Begging

• Synonyms

  • Appeal, beseech, crave, implore, plead, pray

• Antonyms

  • Ignoring, denying, refusing, going without, stoical, proud

Situation / characterization

Phrases- ‘a chance went begging’ | ‘I beg to differ’ | ‘It begs the question…’

• Brings to mind the dog that begs for food - thus placing beggars at the bottom of society - no better than a filthy dog.
• Those who beg are cast out, shunned and in Indian society even named ‘untouchables’. There is something of the Leprosy miasm inherent in the life of a beggar - the great unwashed.
• In an era of capitalism, commercialism and materialism, this is the shadow side of the glitter and glamour that is so revered in mainstream Western culture. People begging for food should not be an issue, with plentiful supply from our advanced agricultural methods to harness greater and greater yields from the soil. There is the issue of waste, as well as unfairness.
• We also ‘beg forgiveness’ from God, or from someone we have wronged, where beseeching and pleading are perhaps more apt terms.
• There are some types of begging that are condoned, acknowledging that we are all borne-out of original sin in Religious scripture, having eaten from the tree of knowledge without God’s permission. When we stray far from the path (like a stray dog), we beg to be allowed back into the kingdom of God.
• A 'pleading-type' remedy is Puls., who draws out your compassion - enjoying the soothing reassurances of the doctor.

Opposite expression

• If one were in the situation of extreme poverty but he wouldn’t beg out of a sense of wounded pride (Aurum?), what would be the ramifications? Either starvation, or he’d be driven to an act of desperation such as stealing in order to survive. We are, after all animals, and the need to survive is strong within each of us. If that survival instinct has vanished, then there is serious pathology (or naturally old age).

• One may not beg out of a stoical desire to go it alone - ‘I don’t need anyone to help me’ even when in serious strife - an Arnica-type posture.