Chrysti The Wordsmith: Pearls Before Swine

Greetings I'm Christie the wordsmith. The expression don't cast your pearls before swine is a proverb. A brief guideline for life. Don't cast your pearls before swine is an economical way to say don't be still valuable things on people who won't appreciate them. This proverb is biblical in origin it comes from the New Testament book of Matthew where Christ teaches his followers to be productive disciples how to pray to give to the needy and even to turn the other cheek. He also admonished his his devotees to quote give not that which is holy and to the dogs neither cast your pearls before swine lest they trample them under their feet. Here's a vivid picture of dogs chewing religious artifacts and swine crushing valuable and delicate jewelry. After all what's a pearl to a pig. But as you might expect there is a deeper meaning behind this colorful expression Christ uses it to suggest to his disciples that their teachings should be given in accordance with the spiritual capacity of the learners and to avoid

dispensing wisdom among those who would respond with ridicule and abuse. The proverbial expression don't cast your pearls before swine was known to Shakespeare. He alluded to it in his 15 94 play Love's Labour's Lost. Charles Dickens inserted the phrase in his novel Dombey and Son published in 1848. I'm Christie the wordsmith. The series is produced and recorded in the studios of the F on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman. CHRISTIE The wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.