λάθε βιώσας

reesetee Pro: Geez, how do I know? It's Greek to me.

Well, someone had to say it....

But really, I thought I'd seen another Greek phrase in the Top 10, but I wouldn't begin to know which one. Jun 3, 2009

rolig Greek-out is Milo's description, for the record. But I'll be happy to tag this page as such. Jun 3, 2009

milosrdenstvi not at all, not at all :) Jun 3, 2009

chained_bear I admit this is all very much over my head but nevertheless fascinating. I just wanted to know if Milos would be offended if someone (AHEM, rolig) were to coin the tag Greek-out to mark pages containing this type of conversation. (So we can find them again.)
:) Jun 3, 2009

rolig I hesitate to comment further on this motto, thus contributing to its rise to the top of the list, which would be ironic, to say the least. Jun 3, 2009

Prolagus Really?! Which ones, reesetee? Jun 3, 2009

reesetee Surely this isn't the first time, Pro? I could swear I'd seen other Greek entries in the Top 10.... Jun 3, 2009

milosrdenstvi α�?τὸν ακουόντων πε�?ὶ τῆς Ελλήνικης! (Let's hear it for Greek!)

*catches fufluns*

By Dionysus! Jun 3, 2009

rolig Yay! Let's hear it for multialphabeticalism! Jun 3, 2009

Prolagus And for the first time, a Greek entry enters the most commented top 10! Jun 3, 2009

Prolagus Milosrdenstvi: I copied one of the usual English adaptations of the motto. My Greek teachers would have appreciated that I provided a more literal translation, so thank you for pointing it out.
*Tosses fufluns at Milos* Jun 3, 2009

rolig Thanks, Kind-Heartedness! I enjoy your Greek-outs. I have come across (maybe in Heidegger?) the notion of truth as "unconcealedness", and it is interesting, and seems psychologically right, to think of truth as the "opposite" of forgetting. Jun 2, 2009

milosrdenstvi Yes. λάθε is the aorist imperative of the root verb λανθάνω. The original meaning of λανθάνω seems to be "to escape the notice of", which is a fascinating meaning for a verb. But it also generally has to do with becoming unknown, unseen, hiding, obscuring, and forgetting -- this last of which is where λήθη comes in, a derived noun meaning a forgetting or forgetfulness. As a proper noun Λήθη it is Lethe, the river in the underworld from which spirits drink and forget their mortal lives.

One of the greatest debates among Greek scholars is concerning the word ἀλήθεια, the adjective meaning Truth. In Greek the prefix α- is a privative, or sometimes opposition or negation; however, not all words beginning with α- are privatives. The debate is whether ἀλήθεια is in fact ἀ-λήθεια - making truth a lack of hiddenness.

In essence there really isn't enough data to make a firm statement either way. It would be a fascinating derivation if it were true, and in fact many Greek philosophers writing long after the development of the language assert it as a folk etymology. In the meantime it remains as a dissertation topic for aspiring Ph.D. students everywhere.

*end Greek out* Jun 2, 2009

rolig Just curious: is láthe related to Lethe, the river of oblivion? Jun 2, 2009

milosrdenstvi The imperative is actually on the other word - so a more accurate translation would be "Obscure your life." Jun 2, 2009

rolig Uav! I like this. Jun 2, 2009

Prolagus "Live in obscurity". Epicurean motto. Nov 9, 2008