Now it has become fashionable to say that all people are different. And in ancient times they also knew about it. What is the meaning of phraseology “measure on your arshin”. We’ll talk about him today.
What is arshin? Origin
According to the dictionary, arshin is a Russian measure of length, equal to 71 centimeters. Some sources add another 12 millimeters. It’s hard to say whether this is important or not. As you might guess, each merchant used his own measure when buying and selling. Naturally, a personal arshin in the form of a ruler never corresponded to the canon. When buying, it was longer, when selling, it was shorter.
The meaning of phraseology “to measure on one’s arshin” implies not too noble meaning. It says that a person has a personal selfish interest in a particular case or judgment, but such an understanding is not the only one. And psychologically, the expression is deeper than historical significance.
Schopenhauer and Russian phraseology
Arthur Schopenhauer created the whole doctrine that the world is only a representation of man about him. And subjectively, when a person dies, the whole world perishes with him. I recall the story of the death of Oscar Wilde, told by S. King. When the English writer was already near death, he opened his eyes for the last time and said: “Either the wallpaper disappears, or I” - then he died.
And all this directly relates to our conversation, in the center of which the meaning of phraseology “measure by your arshin”. Why is there any problem of personal measurement for every person? The answer is simple: because each of us does not have the experience of another person. Of course, we can fall in love with someone and thereby come closer to understanding “arshin” other than ours (“arshin” here means subjective values, aspirations, desires), but fully wear other people's moccasins and go through them, or even we would not be able to meter.
Thus, if you disclose the psychological meaning of phraseology “measure by your arshin”, then the following truth will come out, well known for a long time: “All people are different.”
Moral conclusion
He begs. We must not judge people, on the contrary, we must try to understand our brothers in the circle of their values and taste preferences. It would seem that this is a very simple truth, but it is still very difficult for a person to recognize the existence of another arshin. It is unbearably difficult for a person to see his neighbor and not judge him in accordance with his ideas. To judge is very simple, but to understand ...
The expression “measure by one’s arshin” is practically bottomless in meaning (the meaning of phraseological units is analyzed in detail). The result is very unexpected: it sends a person to the demand of Christ: "Do not judge!"
Bernard Shaw and Fair Comment
The English playwright teaches: every time you meet a person, “take a new measurement from him” just as a tailor does when a person comes to him to order a costume.
What is B. Shaw talking about? About the same as the expression "measure on your arshin" (the meaning of phraseology is already known). You need to try to see a person, not your ideas about him. If this does not work out for you, then you need to make sure that the "database" of consciousness is updated on time.
Formally, people are well aware that nothing can be imposed on another person. Neither his opinion, nor his idea of him, nor his tastes. But how many people actually follow this simple rule? Very little is already in old age, having mastered a certain share of life wisdom, while the rest are trying to remake husbands / wives, children / parents, friends and acquaintances. But they do not succeed, and all because they do not need to measure their arshin (the meaning of phraseological units and origin are analyzed at the beginning of the article), because each person has a personal one.
Of course, about 40 barrels of prisoners could still be written about such a wonderful phraseological unit, but we will stop here.
After all, the reader understood that it is better to always carry an imaginary arshin with you and, at each meeting, apply it to a new or old acquaintance without fear. Stereotypes help us live, they filter and lay out information on the shelves of memory and consciousness, but when communicating with a person, it is better to drop them and listen to the live stream of the conversation, discovering the deeper layers of the interlocutor, if, of course, they are.
This is the story about the expression "measure on your arshin" (phraseological unit). The origin, meaning and deep moral meaning of it were given to us by the reader.