The Russian language is rich in proverbs and sayings. But contrary to popular belief, many of them are not an expression of popular wisdom. It turns out that a very large number of them are taken from the Holy Scriptures. For example, “trust, but verify”, “money is like water”, “on the thief and the hat is on”, “the contract is more expensive than money” and so on. The expression “at one’s place”, the meaning of which will be discussed below, also refers to their number.
Dictionary Interpretation
The dictionary gives the following explanation of the meaning of "at one's own paces." This is a winged expression taken from the Bible. In modern speech, he is given a generalized meaning. Everything in this world has the property of repeating itself; sooner or later everything returns to its origins.
In Russian, this phraseological unit has spread in a form that is characteristic of Church Slavonic. Instead of the modern pronunciation of the noun “circle”, emphasis is placed on the first syllable of “circle”. And the pronoun "svoy" is also pronounced in an outdated form - "svoy".
A more complete form of expression is "everything is back to square one."
Similar meaning
Synonyms "at one's own paces" are:
- in its place;
- in your rut;
- in its own direction;
- as usual;
- to their shores;
- to the starting point;
- to the roots;
- to the source;
- to the beginning;
- to the usual place;
- into the familiar situation.
As noted above, the Bible is the source of the expression being studied. In order to better understand the meaning of "at one's own paces," it would be advisable to consider this in more detail.
Attributed to Solomon
In the Old Testament there is the Book of Ecclesiastes, which is also called the Book of the Preacher. Chapter 1, verse 6, says that "The wind is returning to its place." The author talks about the wind, which first blew south, and then, changing direction, began to blow north, but then again got its original direction - south. What is meant by these words, what is the meaning of "on your own circles"?
In the Bible of Christians, the book of Ecclesiastes is placed among the folios, whose authorship is attributed to King Solomon. His name literally does not appear anywhere. But a person who symbolically assumes the name of Ecclesiastes says that this is the son of David, king of Jerusalem. In addition to the Hebrew original, this work has been preserved in many ancient translations, which is evidence of its popularity.
This book for the Bible is a unique phenomenon, since it differs noticeably from its other components in the direction of the author’s thoughts. It is hardly possible to single out a book in the Old Testament that would have a greater impact on the minds of readers. And this applies to the centuries that have passed since its writing. Even thinkers who were far from the faith regarded it as a very deep philosophical treatise and repeatedly addressed it.
There is information about the objections of Jewish theologians against the inclusion of the book of Ecclesiastes in the content of the Bible. They directly spoke of the presence of heretical views. The content of the book, written in a poetic vein, is an attempt to answer the question of what is happiness on earth and whether it is possible for man.
Based on a wealth of life experience, the author came to the conclusion that one should be above everything earthly. It is necessary to strive only for the unchanging and eternal, seeking peace and happiness in God. The hustle and bustle of life does not bring happiness and peace, but a look at events from a religious point of view will put everything in its place, "in its own circle," which means it will fill everything that is familiar with a new meaning.