由字面意“把刀劍打磨成犁頭”,我們可看出俗語中的“sword”(劍)代指“戰(zhàn)爭”,而“plowshares”(犁頭)則喻指“和平”。
“Beat your swords into plowshares”源于《圣經(jīng)·舊約·以賽亞書》第2章第4節(jié):“And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”意思是,大家要將刀劍打成犁頭,把長矛制成鐮刀,各國從此和平相處,不再打仗。
呵呵,照此典故推理,如果哪天布什愿意“beat their swords into plowshares”(化干戈為玉帛),說不定用來轟炸伊拉克的戰(zhàn)斗機也能有更好的用武之地,被改制成民航客機造福為民呢。
看下面的例句:The prime minister would like them to beat their swords into plowshares and abandon all plans for war.(該國首相希望雙方能夠化干戈為玉帛,放棄所有的戰(zhàn)爭計劃。)