The Russian language is rich in various phraseological units. There are a huge number of expressions that are used, intuitively understanding what they mean, but very rarely think about the actual origin or correct pronunciation, not to mention the adequate literary application. A vivid example is the catch phrase: "Through thorns to the stars." What does this mean and why are these words put into circulation? These questions are quite interesting both from the point of view of use in colloquial speech, and in relation to literary use.
Origin
The roots of this expression usually refer to the famous Latin Per aspera ad astra, which, in turn, is attributed to Lucius Seneca, who used it in his work “Frantic Hercules”. The Roman philosopher, who lived at the beginning of the first century AD, was one of the brightest representatives of Stoicism.
This line of thought obliges the followers to maintain a firm position, despite any blows of fate. Apparently, this leads scientists to point out precisely the words of Seneca, who, as you know, was not only a strict follower of the teachings of Stoicism, but also went to his death so as not to change his beliefs, taking his wife at the same time. Indeed, it is not often in our time that one encounters a similar conviction in one's philosophical position.
Through thorns to the stars: what does it mean?
Returning to the phrase quoted: Per aspera ad astra, one can see the meaning originally embedded in it. Translated, it sounds something like this: "to the stars, overcoming difficulties on the way." Indeed, a clear stoic position is felt. Another option found in translations of Hercules is "the path from the earth to the stars is not smooth." However, this is the nuances of interpretation within the framework of the language into which the literary work is being translated. Be that as it may, the main meaning of the phraseological phrase “Through thorns to the stars” follows from here. What does this mean for Seneca himself, one can already guess from the stoic way of thinking and the corresponding attitude to the life of the author.
Obviously, this is an upward movement toward the goal of its existence, its achievement with the involvement of all the forces assigned to man by nature, despite obstacles, large or small. After all, this is the meaning of life for a true Stoic. We should also mention the appearance in the Russian version of the turnover of the interesting word “thorns”. It means a thorn, a plant with thorns, and also, figuratively, difficulty, adversity, etc. It is not so easy to walk along a road overgrown with similar plants. Apparently, to enhance the effect, this word was added. In Russian, this option was fixed.
Consider the following nuance associated with the winged expression "Through thorns to the stars." What does this mean if you imagine that the stars are not a goal, but something almost unattainable, a fantasy? What, in general, are stars for a person at the present stage of technology development. In this case, another interpretation appears, which phraseological dictionaries rarely mention. Namely: a worthy but seemingly unattainable goal creates even more difficult obstacles.
However, the interpretation points are not all the material that can be considered in the title of the article. Indeed, while the emphasis was only on the meaning of the phrase “Through thorns to the stars” (what does this mean).
Pronunciation
In colloquial speech, and not only, a variety of this phraseological unit is often found. Instead of “through”, “through” is used. In general, the variation is quite legitimate, although sometimes it is considered incorrect, since the first one is proposed in the dictionaries. You should not deceive the reader, unambiguously answering how correctly and how not. After all, this is just a stable expression, and changes in the language are often so fleeting that this stability of phraseological units is in fact quite unsteady.
But back to our statement "Through thorns to the stars." What does it mean? The combination of words, from the point of view of pronunciation, is very unstable. As a rule, in conversation people rarely use this saying in the form as we presented it. Our phrase sounds better precisely with the word “through,” paradoxically as it may seem.
Conclusion
This material does not pretend to a full analysis of all the nuances in answering the question: “Through thorns to the stars: what does this mean?”. The type of information offered does not have an edifying goal, but only gives a generally accepted interpretation.