То cast the first stone - Бросить первый камень
То cast the first stone means to take the initiative
to make an attack, or bring an accusation. The expression derives from a dramatic story told in the Gospel.
The Pharisees sought to compromise Jesus before his
listeners by showing that he did not keep the laws
and customs of their forefathers. So one day when
Jesus was teaching in a te m p le ,' %e Pharisees brought
to him a woman taken in adultery and asked him what
they should do to her. They did not forget to point out that according to an ancient custom the sinners were
punished by casting stones at them. Jesus was in a
difficult position; on the one hand he could not afford
to be seen breaking openly the ancient law, on the
other hand, he taught that every man should love his
neighbour as himself and forgive those who offend him,
and that cruel practice of stoning did not agree with
his doctrine. He played for time; pretending he had not
heard the question, he stooped down and began writing something on the ground with his finger. The Pharisees, however, insisted that he should answer them,
so he stood up and said, “He that is without sin among
you, let him first cast a stone at her.” And again he
stooped down and wrote on the ground. The Pharisees
left the temple one by one; they could not honestly call
themselves “without sin”, knowing their own faults and
weaknesses. Jesus lifted up his head and saw that the
temple was empty except for the woman; he asked her
where her accusers were. On hearing that no man had
condemned her, Jesus said: “ Neither do I condemn you;
go, and sin no more.”
He had succeeded better than most men in
modifying those ideals to fit the world of facts, and
if love had been modified into sympathy and sympathy into compromise, let one of his contemporaries cast the first stone.
E. M. Forster, Collected Short Stories
Выражение бросить первый камень связано с обычаем, существовавшем в древней Иудее — побивать грешника камнями. Выражение возникло из евангелия: «Кто из вас без греха, первый брось в нее камень$, сказал Иисус фарисеям, которые привели к нему женщину, уличенную в прелюбодеянии. Никто из фарисеев не отважился бросить камень первым; совесть подсказывала им, что сами они далеко не безупречны и не имеют права судить других.