Walk over the treasure

Meaning

Walking over the hidden good is the verse’s strongest image of undervaluation. People have it before their eyes and at hand, yet esteem it so little that they pass over it. The movement is therefore explained by ignorance and contempt, not necessarily a literal location on a particular road. The English “walk over it” preserves the physical image while the surrounding contrast identifies the point: what appears negligible is proclaimed the earth’s greatest treasure. The phrase cannot by itself locate or identify the matter, since recognition and the mediating word remain necessary in the verse’s conclusion.