Coryphaeus and the layman - who are they? Today we will find out about it. We focus, of course, on the second, but we can’t do without the first.
Value
A layman is a person who is not at all knowledgeable in any field.
For example, as Dmitry Bykov admitted at the beginning of his lecture on the poetry of Boris Grebenshchikov: “But I’m a layman in music to a sufficient degree.” The context is not particularly important here, especially since it’s difficult to talk about it at all, because Bykov only precedes these statements with these words. But the main thing here is different: "profane" is a word of book style and it is not a shame to use it even in public. You can’t say the same about some synonyms of this definition, but first things first.
Yes, one more thing, as Lieutenant Colombo said. It is necessary to say about the origin at least a little. The word came to us from French. In the language of Hugo, it means the same as in the language of Faulkner, that is, "uninitiated."
Synonyms
Now, with a clear conscience, we can proceed to replacements that clarify the essence of the matter for those who still do not understand anything. We always consolidate the material and give replacement words that will help the layman to navigate the linguistic sea of ​​definitions. But we warn that not all words will be bookish, as an object of study, some, on the contrary, will be rather rude. However, we leave aside the preface, here is the list:
- amateur;
- amateur;
- ignoramus;
- ignoramus;
- layman.
Frankly, frank rudeness was not saved from the censorship knife, we simply omitted indecentness. And besides, it does not seem that curses can fully replace the word we are considering. "Profan" is a book definition, right? Therefore, he also needs “friends-comrades” to match. Therefore, these are synonyms for “profane”. They passed a rigorous selection.
Antonym
The reader may have already forgotten how it all began, but we remember something. In the beginning there was a pair of “profane - luminaries”. If a layman is an unenlightened person, then a luminaries is, on the contrary, a master of his craft. In order not to be unsubstantiated and not inadvertently make a mistake, take a look at the explanatory dictionary. And there we will find the following definition: "An outstanding figure in any field." This is usually said of a man of science. In other words, scientists are luminaries, but not all.
How do profane and luminaries differ from each other, and can they coexist in one person?
It is clear that one is knowledgeable, and the other is not very. But we want to look deeper and understand why there is a confrontation between ignoramuses and scientists, in other words, how people become either on one or the other side of the barricades.
There are favorable conditions when a person is prepared to become a specialist, there are dynasties of doctors and teachers. There are nuggets, self-taught. They, like Ray Bradbury, can graduate from the library, now even electronic, that is, now it’s not even necessary to leave the house to get a good education. The main thing is to read the right books.
Coryphaeus and the layman are concepts that not only can, but also coexist in one person. For example, a Russian teacher may be well versed in conjugating verbs, but not know anything about quantum physics. The converse is also true: "techies" are usually poorly spelled in their native language.
The main thing is not to be a layman, in principle, when a person is not interested in anything, he does not strive for anything and enjoys and praises his ignorance.
The ignoramus can become his opposite if he exerts his strength
When a person is born, he is born an absolute ignoramus, but then learns everything, and in the first years of his life he absorbs almost more than for everyone else, he learns: everyday habits of the environment, native language, other useful skills. But some do not think about how serious work they have already done, and give up. They no longer seem interesting or curious in the world.
Coryphaeus from a layman (we have already figured out the meaning) is actually distinguished only by the fact that the former retains sincere surprise in front of life, while the latter quickly gets bored. In this sense, it is good to remember the covenant of N.A. Zabolotsky: “The soul must work / And day and night, and day and night!”