The Facts on File Dictionary of Allusions - Green Valley High School

parable of the talents Story emphasizing the
belief that all people will be judged at the Last
Judgment according to the life each has led. <strong>The</strong>
parable is related by Christ in Matthew 25:14–30,
which compares the behavior of three servants
after their master entrusts to each a sum of money.
(A talent was originally a mea sure of weight and
later a unit of coinage.) Two of the men invest the
money sensibly, earning a considerable amount of
interest, while the third hides the money in the
ground and returns no more than the sum that was
entrusted to him in the fi rst place. On his return
the master congratulates the two who have used
the money wisely and rebukes the third for doing
nothing with it, the moral being that God- given
opportunities and talents should be faithfully used.
<strong>The</strong>n began the usual secular imitation of the parable of
the talents with each of the candidates being questioned
in detail about their previous employment history.
parable of the wheat and tares Story illustrating
the point that God allows good and evil to coexist.
<strong>The</strong> parable is related in Matthew 13:25–30 and
13:36–43, where workers are told not to remove
tares, or weeds, sown by the enemy. Jesus explains
that the fi eld is the world and the wheat, or “good
seeds,” are the children of the kingdom. <strong>The</strong> enemy
is the dev il, and the weeds are the children of the
evil one. This parable illustrates the point that God
allows good and evil to coexist, although eventually
justice will be done and evil will be destroyed.
“ ‘I hope there will be more wheat and fewer tares
every year,’ said Amy softly” (Louisa May Alcott,
Little Women, 1868–69).
parable of the wise and foolish virgins Story
illustrating the difference between those who are
farsighted and prepared and those who are improvident
and unprepared. This parable, recorded in
the Bible in Matthew 25:1–13, describes the wedding
custom of the day. <strong>The</strong> bridegroom went in
the eve ning to the bride’s home to collect her, followed
by a pro cession to his home, lit by torchbearing
friends. In the story, the bridegroom was
late and the torchbearers, all virgins, fell asleep.
When the groom arrived, fi ve foolish virgins did
not have enough oil to relight their lamps and
went to buy more, later being refused entry to the
celebrations. Five wise virgins were prepared,
however: <strong>The</strong>y had brought extra oil. Jesus
explained that people should be alert and ready
for him when he returns at the end of the age.
“. . . a little food, enough to keep us for three or
four days if necessary, together with some matches
and a good supply of oil, since, as Bastin put it, he
was determined not to be caught like the foolish
virgins in the parable” (H. Rider Haggard, When
the World Shook, 1919).
paradise Heaven or any idyllic place or condition
in which a person’s desires or aspirations are
fully realized. <strong>The</strong> word comes from the Greek
paradeisos, meaning “garden” or “park,” and appears
in the Old Testament in descriptions of the garden
of eden (Genesis 2:8) and in the New Testament
as a synonym for the Christian heaven (Luke
23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4; and Revelation 2:7).
<strong>The</strong> new mall is a paradise for shoppers.
paradise lost A state or place of innocence, perfection,
or happiness that has been irretrievably
lost or is no longer attainable. <strong>The</strong> phrase is usually
associated with the epic poem Paradise Lost
(1667) by the En glish poet John Milton (1608–
74), in which he describes the fall of man and
the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden
of eden. Milton’s version of paradise owed much
to the earlier epic La Semaine (“<strong>The</strong> First Week of
paradise lost
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