Pearls before swine
Pearls before swine means something valuable offered to people who cannot or will not appreciate it. The phrase appears in the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus warns against giving precious things to creatures that may trample them and attack the giver.
Where it comes from
The biblical image
The phrase appears in the Sermon on the Mount in The Bible, in Matthew 7:6. Pearls stand for something precious, while pigs represent those who may treat it with contempt.
Jesus tells his listeners to imagine pigs trampling precious objects and then turning against the person who offered them. The warning concerns how people receive what is sacred or valuable.
In The Bible by Various authors
What it means now
Today the phrase can describe good advice, art, knowledge, or kindness wasted on an unappreciative audience. A similar contrast, rather than the source of the phrase, appears in Aesop's Fables.
In the fable of the cock and the jewel, a cock searching for food discovers a precious stone but would rather have grain. The jewel has value, but not to the creature that finds it.
In Aesop's Fables; A New Translation by Aesop
How to use Pearls before swine
- Identify the valuable thing being offered.
- Check whether the audience truly fails to appreciate it.
- Use the phrase cautiously, since it can sound insulting.
Is pearls before swine an insult?
Yes, it can be insulting because it compares the recipients to pigs and suggests they cannot appreciate something worthwhile. It may sound playful among friends, but in a disagreement it can make the speaker seem scornful or self-important.
Does it mean the gift itself is worthless?
No, the phrase treats the gift as valuable; the problem is how it is received. It describes a mismatch between an offering and its audience, though the speaker may be unfair in deciding that other people lack appreciation.
Related terms
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