To bury one’s talent - Зарыть талант в землю
A talent was an ancient monetary unit, a gold or
silver coin. The phrase to bury one’s talent is taken
from a Gospel parable. A slave buried in the ground
the money (a talent) given to him by his master. When
the man returned and asked the slave what he had
done with the money, the latter replied that he had
hidden the talent in the ground and had it quite safe.
The master reproached his slave for being lazy, adding
that he could have lent the money to the traders and
thus have made more money.
In the course of time the word talent changed its
meaning and came to denote the natural endowments
of man. To bury one’s talent means to disregard one’s
abilities and gifts, to make no use of them.
He considered that it was not at all a proper
place for me and declared that I should be foolish
in the extreme to bury myself and, he added, my
talents, in a remote West Highland glen.
A. J. Cronin, Adventures in Two Worlds
Откуда возникло выражение зарыть талант a
землю?.
The phrase is drawn from a Gospel p arable about a slave and his master.
В притче, насколько я помню, слово талант имеет
значение отличное от современного.
You are right. There talent Ss used in Us
original meaning and denotes an ancient
monetary unit.
Как распорядился раб деньгами, полученными от
хозяина?
The slave secreted the talent in the
ground and on his m aster’s return said that
he had all his money safe.
Но хозяин, кажется, вовсе не стал благодарить или
хвалить его за бережливость, не так ли?
Just on the contrary. The master reproached the slave for being lazy.
А как, по мнению хозяина, раб должен был распорядиться деньгами?
The master said that the slave could have
lent the money to the traders and thus could
have made more money.
С течением времени слово талант изменило свое
значение и стало синонимом природных способностей
человека.
And the expression to bury one’s talent
changed the meaning accordingly. Now it
means to disregard one’s abilities and gifts,
to make no use of them.