| Author |
Message |
Fire Rose
Guest
|
| Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:10 am
Post subject: Meaning of statement of famous writer. |
|
|
Hi all,
I'm not native english speaker. Could you help me please? I want to
know the exactly meaning of the following statement.
That is "Self-serving people see what they have as what they own.
Serving people see what they have as what's on loan."
Thank you for your answer. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Tony Cooper
Guest
|
| Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:10 am
Post subject: Re: Meaning of statement of famous writer. |
|
|
On 4 Oct 2005 21:40:53 -0700, "Fire Rose" <woodoo_2005@hotmail.com>
wrote:
| Quote: | Hi all,
I'm not native english speaker. Could you help me please? I want to
know the exactly meaning of the following statement.
That is "Self-serving people see what they have as what they own.
Serving people see what they have as what's on loan."
Thank you for your answer.
|
You're looking for a real meaning in one of those quotations that
provides a Lesson for Life. If you want to break out the literal
meaning it's something like: People who are very self-centered feel
they are entitled to what they have, and people who are not
self-centered feel they are lucky to have what they have.
You could substitute quite a number of words in the first half of the
sentence - like "selfish" or "egocentric" or "self-absorbed" - for
"self-centered", but the essence is that the word should describe
someone who puts themselves first. You can substitute a number of
words for "not self-centered" in the second part of the sentence, but
the essence of that should be someone that doesn't take their good
fortune as something due to them.
Even though the statement uses "own", it doesn't mean just
possessions. It refers to any kind of good fortune.
It's a platitude that supposed to be inspirational. You can't take it
literally since you *do* own many things you have regardless of how
you acquired them or what type of person you are.
While there's nothing religious about the statement, there's an
implication that you have what you have through God's grace, or the
grace of the gods, and everything may be taken back.
--
Making an effort to include a condemnable term in every posting.
Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Charles Riggs
Guest
|
| Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:45 pm
Post subject: Re: Meaning of statement of famous writer. |
|
|
On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 05:06:29 GMT, Tony Cooper
<tony_cooper213@earthlink.net> wrote:
| Quote: | On 4 Oct 2005 21:40:53 -0700, "Fire Rose" <woodoo_2005@hotmail.com
wrote:
Hi all,
I'm not native english speaker. Could you help me please? I want to
know the exactly meaning of the following statement.
That is "Self-serving people see what they have as what they own.
Serving people see what they have as what's on loan."
Thank you for your answer.
You're looking for a real meaning in one of those quotations that
provides a Lesson for Life. If you want to break out the literal
meaning it's something like: People who are very self-centered feel
they are entitled to what they have, and people who are not
self-centered feel they are lucky to have what they have.
You could substitute quite a number of words in the first half of the
sentence - like "selfish" or "egocentric" or "self-absorbed" - for
"self-centered", but the essence is that the word should describe
someone who puts themselves first. You can substitute a number of
words for "not self-centered" in the second part of the sentence, but
the essence of that should be someone that doesn't take their good
fortune as something due to them.
Even though the statement uses "own", it doesn't mean just
possessions. It refers to any kind of good fortune.
It's a platitude that supposed to be inspirational. You can't take it
literally since you *do* own many things you have regardless of how
you acquired them or what type of person you are.
|
The platitude doesn't grab me, for I don't see how self-serving enters
into it.
You claim you own things, but I could say you have temporary use of
them, no more. Even if you pass some of them on to little Coops, they
only have use of them temporarily, and so on.
The American Indian considered land to be open to everyone: no piece
of it could be owned. I like that concept. Conversely, I don't like
hearing people say they "own" a pet, for example. Animals can't be
owned, in my book. I wonder if anything can be.
| Quote: | While there's nothing religious about the statement, there's an
implication that you have what you have through God's grace, or the
grace of the gods, and everything may be taken back.
|
I could run with that.
--
Charles Riggs |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
J. J. Lodder
Guest
|
| Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 3:51 pm
Post subject: Re: Meaning of statement of famous writer. |
|
|
Fire Rose <woodoo_2005@hotmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: | Hi all,
I'm not native english speaker. Could you help me please? I want to
know the exactly meaning of the following statement.
That is "Self-serving people see what they have as what they own.
Serving people see what they have as what's on loan."
Thank you for your answer.
|
Must be ancient Chinese proverb,
Jan |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| |
FAQ
Memberlist
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in