Why is everyone so angry? PETER IVANOVSociologist, employee of the School of Urbanism, National Research University Higher School of Economics There was a famous experiment in the field of social psychology, when different groups of subjects were shown the same photographs of people, but accompanied by different stories about them. In some

The meaning of the phrase: slander, insults, etc. can cause such moral suffering in a person that it will be worse than physical pain.

Origin of the phrase: from a comedy A.S. Griboyedov (1795 - 1829) “Woe from Wit” (1824). Molchalin's words:“Ah, evil tongues are worse than a pistol!”

“Woe from Wit” - a comedy in verse by A. S. Griboyedov - a work that made its creator a classic of Russian literature. It combines elements of classicism and sentimentalism and realism, which were new to the early 19th century.
“Woe from Wit” - a satire on aristocratic Moscow society in the first half of the 19th century - is one of the peaks of Russian drama and poetry.
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A. Griboedov created immortal images in his only but great work. “Woe from Wit” revealed to Russian literature heroes devoted to the cause of honor, heroes who understand nothing in the world, heroic martinets and heroic servants. The last image in the comedy is personified by Alexei Stepanovich Molchalin, one of the most mysterious characters.

We first learn about Molchalin’s qualities from the remarks of Sophia, who loves this man immensely:

Molchalin is ready to forget himself for others,

The enemy of insolence, always shy, timid...

But even alone with the girl who loves him, Molchalin does not express any feelings, and is unable to express anything:

He will sigh from the depths of his soul,

Not a free word, and so the whole night passes...

We meet the real Molchalin much later. If Sophia extols all the spiritual qualities of her lover, then Chatsky treats Molchalin with contempt and completely underestimates him. It is not for nothing that he cannot imagine that Sophia, who has lost interest in him, actually loves Molchalin. For him this becomes a clear shock: “Oh my God! Who did you choose? When I think about who you preferred!

However, even earlier he rightly speaks about Molchalin:

...he will reach the known degrees,

After all, now they love the dumb.

Molchalin, thus, is not an individual image found by Griboyedov. But the image was widespread in Russia at that time, and clearly noted by the author.

Molchalin acts as “father bequeathed”:

First, please all people without exception -

The owner, where he will live,

The boss with whom I will serve...

Molchalin is an image of a person who, in order to survive in society, does not dare to have his own judgment. He does not obey his own ideals and values ​​in everything, but accepts the rules of the game of people who are higher in rank than him. The image of Molchalin is a general one, because at that time, as well as now, those who were obedient, diligent and silent were promoted. People have never liked those who have their own opinions. And therefore, it seems to me that the image of Molchalin is very relevant.

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Times pass, but people do not change).

Ah, evil tongues are worse than a pistol

Quote from the comedy A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit" (1824), no. 2, yavl. 11, words by Molchalin.

Dictionary of catch words. Plutex. 2004.

See what “Oh, evil tongues are worse than a pistol” in other dictionaries:

From the comedy “Woe from Wit” (1824) by A. S. Griboyedov (1795 1829). Words of Molchalin (act. 2, appearance 11): “Ah, evil tongues are worse than a pistol!” The meaning of the expression: moral suffering that is brought upon a person by slanderers, spiteful critics, etc.... ... Dictionary of popular words and expressions

Ah, evil tongues are worse than a pistol- wing. sl. Quote from A. S. Griboyedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit” (1824), d. 2, yavl. 11, words by Molchalin... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

GOSSIPS

Wed. Evil tongues are worse than a gun. Griboyedov. Woe from the mind. 2, 2. Molchalin. Wed. But can you be so sarcastic from afar, Like the evil tongue of a slanderer, From which you cannot escape either beyond the mountains or beyond the seas? Krylov. Slanderer and Snake. Wed. Böse Zunge, ein bös… … Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary

EVIL TONGUE- 1. EVIL / E TONGUES / (less often) EVIL TONGUES / Who are Gossipers, slanderers, lovers of gossip. This refers to persons who are unkind, hostile or sarcastic towards someone. Spoken with disapproval. speech standard. ✦ Evil tongues... ... Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Language

Tongue (book language, obsolete, only in 3, 4, 7 and 8 meanings), m. 1. An organ in the oral cavity in the form of a movable soft outgrowth, which is an organ of taste, and in humans also contributes to the formation of speech sounds. Cow tongue. It hurts to bite your tongue. Lick... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

language- Sticking out your tongue (run) (spacious) quickly, without taking a breath. He rushed home, sticking out his tongue. Keep your mouth shut, be silent, don’t speak when you don’t need to. He knows how to keep his mouth shut. Long tongue (who) (translated) about... ... Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Language

- (1795 1829) writer and poet, playwright, diplomat But by the way, he will reach the famous levels, After all, nowadays they love the dumb. Who are the judges? Oh! If someone loves someone, Why bother searching and traveling so far? Oh! Evil tongues are worse than a gun. Blessed...

Griboyedov A.S. Griboyedov Alexander Sergeevich (1790 or 1795 1829) Russian writer, poet, playwright, diplomat. 1826 was under investigation in the Decembrist case. 1828 appointed ambassador to Persia, where he was killed by Persian fanatics. Aphorisms, quotes... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

Aphorisms can be divided into two categories: some catch our eye, are remembered and are sometimes used when we want to show off wisdom, while others become an integral part of our speech and go into the category of catchphrases. About authorship... ... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

Books

• Woe from the mind. Audio performance (CDmp3), Griboyedov Alexander Sergeevich. This comedy is included in the golden fund of Russian classics. Schoolchildren still write essays on it, critics and literary scholars still argue to this day whether this satire on Moscow society contains...
• Woe from Wit (audio play), Alexander Griboyedov. This comedy is included in the golden fund of Russian classics. Schoolchildren still write essays on it, critics and literary scholars still argue to this day whether this satire on Moscow society contains...

“Offensive nicknames are like poisonous arrows,” writes American psychologist Chaim Ginot in his bestseller “Between Parent and Child” (p. 54). “They can only be sent to enemies, but not to our children.”

When a person says, “This is an ugly chair,” the chair will not feel pain. But calling a child a freak will have a devastating effect on his body and soul. He will experience feelings of shame, anger, hatred. The thirst for revenge will cause remorse, and these, in turn, will cause feelings of anxiety and restlessness.

If teachers and parents constantly tell a child that he is stupid (or lazy), then he begins to believe it. The child stops trying, believing that the only way to avoid humiliation is to stop trying to succeed in school. “If I don’t try, I won’t fail,” he will tell himself.”

“Ah, evil tongues are worse than a pistol!” - wrote Griboyedov. And nicknames that degrade human dignity are worse than arrows. Arrows hit the body, but words hit the soul!

“Life and death are in the power of the tongue”! - the wise King Solomon taught us (Proverbs 18:21). The sages of the Talmud equate public insult to murder: “He who dishonors his neighbor in public is as if he were shedding blood” (Bava Metzia 58B). This is not a moral teaching, but a strict law that says: just as it is forbidden to kill your neighbor even on pain of death, in the same way, under pain of death it is forbidden to publicly insult him!

Moreover, in a sense, insult is considered a greater crime than murder. A murderer punishable by death does not lose the Hereafter. Then why “he who publicly disgraces his neighbor has no inheritance in the world to come” (Teachings of the Fathers 3:12)?

Why does the soul of a criminal suffer greater punishment for insult than for murder?

Murder is an instant, but public humiliation is like a long and painful death, explain the sages (Tana de Bey Eliyahu). The suffering of public humiliation is more painful than death, agrees Rabbeinu Yona (Gate of Repentance). The Chofetz Chaim wrote that an insult inflicted privately also brings suffering and deserves punishment.

But if so, then why does a person who insults his neighbor with a nickname to which he is accustomed and is no longer ashamed of it still bear punishment, and his soul will never leave Hell (Bava Metzia 58B)?

“Every person is created in the image and likeness of the Creator,” explains Magaral from Prague. — Everyone has their own spark of God, their own mission, their own purpose in life. Therefore, the one who insults a person with a nickname, in essence, denies the Divine, the holy in man.

The murderer destroys the body of his neighbor and therefore (measure for measure) himself deserves physical death. He who humiliates the human dignity of another by insulting him with a nickname destroys the soul of the humiliated one and therefore himself deserves the death of the soul.

Physical violence often begins with verbal aggression. Having humiliated a person with a word, the criminal then raises his hand against him! The anti-Semitic propaganda of the fascists aimed to prove that Jews are not worthy to be called people. Their names were taken away, and in return they were given numbers—faceless nicknames. Thus, the denial of the human dignity of the people led to mass murder.

Our week's parsha tells the story of a man who fell ill with leprosy - "Metsorah." This word can also be read as “MotsiRa” - “spouting evil.” The sages explain that the man fell ill as a punishment for the words of evil that he spewed out while humiliating others.

Why is the punishment for bad language so great? Many crimes are a consequence of weakness, for example, a person is seduced by someone else’s property and appropriates it for himself. By spouting bad words, a person gets nothing. In order to spew out evil, you yourself need to be evil from within, explains the rebbe of Slonim (Netivot Shalom).

By humiliating someone, a person humiliates himself! He reveals his essence. By assigning nicknames, he projects thoughts about himself onto others.

- Who do we respect? - asked the wise men (Testaments of the Fathers 4:1).

- Someone who respects others!

This is not a deal: I will give you respect so that you will return respect to me. No, it’s just that those who show respect to others respect themselves. This person has a sense of self-esteem and projects it onto others.

And if humiliation of human dignity deserves punishment, then how great is the reward for the one who shows respect not only to the rich, but also to the poor, not only to an adult, but also to a child!