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be vain of earthly honors

English translation: an archaic way of saying,"vain about earthly honours"

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:be vain of earthly honors
Selected answer:an archaic way of saying,"vain about earthly honours"
Entered by: Ana Juliá

19:49 Mar 3, 2004
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Religion
English term or phrase: be vain of earthly honors
None are so apt to be vain of earthly honors as those who, like David, are unexpectedly raised to the possession of them, or who, like Solomon, surpass in majesty all their contemporaries.
Ana Juliá
Spain
Local time: 02:09
an archaic way of saying,"vain about earthly honours"
Explanation:
ie: being proud of, placing a high value on, putting a lot of effort into, and/or perhaps boasting about
honours that are in truth unimportant, and ultimately fruitless / have no value -
they are honoured on earth (by other people, etc), but the text would say not in the real (divine) scheme of things.
Eg: wealth, power over people, praise of courtiers, etc.
Selected response from:

DGK T-I
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:09
Grading comment
Thanks!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +5an archaic way of saying,"vain about earthly honours"
DGK T-I
5 +2vain: of no real value; futile -- honor: public esteem, recognition
Ildiko Santana
3 +1valued spiritual matter more than earthly honor
humbird
2 +1to be seeking earthly honors
RHELLER
4 -1Sie haben von der Umwelt keine besondere Ehre erwartet
trautlady
2 +1to be excessively proud of ones status
Lars Helbig
2to be overly proud of their achievements
Jonathan MacKerron


  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +1
to be seeking earthly honors


Explanation:
this is not proper English but this is my guess

RHELLER
United States
Local time: 18:09
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 44

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  trautlady
5 mins
agree  Vicky Papaprodromou
14 mins
disagree  Ildiko Santana: I agree. Not proper English.
2 hrs
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10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
vain: of no real value; futile -- honor: public esteem, recognition


Explanation:
be vain of...:
1) having no real value (i.e. idle, worthless)
2) marked by futility or ineffectualness (i.e. unsuccessful)

earthly:
1) characteristic of or belonging to this earth; relating to man's actual life on this earth
2) possible (e.g. there is no earthly reason for such behavior)

honor:
1) a good name or public esteem, reputation; a showing of usually merited respect; recognition (e.g. pay honor to our founder)
2) privilege
3) a person of superior standing -- now used especially as a title for a holder of high office
4)one whose worth brings respect or fame; credit (e.g. an honor to the profession)

HTH

Ildiko Santana
United States
Local time: 17:09
Native speaker of: Native in HungarianHungarian, Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  DGK T-I: ~
3 mins
  -> Thanks.
neutral  Armorel Young: Could you please name the source of your definitions? - it would help others to evaluate their reliability.
1 hr
  -> American Heritage / Merriam Websters dictionaries. Sorry.
agree  jebeen
1 day 5 hrs
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11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
Sie haben von der Umwelt keine besondere Ehre erwartet


Explanation:
das scheint einigermassen zu passen

trautlady
United States
Local time: 17:09
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Ana Juliá: In English, please
2 mins
disagree  Ildiko Santana: You missed. By a long shot.
2 hrs
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11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +1
to be excessively proud of ones status


Explanation:
I think it is meant here, that David and Solomon let their political status get to their head.

Lars Helbig
Germany
Local time: 02:09
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  DGK T-I: ~
2 mins
agree  Alexander Demyanov
33 mins
neutral  Ildiko Santana: But they were wrong.
2 hrs
  -> Who was wrong about what?
disagree  jebeen: this sentence is about people of the rank of David and Solomon; not about David and Solomon.
1 day 6 hrs
  -> David and Solomon were given as examples for types of behaviours not types of rank.
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12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
an archaic way of saying,"vain about earthly honours"


Explanation:
ie: being proud of, placing a high value on, putting a lot of effort into, and/or perhaps boasting about
honours that are in truth unimportant, and ultimately fruitless / have no value -
they are honoured on earth (by other people, etc), but the text would say not in the real (divine) scheme of things.
Eg: wealth, power over people, praise of courtiers, etc.


DGK T-I
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:09
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thanks!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Christopher Crockett: Yes, that's it. A very unusual phrase.
11 mins
  -> It is a very unusual phrase :-) Mark Twain uses it in a piece called "Christian Science" 'Vain of trivial things all the first half of her life.....still vain of them at 70...' http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/mtwain/bl-mtwa...
agree  Armorel Young: it's the only interpretation which makes sense in the context
1 hr
  -> In all his majesty,Solomon is made to say:"Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over....
agree  hookmv
2 hrs
  -> ..all my labour wherein I have laboured,and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity"Eccles2-18 What happens to kingdom afterSol's death?Worships idols in old age(vanity from biblical point of view).Even majest.&wisdom=weakness
neutral  Laurel Porter (X): Wouldn't this fit only if the sentence read "None are LESS apt to..."? I don't think Kings David & Solomon were excessively power mad, as kings go.
3 hrs
  -> No -none are so apt to(no one is so likely to,etc).David arranges the death of his faithful commander Uriah - because of his lust for Uriah's wife, for example ~
agree  Margarita
9 hrs
agree  jebeen
1 day 6 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
valued spiritual matter more than earthly honor


Explanation:
Even David, the king of kings of ancient Israel, or Solomon the wisest man mankind of the time ever saw did not value earthly honor (as much as they did spiritual matter). Earthly honors mean wealth, power, fame, etc. The author is emphasizing the value of spirituality. "Vain of" is archaic expression meaning "disregarding", "ignoring", "not ostentatious" or "not so inclined".

humbird
Native speaker of: Native in JapaneseJapanese, Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Laurel Porter (X): One has to keep context and reality in mind. Was Solomon a money-grubbing, power-mad autocrat? No - he disdained earthly honors. Cheers, Susan!
2 hrs
  -> Thank you Laurel, I appreciate your input.
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
to be overly proud of their achievements


Explanation:
like your's truely

Jonathan MacKerron
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 24
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