Post by eye2i2hear on May 21, 2007 12:36:15 GMT -5
** caveat: long post alert! **You can tell me if this is a stretch or if it is indeed, instructive.
The State is religion: gleaning from an etymology romp (or connect the dots?)
note: for closing conclusion consideration, take note of the number of times Latin origins occur.
religion:
c.1200, "state of life bound by monastic vows," also "conduct indicating a belief in a divine power," from Anglo-Fr. religiun (11c.), from O.Fr. religion "religious community," from L. religionem (nom. religio) "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods," in L.L. "monastic life" (5c.); according to Cicero, derived from relegare "go through again, read again," from re- "again" + legere "read" (see lecture). However, popular etymology among the later ancients (and many modern writers) connects it with religare "to bind fast" (see rely), via notion of "place an obligation on," or "bond between humans and gods." Another possible origin is religiens "careful," opposite of negligens. Meaning "particular system of faith" is recorded from c.1300.
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Modern sense of "recognition of, obedience to, and worship of a higher, unseen power" is from 1535.
legion:
c.1205, from O.Fr. legion "Roman legion" (3,000 to 6,000 men, under Marius usually with attached cavalry), from L. legionem (nom. legio) "body of soldiers," from legere "to choose, gather," also "to read" (see lecture). American Legion, U.S. association of ex-servicemen, founded in 1919; Foreign Legion is Fr. légion étrangère "body of foreign volunteers in a modern army,".
lecture: (n.)
1398, "action of reading, that which is read," from M.L. lectura "a reading, lecture," from L. lectus, pp. of legere "to read," originally "to gather, collect, pick out, choose" (cf. election), from PIE *leg- "to pick together, gather, collect" (cf. Gk. legein "to say, tell, speak, declare," originally, in Homer, "to pick out, select, collect, enumerate;" lexis "speech, diction;" logos "word, speech, thought, account;" L. lignum "wood, firewood," lit. “that which is gathered”). To read is to "pick out words." Meaning "action of reading (a lesson) aloud" is from 1526. That of "a discourse on a given subject before an audience for purposes of instruction" is from 1536. The verb is attested from 1590.
divine: (v.)
"to conjure, to guess," originally "to make out by supernatural insight," early 14c., from L. divinus (see divine (adj.)), which also meant "soothsayer." Hence, divination (c.1374), from O.Fr., from L. divinationem (nom. divinatio) "the power of foreseeing, prediction," from divinatus, pp. of divinare, lit. "to be inspired by a god."
divine: (adj.)
c.1305 (implied in divinity), from O.Fr. devin, from L. divinus "of a god," from divus "a god," related to deus "god, deity," from PIE *deiwos, also the root of words for "sky" and "day." The god-sense is originally "shining," but "whether as originally sun-god or as lightener" is not now clear.
god:
O.E. god "supreme being, deity," from P.Gmc. *guthan (cf. Du. god, Ger. Gott, O.N. guð, Goth. guþ), from PIE *ghut- "that which is invoked" (cf. Skt. huta- "invoked," an epithet of Indra), from root *gheu(e)- "to call, invoke." But some trace it to PIE *ghu-to- "poured," from root *gheu- "to pour, pour a libation" (source of Gk. khein "to pour," khoane "funnel" and khymos "juice;" also in the phrase khute gaia "poured earth," referring to a burial mound)...
Not related to good. Originally neut. in Gmc., the gender shifted to masc. after the coming of Christianity. O.E. god was probably closer in sense to L. numen. A better word to translate deus might have been P.Gmc. *ansuz, but this was only used of the highest deities in the Gmc. religion, and not of foreign gods, and it was never used of the Christian God. It survives in Eng. mainly in the personal names beginning in Os-.
deity:
c.1300, from O.Fr. deite, from L.L. deitatem (nom. deitas) "divine nature," coined by Augustine from L. deus "god," from PIE *deiwos (see Zeus).
monastic:
c.1449, from M.Fr. monastique, from L.L. monasticus, from Late Gk. monastikos "solitary, pertaining to a monk," from Gk. monazein "to live alone."
And from a Governmental perspective or link, regarding historical origin, I find this interesting (even the tid-bit of background I'll paste as well):
From the earliest times of the Roman Republic until the fifth to fourth centuries BC, the Roman economy functioned on a system of barter in which cattle were used as a means of exchange. Around the fifth century BC or even earlier lumps of bronze called Aes Rude came to be used as money since they could be used to produce tools and weapons. The lumps consisted mostly of copper with a small amount of tin. These lumps of bronze eventually graduated to bars of cast bronze known as Aes Signatum and cast coins called Aes Grave which date from about 269 BC. These pieces (at times weighing almost a pound!) were cast in a two-piece mold made of either steatite or baked clay inlaid with some form of carbon to produce a smooth surface.
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The Romans no doubt found these large pieces of bronze cumbersome and inefficient to use. Thus, during the mid-third century BC, Roman moneyers were obligated to develop a new coinage that would accommodate for the complexity of the growing Roman economy. Since the Greeks had been experienced in producing coinage since the seventh century BC, the Romans brought Greek workers from the mints of Southern Italy (also known as Magna Graecia or “Great Greece”) to develop a silver currency.
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During the Roman Empire the issue of coins was divided between the emperor and the Senate with the emperor striking gold and silver coinage and the Senate striking bronze coinage marked by the legend Senatus Consulto, “by decree of the Senate.”
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The obverse of imperial coins were monopolized by portraits of the emperor or members of the imperial family. The portrait was usually accompanied by the emperor’s name, or a portion of it, and various titles indicating civil and military distinctions. Some of the most common of these titles and their meanings are:
AVG = Augustus- The Senate and Roman people conferred this title on Octavian, the emperor Augustus, in 27 BC as an acknowledgment of the services he had rendered to the state. The epithet, which signifies “revered” or “worthy of veneration” chosen for its dignified but vague significance, became attached to the first emperor, and after him became the title of sovereignty.
CAESAR (often abbreviated C, CAE, or CAES)- originally the surname of Julius Caesar and of his adopted son Octavianus, it continued to be the hereditary name of the Julio-Claudians being transferred to the sons or adopted sons of a Caesar. For example Tiberius was adopted by Augustus and Germanicus by Tiberius; both men then held the name “Caesar.” After the reign of Nero, the last of the Julio-Claudian emperors, emperors adopted the name of Caesar as well as Augustus as honorific and distinguishing titles although they were not descendants of Julius Caesar and Augustus. Around the time of the emperor Antoninus Pius (AD 137-161), the name Caesar became a title of secondary rank being bestowed upon the sons and heirs of the emperor. Eventually during the reign of Diocletian (AD 284-305), two Caesars were appointed as subordinates to the two Augusti (emperors) and assisted them in governing the empire.
DIVVS, DIVA (feminine), and DIVOS- Divine, the mark of consecration. This title indicates that the coin was minted after the person’s apotheosis, or deification, and therefore after death. The pagan right of apotheosis [deification] involved voting to place a man or woman among the deities. After the apotheosis of Julius Caesar, the coinage of Augustus, Caesar’s adopted son and heir, bears the inscription Divi Filius, Son of the Divine One, indicating Augustus’ right to succeed, and his filial connection to a deity. The wives of emperors were often deified after death, the first being Livia, wife of Augustus. Augustus himself was treated as a deity during his lifetime, but actual apotheosis occurred after death. Many emperors were deified because of the positive nature of their reigns; some of their successors merely endorse their own right to rule; some, like Tiberius, considered unworthy of the honor, were never deified.
PIVS- Nearly all Roman emperors from the time of Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161) assumed this venerable epithet, which means pious and dutiful.
P M (Pontifex Maximus)- Title of the official head of the Roman religion. The office was accepted by Augustus in 12 BC and was regularly bestowed on subsequent emperors. It carried with it great distinction and reverence, since the Roman religion held an integral role in the functioning of the Roman state.
--Introduction to Roman Coins, The Museum of Antiquities website
conclusion:
The word religion, rather than being exclusively associated with a "supernatural", spiritual-only non-empirical being ("God"), validated by its root word origins, applies to any belief system whereby its adherent is willing to both live and give their life for it?
Today's parallel "monastic" (pop) parallel terms: patriot, nationalist, citizen.
Nationalism them paralleling "borders" creating "monastic"?
Constitutions and legislation then paralleling "lecture"?
And Constitutions and legislature and citizenship thereof paralleling religion's "to bind fast" and "to place an obligation upon"?
And compare "courts" of The Honorable Judges and Prosecutors (The U.S. Bar) versus lowly "defendant citizens" with religion's "bond between humans and gods"? [bail bonds?!]
Compare "religion" etymologically as "re-legion" via "legion" above, then with U.S. citizenship "Nationalization" and pledge of allegiance/duty/to serve?
allegiance
1399, from Anglo-Fr. legaunce "loyalty of a liege-man to his lord," from O.Fr. legeance, from liege (see liege); erroneously associated with L. ligare "to bind;"
lord:
M.E. laverd, loverd (13c.), from O.E. hlaford "master of a household, ruler, superior," also "God" (translating L. Dominus, though O.E. drihten was used more often), earlier hlafweard, lit. "one who guards the loaves," from hlaf "bread, loaf" + weard "keeper, guardian, ward."
[and pop lingo calls money what today?? "bread"! the lords aka The State keeps the bread...?] ;D
note: "Latin remained the main written language of the Roman Empire..." --Wikipedia
source of etymology definitions: The Online Etymology Dictionary
[or see option "B"