Colossus on the feet of clay - Колосс на глиняных ногах
The phrase colossus on
the feet of clay is used to
describe something weak
which, however, looks powerful and frightening. It comes from the Bible story
about Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. In his
dream the king saw a colossus with the head of gold,
the arms of silver and the hips of copper, only his feet
were of clay. A huge rock rolling from the mountain hit the feet of Colossus and caused him to fall. The
prophets said that Nebuchadnezzar’s empire of Chaldea
was doomed to fall.
One, at least, we now know of the great disciples of Theodore, one of that great band of Missionaries, who completed and made sure of the
conversion of our country to Christianity, had feet
of clay.
A. Wilson, Anglo-Saxon Attitudes
It is not surprising that to the rigid classicists
of the eighteenth century this Colossus (Moliere)
had feet of clay. But, after all, even clay has a
merit of its own: it is the substance of the common earth.
L. Strachey, Landmarks in French Literature
Выражение колосс на глиняных ногах употребляется, когда речь идет о чем-нибудь величественном и мощном с виду, но по существу слабом и непрочном. По библейскому сказанию, вавилонский царь Навуходоносор увидел во сне огромного металлического истукана на глиняных ногах. Камень, оторвавшийся от горы, ударил в глиняные ноги истукана и разбил их, истукан рухнул. Прорицатели сказали царю, что сон этот предвещает падение его царства.