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Veritas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, seeVeritas (disambiguation).
Veritas
Goddess of truth
Veritas depicted on thetomb of Pope Alexander VII
Symbolsnudity
Genderfemale
OffspringVirtus
Equivalents
Greek equivalentAletheia(debated)
Statue of Veritas outside theSupreme Court of Canada

Veritas is the name given to theRoman virtueoftruthfulness,which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. The Greek goddess of truth isAletheia(Ancient Greek:Ἀλήθεια). The German philosopherMartin Heideggerargues that the truth represented byaletheia(which essentially means "unconcealment" ) is different from that represented byveritas,which is linked to a Roman understanding of rightness and finally to a Nietzschean sense of justice and awill to power.[1]

InRoman mythology,Veritas(Classical Latin:[ˈweː.rɪ.t̪aːs]), meaning Truth, is theGoddessofTruth,a daughter ofSaturn(calledCronusby the Greeks, theTitanof Time, perhaps first byPlutarch), and the mother ofVirtus.She is also sometimes considered the daughter ofJupiter(calledZeusby the Greeks),[2]or a creation ofPrometheus.[3][4]The elusive goddess is said to have hidden in the bottom of aholy well.[5]She is depicted both as a virgin dressed in white and as the "naked truth" (nuda veritas) holding a hand mirror.[6][7][8]

InWestern culture,the word may also serve as amotto.

Mottos

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ThisLatinwordveritasnow appears in themottosof manycolleges,universitiesand other organizations. It is typically capitalized in mottoes (asVeritas) for being an ideal like Truth, Kindness and Beauty.

Veritasis the motto of:

Additionally, the word appears in mottoes that are phrases or lists, e.g.:

Caldwell CollegeinCaldwell, New Jerseyissues a "Veritas Award" each year in honor of theDominican Sisterswho founded and administer the college.

Howard University,inWashington, D.C.,goes by the mottoVeritas et Utilitas,translated to "Truth and Service", which is also a motto "Truth-Service" ofPayap University,Thailand.

The American communications companyVerizonhas its name derive from the combination of the wordsveritasandhorizon- chosen from 8,500 candidates with $300 million spent on marketing the new brand.[9][10]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^B. Dallery, Arleen; E. Scott, Charles; Roberts, P. Holley (1992).Ethics and Danger: Essays on Heidegger and Continental Thought Issue 17 of Selected studies in phenomenology and existential philosophy.SUNY Press. p. 72.ISBN9780791409831.Retrieved4 October2017.
  2. ^PindarOlympian Ode 10:But come, Muse, you and the daughter of Zeus, unforgettable Truth: with the hand that puts things right, keep from me the blame for lying, for wronging my friend. Approaching from far away, the future has arrived and made me ashamed of my deep debt. Still, payment with interest has a way of dissolving the bitter reproach of men.[1]
  3. ^AesopFables530 (fromPhaedrusAppendix 5):Prometheus,that potter who gave shape to our new generation, decided one day to sculpt a statue of Truth, using all his skill so that she would be able to regulate people's behaviour. As he was working, an unexpected summons from mighty Jupiter called him away. Prometheus left cunning Trickery in charge of his workshop (Trickery had recently become one of the god's apprentices). Fired by ambition, Trickery used the time at his disposal to fashion with his sly fingers a figure of the same size and appearance as Truth with identical features. When he had almost completed the piece, which was truly remarkable, he ran out of clay to use for her feet. The master returned, so Trickery quickly sat down in his seat, quaking with fear. Prometheus was amazed at the similarity of the two statues and wanted it to seem as if all the credit were due to his own skill. Therefore, he put both statues in the kiln and when they had been thoroughly baked, he infused them both with life: sacred Truth walked with measured steps, while her unfinished twin stood stuck in her tracks. That forgery, that product of subterfuge, thus acquired the name of Falsehood, and I readily agree with people who say that she has no feet: every once in a while something that is false can start off successfully, but with time the Truth is sure to prevail.[2]
  4. ^Macey, Samuel L. (2010).Patriarchs of Time: Dualism in Saturn-Cronus, Father Time, the Watchmaker God, and Father Christmas.University of Georgia Press. pp. 34–36.ISBN9780820337975.Retrieved4 October2017.
  5. ^This aphorism is attributedDemocritus:"Of truth we know nothing, for truth is in a well." (Diogenes Laertius.Lives of Eminent Philosophers.IX, 72. Perseus Project, Tufts University.)
  6. ^Mercatante, Anthony S.The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend.Facts on File, 1988, p. 654,ISBN0-8160-1049-8.
  7. ^Warner, Marina (1985).Monuments and Maidens: The Allegory of the Female Form.Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 315.ISBN0520227336.
  8. ^Goscilo, Helena (June 1, 2010)."The Mirror in Art: Vanitas, Veritas, and Vision".Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature.34(2): 282–319.doi:10.4148/2334-4415.1733.Retrieved2018-09-26.
  9. ^"Verizon p;— Investor Relations — Company Profile — Corporate History".Archivedfrom the original on November 24, 2011.RetrievedSeptember 14,2011.
  10. ^Culp, Bryan (January 1, 2001)."Playing the Name Game Again".marketingprofs.com.Archivedfrom the original on March 18, 2014.RetrievedNovember 27,2013.
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