your pearls before swine, so that they do not trample it with their feet and, turning, do not tear you to pieces” “Matthew 7 :6” (this means the seventh chapter “Judge not, lest you be judged”, sixth paragraph).

What does gospel mean?

Three meanings

Good News, News of the Coming of the Messiah
Teachings of Jesus Christ
The writings of the four evangelists on the life, work and teachings of Christ

Who is Matthew?

Levi Matthew is one of the twelve apostles, that is, supporters, disciples of Christ. All that is known about him is that he was a publican, otherwise a tax collector. The Gospel of Luke says

“After this [Jesus] went out and saw a publican,
in the name of Levi, who sits at the toll booth,
and says to him, follow me.
And he, leaving everything, got up and followed Him.” (Wikipedia)

What is the Gospel of Matthew?

The first book of the New Testament, which gives an idea of the personality, genealogy and biography of Hrits, the main points of His teaching, also tells about various miracles performed by the Savior. Chapter seven contains an exposition of Christ's Sermon on the Mount. The book of Matthew was primarily intended for the Jews and was written in Aramaic, which was then spoken in Palestine.

Use of the expression "Throw pearls before pigs" in literature

- “I wanted to start talking about the trial of Migulin, but I felt after the very first phrase that no one had much interest, and suddenly fell silent. It's all for nothing. Throw beads ". (Yu. Trifonov "The Old Man")
- “And you, you bastard, dared to take me for a White Guard? Me, a Russian pilot, Tentennikov? By the way, why cast pearls in front of pigs,” Tentennikov said angrily, looking at Rigaud with hatred.. (V. Sayanov "Earth and Sky")
- “The old woman was restrained, disgusting. Before sitting down to the instrument, she asked: “Do they understand?” - in the sense that it is worth throwing pearls in front of pigs. The priest nodded: they say, it's worth it.(V. Tokareva "Long Day").
- “But Chatsky was convicted not for the content of his speeches, but for their address. He throws pearls in front of Famusov and Skalozub.(M. Nechkina "Griboyedov and the Decembrists").
- “You are silent. Monumental, like bronze. It's you - according to the covenant: "Do not cast beads in front of pigs" - right? — I don't like preaching. And preachers,” said Samghin dryly.(M. Gorky "The Life of Klim Samgin").
- “Michel, you forgot the commandment of the Savior: do not throw pearls in front of pigs”(Belinsky. Letter to M.A. Bakunin, November 1, 1837).