The popular expression "woe to the vanquished"

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:53

It's so common in our world that the powers that be rule the ball. Often they decide how the common people should live. In such cases, the popular expression "woe to the vanquished" is used. In this article, we will look at what this stable phrase means, where it came from and how it is used in speech.

The meaning of the expression "woe to the vanquished"

Phraseologism has a negative interpretation. It means the threat of a person, group of people or system to worsen the situation of those who depend on them. Woe to the vanquished - those who are under the power of someone or something. They lose their voice, their rights, they have to obey others. Where did such a cruel expression come from? We will consider this issue further.

History of the origin of the expression

The Big Phraseological Dictionary edited by Roze T. V. reveals the etymology of this set expression.

There is a legend told to the world by the Roman historian Titus Livius. According to him, in 390 BC, one of the Gallic leaders conquered Rome. He forced all the inhabitants to pay him a thousand pounds of gold. The Romans had no choice but to pay this greedy leader. However, many doubted that the weights that weigh what they bringgold, show the correct weight. Then Brenn, in revenge, put his sword on the device, exclaiming: “Woe to the vanquished!” By such behavior, he showed the people that they do not argue with those in power. And punctuation leads to disastrous consequences for the vanquished themselves.

This is also where the expression "put the sword on the scales" comes from.

These unjust words have been repeated and repeated many times by ferocious conquerors who are used to forcing others to obey their will by force.

Examples of using the expression

Many writers, journalists and publicists use the idiom "woe to the vanquished" in their works and speeches. It shows the hopelessness of the situation of those who found themselves under someone else's oppression. As an example, let us cite an excerpt from the youthful novel by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov "Vadim". “People, when they suffer, are usually submissive. But if once they managed to throw off their burden, then the lamb turns into a tiger, the oppressed becomes an oppressor and pays a hundredfold - and then woe to the vanquished.”

In print media, this expression is often used for headlines. It is able to attract readers, show the main problem that is addressed in the publication. Especially often this expression is used in materials that tell about war crimes and aggressive actions.