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Writer's pictureMandy Brooke Green

Oh Say What is Truth?


A.“ἀλαθεία_B.12.204); “ἀλάθεαAlc.57, Theoc.29.1 is neut. pl. of ἀλα_θής; Ep. (and Farly Att. acc. to Hdn.Gr.2.454) ἀληθεία_; Ion. ἀληθείη :

I. truth, opp. lie or mere appearance:

1. in Hom. only opp. a lie, freq. in phrase “ἀληθείην καταλέξαιIl.24.407,al.; “. ἀποειπεῖν23.361; παιδὸς πᾶσαν . μυθεῖσθαι to tell whole truth about the lad, Od.11.507; “ἀλάθει᾽ ἀτρεκήςPi.N.5.17, cf. B. l.c.; prov., οἶνος καὶ . `in vino veritas', Alc.l.c., etc.; “ἁπλᾶ γάρἐστι τῆς . ἔπηA.Fr.176, cf. E.Ph.469; “χρᾶσθαι τῇ .” Hdt.1.116; “εἰπεῖν τὴν .” Id.6.69; “ . περί τινοςTh.4.122, S. Tr.91; . ἔχεινto be true, Arist.Pol.1281a42: pl., “ταῖς . χρῆσθαιIsoc.9.5; “τὰς . λέγεινMen.87,925; “τὰς . ἀκοῦσαι τῶν γενομένωνAlcid.Od.13:—Ἀλήθεια or περὶ Ἀληθείας, title of works by Protag., Pl.Tht.161c, Cra.391c; by Antipho Soph., FOxy.1364, cf. Hermog. Id.2.11, etc.

2. after Hom. also truth, reality, opp. appearance, “σὺν ἀλαθείᾳ καλῶνB.3.96; “ . τῶν πραχθέντωνAntipho 2.4.1; “τῶν ἔργων .” Th.2.41; “μιμήματα ἀληθείαςPl.Plt.300c:— in adverb. usages, τῇ .in very truth, Th.4.120, etc.; “ταῖς .” Isoc.15.283, cf. Philem.130, Plb.10.40.5, Babr.75.20; rarely (without the Art.) “ἀληθείᾳPl.Prt.343d:—with Preps., “ἐν τῇ .” Pl.La.183d; ἐπὶ τῆς ἀληθείαςκαὶ τοῦ πράγματος in truth and reality, D.21.72; ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείᾳ for the sake of truth, A.Supp. 628, Ar.Pl.891; also, according to truth and nature, Theoc.7.44:—“μετ᾽ ἀληθείαςX.Mem.2.1.27, D.2.4:— “κατὰτὴν .” Isoc.1.2.46, etc.; “κατ᾽ ἀλήθειονArist.Pol.1278b33, etc.:— “ξὺν ἀληθείᾳA.Ag.1567:—“πρὸς ἀλήθειανD.S.5.67, etc.

3. real war, opp. exercise or parade, Plb.10.20.4,al.; “ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς τῆς.” Id.1.21.3.

4. true event, realization of dream or omen, Hdt.3.64, Damonap.Sch.Ar.Pl.1003.

II. of persons, truthfulness, sincerity, Hdt. 1.55; “ἀλαθείᾳ φρενῶνA.Ag.1550, cf. Pl.R.331c, Arist.EN1108a20.

III. *)a. personified, Emp.1, Parm.1.29, etc.

IV. symbol of truth, jewel worn by Egyptian high-priest, D.S.1.48,75, Ael. VH14.34: of the Thummim, LXX Le.8.8.


A.forgetting, forgetfulness, personified in Hes. Th.227; “μηδέ σε λήθη αἱρείτωIl.2.33; [“Περσεφόνη] βροτοῖς παρέχει λήθην, βλάπτουσα νόοιοThgn.705; “κακοῦ λ.” S.Ph.878, cf.E.Ba.282, Or.213; λήθην ποιεύμενος τά μιν ἐόργεεforgetting . . , Hdt.1.127; “λ. ποιεῖν τινοςS.Fr.259; “Λήθην . . κωφήν, ἄναυδονId.Fr.670; “χρόνος πάντα . . ἐς λ. ἄγειId.Fr.954; “τῶν ἰδίων λ. λαβώνTimocl.6.5, cf. Phld. Rh.1.254 S.; “τῶν αὑτοῦ κακῶν ἐπάγεσθαι λ.” Men.467; “παρέχεινPl. Phdr.275a; “ἐμποιεῖνId.Phlb.63e; “λήθην ἐμποιῆσαι τῶνπεπραγμένωνIsoc.1.8; “εἰς λήθην ἐμβαλεῖν τιναAeschin.3.205; λήθηλαμβάνει, ἔχει τινά, Th.2.49, D.18.283; “λήθη τινὸς ἐγγίγνεταί τινιX.Mem.1.2.21; εἰς λ. ἀφιγμένα forgotten, Phld.Ir.p.19 W.

II. after Hom., of a place of oblivion in the lower world, “Λήθης δόμοιSimon.184.6; “τὸ Λήθης πεδίονAr.Ra.186; “τὸ τῆς Λ. π.” Pl.R.621a, D.H.8.52; “Λ. ὕδωρLuc.DMort.13.6, Paus.9.39.8, Aesop.168; also, τῆςΛήθης ποταμός, of the river Λιμαίας in Lusitania, Str.3.3.4, 5, cf. App.Hisp.73 (71). (Λήθη as pr. n. of a river is not found.)

Henry George Liddell. Robert Scott. A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by. Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1940.


“One of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism is to receive truth, let it come from where it may.”Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 5:499


“I advise all to go on to perfection, and search deeper and deeper into the mysteries of Godliness.” Joseph Smith, Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 364


9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. Article of Faith 9

“How can we have freedom of religion if we are not free to compare honestly, to choose wisely, and to worship according to the dictates of our own conscience? While searching for the truth, we must be free to change our mind—even to change our religion—in response to new information and inspiration… One’s religion is not imposed by others. It is not predetermined. It is a very personal and sacred choice, nestled at the very core of human dignity.”-Russell M. Nelson, “Freedom to Do and Be”, International Scientific and Practical Conference, “Religious Freedom: Transition and Globalization”


Job 32:8
SURELY, there is a spirit in man and the breath of Shaddai gives them understanding.
My translation

D&C 93:39

And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers.

1 Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;


11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.



23:13: "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom from heaven in people's faces. You don't go in yourselves, and you don't allow those who are trying to enter to go in.


23"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

International Standard Version


TS ELLiot Poem
With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this Calling
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
~ T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding

"Every mind must

make its choice between

truth and repose.

It cannot have both.

Ralph Waldo Emmerson


The truth is alwavs
the strongest argument.
- Sophocles

"In a time of deceit,
telling the truth is
a revolutionary act."
George Orwell

Better to be slapped with the truth than kissed with a lie. Russian Proverb


The pursuit of truth is the only pursuit worthy of a hero. Giordiano Bruno


1. Oh say, what is truth? ’Tis the fairest gem

That the riches of worlds can produce,

And priceless the value of truth will be when

The proud monarch’s costliest diadem

Is counted but dross and refuse.

2. Yes, say, what is truth? ’Tis the brightest prize

To which mortals or Gods can aspire.

Go search in the depths where it glittering lies,

Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies:

’Tis an aim for the noblest desire.

3. The sceptre may fall from the despot’s grasp

When with winds of stern justice he copes.

But the pillar of truth will endure to the last,

And its firm-rooted bulwarks outstand the rude blast

And the wreck of the fell tyrant’s hopes.

4. Then say, what is truth? ’Tis the last and the first,

For the limits of time it steps o’er.

Tho the heavens depart and the earth’s fountains burst,

Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst,

Eternal, unchanged, evermore.


Written By: John Jaques



CROSSFIRE

And we're caught up in the crossfire

Of Heaven and Hell

And we're searching for shelter


Tell the devil that he can go back from where he came

And when the hardest part is over we'll be here

And our dreams will break the boundaries of our fears

Boundaries of our fears

Songwriters: Brandon Flowers

Crossfire lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group


religion (n.)

c. 1200, religioun, "state of life bound by monastic vows," also "action or conduct indicating a belief in a divine power and reverence for and desire to please it," from Anglo-French religiun (11c.), Old French religion, relegion "piety, devotion; religious community," and directly from Latin religionem(nominative religio) "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods; conscientiousness, sense of right, moral obligation; fear of the gods; divine service, religious observance; a religion, a faith, a mode of worship, cult; sanctity, holiness," in Late Latin "monastic life" (5c.).

This noun of action was derived by Cicero from relegere "go through again" (in reading or in thought), from re- "again" (see re-) + legere "read" (see lecture (n.)). However, popular etymology among the later ancients (Servius, Lactantius, Augustine) and the interpretation of many modern writers connects it with religare "to bind fast" (see rely), via the notion of "place an obligation on," or "bond between humans and gods." In that case, the re- would be intensive. Another possible origin is religiens "careful," opposite of negligens.

In English, the meaning "particular system of faith in the worship of a divine being or beings" is by c. 1300; the sense of "recognition of and allegiance in manner of life (perceived as justly due) to a higher, unseen power or powers" is from 1530s.


word-forming element meaning "back, back from, back to the original place;" also "again, anew, once more," also conveying the notion of "undoing" or "backward," etc. (see sense evolution below), c. 1200, from Old French re- and directly from Latin re- an inseparable prefix meaning "again; back; anew, against."

Watkins (2000) describes this as a "Latin combining form conceivably from Indo-European *wret-, metathetical variant of *wert- "to turn." De Vaan says the "only acceptable etymology" for it is a 2004 explanation which reconstructs a root in PIE *ure "back."

In earliest Latin the prefix became red- before vowels and h-, a form preserved in redact, redeem, redolent, redundant, redintegrate, and, in disguise, render (v.). In some English words from French and Italian re- appears as ra- and the following consonant is often doubled (see rally (v.1)).

The many meanings in the notion of "back" give re- its broad sense-range: "a turning back; opposition; restoration to a former state; "transition to an opposite state." From the extended senses in "again," re- becomes "repetition of an action," and in this sense it is extremely common as a formative element in English, applicable to any verb. OED writes that it is "impossible to attempt a complete record of all the forms resulting from its use," and adds that "The number of these is practically infinite ...."

Often merely intensive, and in many of the older borrowings from French and Latin the precise sense of re- is forgotten, lost in secondary senses, or weakened beyond recognition, so that it has no apparent semantic content (receive, recommend, recover, reduce, recreate, refer, religion, remain, request, require). There seem to have been more such words in Middle English than after, e.g. recomfort (v.) "to comfort, console; encourage;" recourse (n.) "a process, way, course." Recover in Middle English also could mean "obtain, win" (happiness, a kingdom, etc.) with no notion of getting something back, also "gain the upper hand, overcome; arrive at;" also consider the legal sense of recovery as "obtain (property) by judgment or legal proceedings."

And, due to sound changes and accent shifts, re- sometimes entirely loses its identity as a prefix (rebel, relic, remnant, restive, rest (n.2) "remainder," rally (v.1) "bring together"). In a few words it is reduced to r-, as in ransom (a doublet of redemption), rampart, etc.

It was used from Middle English in forming words from Germanic as well as Latin elements (rebuild, refill, reset, rewrite), and was used so even in Old French (regret, regard, reward, etc.).

Prefixed to a word beginning with e, re- is separated by a hyphen, as re-establish, re-estate, re-edify, etc. ; or else the second e has a dieresis over it: as, reëstablish, reëmbark, etc. The hyphen is also sometimes used to bring out emphatically the sense of repetition or iteration : as, sung and re-sung. The dieresis is not used over other vowels than e when re is prefixed : thus, reinforce, reunite, reabolish. [Century Dictionary, 1895]

c. 1300, "written works, literature;" late 14c., "learning from books," from Medieval Latin lectura"a reading," from Latin lectus, past participle of legere "to read," originally "to gather, collect, pick out, choose" (compare elect), from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "to speak (to 'pick out words')." Thus to read is, perhaps, etymologically, to "pick out words."

The sense of "a reading aloud, action of reading aloud" (either in divine worship or to students) in English emerged early 15c. That of "a discourse on a given subject before an audience for purposes of instruction" is from 1530s. Meaning "admonitory speech given with a view to reproof or correction" is from c. 1600. Lecture-room is from 1793; lecture-hall from 1832. In Greek the words still had the double senses relating to "to speak" and "to gather" (apologos "a story, tale, fable;" elaiologos "an olive gatherer").



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