The passage of time is relentless. Therefore, people forget the meaning of words that are not so actively used. But sometimes, for example, in the lessons of the Russian language they require that the student explain the meanings of certain words that, by the ear of a modern person, seem outdated. Today we will answer the question, what is the meaning of the word “incense”. What kind of substance is this? Also inevitably the meaning of the phraseological unit “smoking incense” will be drawn into the orbit of the article.
Incense and his smoking
Naturally, experienced smokers will say that there is no such brand of tobacco as "incense." And rightly so, because it's incense. Incense is obtained by burning incense. But do not think that smoking incense is a church prerogative. If you do not turn to the metaphorical meaning of the phrase, it practically turns out: everyone can enjoy his own sense of smell with incense in his apartment, because incense sticks are not only popular, but their assortment is widely represented. In addition, the tradition of using incense is associated not only with Christianity, but also with pagan gods, as well as with rulers and kings, before whom, as usual, not only the smells of incense are scattered, but also praise. We will talk more about professional fawning and find out how incense (this is incense) and flattery are related.
"Smoking incense"
This phrase means "squandering unfair or excessive praise to the person who most often does not deserve it." Recall the story: incense smoked to rulers and kings. And in those days, people knew little about democratic values, so their heads could be lost simply and easily. Praise for the ruler is a form of self-preservation. Now the phraseologism “smoking incense”, torn from the soil on which it originated, is interpreted unambiguously: this is undeserved flattery for a person. Now it is easy for us, modern people, to despise those who smoke incense, because we are brought up in a different society.
The moral aspect of the problem. Vertical relationship "subordinate - boss"
From the foregoing it is clear: work colleagues can hardly squander praise. Incense is a "product" designed for the boss. Speaking abstractly, then praise, of course, is necessary for the cause, but you just don’t have to crumble in compliments, and most people support this point of view. But everything changes when it comes to relationships with the boss at work.
One of the people can’t tolerate flattery almost to physical nausea, and if the leader of these is a great success and a guarantee that everything will be fair.
There is another type of boss who understands: compliments tell him more about his status than his personality, but he doesn't care. The reasons for this behavior of the leader can be discussed for a long time, but this is not the case, therefore, let us leave complexes of higher ones aside.
The third type of leader does not understand that smoking incense in his honor (we have already examined the meaning of the word) is a fake.
Of course, the ideal of a leader is the first type of boss who cannot stand flattery and decides everything in fairness, but are such people often found in the natural environment of an office? This is a big question. More often you can observe leaders who love praise, even undeserved, and gladly accept compliments from subordinates. It is not so important whether the employee sincerely or not makes a compliment to the boss, the main thing is that praise is a form of a person’s dominance over a person, and if the subordinate is dependent, it can be controlled.
But, if we get out of the psychological thickets of human relationships, we can say with confidence: smoking incense is extremely useful for a career.
Modern reality exudes incense
People ask themselves what the meaning of the word “incense” is because they intuitively feel that reality is drunk, saturated with undeserved, ostentatious praise. Moreover, the matter concerns not only the bosses and all kinds of leaders. Today, people basically surrounded themselves with idols - screen stars, athletes, and even things. A man is now in a terrible and ambiguous state: on the one hand, he is very tired of the whole noisy cycle of things and people, and on the other hand, he is forced to praise external reality, because everyone does it. It is such a bad infinity that takes away a person’s freedom. In fragrant smoke, the personality loses itself.
However, we were distracted. The main thing is that we examined the meaning of the word "incense" and found out the meaning of phraseology "smoking incense". For the rest, it remains to hope for the best: someday a person will wake up, the wind will change and the values ​​will become different.