22 And I quote:

Just as I said I would, I have this informative bit of research about words to share with you (It’s a real eye-opener) and I quote:

“The ME (Middle English) vocabulary differs from that of OE (Old English) by the accretion of a vast number of words borrowed from other languages and by the consequent loss of many OE words. The process had already commenced during the 10th and 11th centuries . . . Much more impressive, however, are the borrowings of words of Romance origin from the Norman conquerors, more especially during the years after about 1240 when the Norman-French were forced by political circumstances to reconcile themselves to their English neighbors. There is no other period of the language that shows the accession of so many alien, and on the whole, useful words as the period 1250-1450 . . . Some are drawn from the special vocabulary of the church, some from the law, some from medicine, some from the home, some mundane in origin . . . Side by side with these French words, many of which were ultimately of Latin origin, occur direct borrowings from Latin itself . . . most of the Latin words were plainly literary and scholarly borrowings.” (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, p. X)

No sooner had I digested this information than I learned, from the same source, that interlaced with the expansion of vocabulary came advancements in language expression and adaptations in language terms and usage.

My source went on to relate that in the 4th Century A.D., a Latin (referring to the “language of ancient . . . Rome.” Ibid. p. 1025) translation of the Bible from the Hebrew and Greek had been prepared by St. Jerome to serve as the Authorized Version of the Roman Catholic Church. It was called The Latin Vulgate and from what I read, its very existence had mega-waves of impact on the spread of human understanding (once more one of those where-goes-Rome, so-goes-the-world sort of stories, I supposed).

Further reading about the Latin influence on language finally led me to the first specifics about consciousness that I had encountered and explained that consciousness is a Latin term and that that Latin term, consciousness, may be understood as a concept that derives much of its substance from Greek and Hebraic ancient thought while incorporating complexities arising out of the culture, existence and dominance of the Holy Roman Empire (thus substantiating my above supposition).

My reading concluded, I sat back and considered what I had read, and I clearly concluded that though we may speak today of consciousness, in Adam, Moses and Jesus’ time and language, such an exclusive expression as consciousness was not used, no, not until centuries later. Instead, to speak of consciousness in their times was to speak of the whole as a confluence of parts. To speak of the whole today consists of using one term. Reading scripture one understands consciousness from the multitude of images conveyed. To understand the modern day word consciousness, one must go to a dictionary.

Wow, what a difference a few thousand years makes! Perhaps in our time the emphasis in expression has shifted from a focus on rich expression to a focus on brevity. I cannot think how many times I have used the phrase “use more words!” in conversation. Perhaps in our time we do have many more useful words, but they on their own do not offer a wealth of meaning or understanding only of description. Perhaps that is the beauty of God’s scripture, that there (in the original language of Hebrew and Greek) I can always find both meaning and understanding. My thinking! My choice in thought!

Enough for the day. We will speak of what came next in . . . the next blog (now there’s a word—Blog! Not very elegant, but it serves its purpose.).

To be continued . . .