There is such a popular wisdom: a word rotted from a rotting heart. On the one hand, the meaning of the proverb is clear. The word “rot” speaks for itself; no further explanation is required. And only once again you are amazed at how subtly, capaciously and precisely everything is noticed. And on the other hand, it’s interesting to “get to the bottom of it”, to figure out what “rot” is and who is called a rotten person ...
Explanatory dictionary
In search of answers to exciting questions, one must turn first of all to oneself. We will return to this, and now we will rush to the explanatory dictionary. What will he tell us about the “rotten” lexical unit? Will it give a helping hand in understanding the phrase “rotten people”?
So, according to the “Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language” edited by Ozhegov, the adjective “rotten” has several meanings. The direct meaning is that which succumbed to the process of decay, has become musty, spoiled, decaying. Anything can become rotten: apples, and fallen leaves, and threads. The list can be continued indefinitely, since all material things do not last forever and sooner or later die. The second - raw, devoid of the sun, heat, causing various ailments. As an example, you can cite the following phrases: rotten weather, rotten November, rotten water. And, finally, the latter is a figurative meaning, according to which the lexeme that interests us means absence, loss of the inner core, immorality, depravity. It is in such combinations as rotten people, a rotten heart, a rotten soul, rotten blood, and a secondary meaning manifests itself.
Bible
What do other sources of information say about this? The Brockhaus Bible Encyclopedia, one of the most serious biblical reference books, provides the following material. Jesus asks his disciples to beware of false prophets, for a good tree cannot bear rotten (trans. “Thin”) fruits, nor can a rotten tree produce good fruits (Matthew 7:17). However, a person in the faith can sin if he allows the “rotten word” to come from his mouth. Only a good word has the power to bring grace to those who listen (Ephesians 4:29). In other words, a rotten person is a false prophet who preaches the truth for the sake of his vanity and self-interest. This kind of truth cannot bring benefits not to the broadcaster, not to those who listen to it. She can only poison.
Parable
And now the parable: how without it? After all, a good parable opens its eyes to what a second ago seemed ordinary or, on the contrary, obscure. And she does it simply, easily and beautifully. Let him tell us who rotten people are.
So, the first parable. Once a student came to his teacher for advice: what he needs to do in order to be the same as he is wise, always in harmony with himself and the world. Master willingly agreed to help him and asked to bring a bag and potatoes.
- If you offend someone, get mad at him or harbor an offense, take one potato and throw it in a bag. And so do it whenever there is the slightest conflict.
- And it's all? Can such absurdity help me in such a great cause? - the pupil asked perplexedly.
“No,” the sage hastened to explain, “you must always carry this bag with you.” The student agreed.
Heavy burden
Time has passed. Unfortunately, the bag was full. It was hard and uncomfortable to always carry it with you. And those potatoes that were thrown at the very beginning, began to rot, and already emitted an unpleasant smell. What to do? The student again came to the teacher. But this time with indignation. The sage calmly listened to him and said: “But the same thing is happening inside you. You just don’t see, don’t notice how much gravity is in your soul, and how your misconduct is gradually turning into fetid vices. A rotten vegetable is a rotten person. I it gave you the opportunity to observe this process from the side. "
Two lakes
And here is another one - no less interesting and no less instructive.
Once upon a time, two underground sources spawned two beautiful ponds. But everything flows, everything changes, and water all arrived and arrived. And then came the day when they needed to think about their future fate. God invited them to choose one of two options. Either decrease in size, but at the same time become deeper, or, conversely, spread widely, but be small.
Two lakes thought and decided as follows: one will be small, but wide so that the bird sees it from the height of its flight, and the other, sacrificing its size, will preserve depth and purity. Well, as decided, it happened.
Test
The first reservoir enjoyed its greatness. After all, so many birds, so many animals came to him at a watering place. The second one became so small that it was not easy to find it among the dense greenery. However, the time has come for the great solstice. The water in the huge but shallowed lake became cloudy, covered with greenery and mucus. From it, the smell of rot blew continually. All living things turned away from her. The water in a small but deep lake was not afraid of the red-hot sun, accepted its rays with grace, and became even purer, transparent, crystal. And no matter how hard it was, all the afflicted found the way to it.
Not wonderful weather, but the scorching sun - a real test, reveals the true essence of things: rotten rapidly decays, clean - cleansed.
What follows from all this?
One thing follows: a man with a rotten soul - trash, unreliable, charming, gloomy. But it is hidden deep inside. It seems that no one will ever get, see, or even guess about a possible foulbrood. Indeed, everything is wonderful outside, right, beautiful, like a ripe apple, rosy in the picture. However, you just have to bite an apple and you immediately feel the taste of rot. And it happens even worse - you just have to touch it, and it will disintegrate, crumble, creep. As Shakespeare wrote: “Rotten does not tolerate touch.” However, not only the great English poet wrote about such people. Statements about rotten people can be found in many writers. For example, Oscar Wilde devoted a whole work to this topic - “Portrait of Dorian Gray”, which tells how the image of a young man from high society took over all the vices of a rotten soul. The face in the portrait was distorted, covered with ulcers and moss, and Dorian himself was still young, charming, beautiful.
It is impossible not to mention the quote of another Englishman - Jack London. He said that a lot of rotten people were in the den of bargainers, and it was impossible to maintain their moral health in the environment. They corrupt. In each there is only that stomach, and they have spiritual needs, like an amoeba. That's what a rotten person means. Perhaps this is the most complete description.
Is it possible to avoid meeting such individuals? First of all, you need to start with the smallest and the most difficult thing - to take care of yourself, your thoughts, feelings, desires, words, actions. Every time I stop and ask myself if there is any rottenness in my actions. And then look around, listen to others and even sniff. After all, rotten people smell bad. And as Fazil Iskander noted, they don’t feel their smell at all.