Help me understand older English

gxnn

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The following is from Francis Bacon's "Of Truth":

What is truth; said jesting Pilate; and would not stay for an answer. Certainly there be, that delight in giddiness; and count it a bondage, to fix a belief; affecting free-will in thinking, as well as in acting.

Perhaps the writer used the older version of grammar and punctuation marks? It makes my understanding very difficult because there are so many parts that are missing. I now try to translate it into modern English that I use so that you can see my understanding is right or not.

"Mr. Pilate, half-jokingly asked, "what is truth?", which seemed to be no answer available. But yes, there is an answer, when you are drunk and do not know what you are talking about. And to make others believe you, you need to remember what you have said. But that (the lie or the thing you say) will have some influence on your free thinking and acting."

P.S. I think the title of the essay should be "On Truth" rather than "Of Truth".
 
The following is from Francis Bacon's "Of Truth":

What is truth; said jesting Pilate; and would not stay for an answer. Certainly there be, that delight in giddiness; and count it a bondage, to fix a belief; affecting free-will in thinking, as well as in acting.

Yes, that's not easy to understand for a modern reader.

"What is truth?" - this could be a simple question, but it can also imply a challenge to the idea: "is there really any such thing as truth?"

"Said jesting Pilate" - jesting = joking. Pilate is a figure from the Bible who is famous for denying his responsibilities - he was the governor who had the power to spare the life of a criminal who'd been sentenced to death, but he let the crowd choose for him.

"and would not stay for an answer" - i.e. Pilate didn't wait to hear the answer to his question, implying that he doesn't actually care about the answer.

"Certainly there be, that delight in giddiness; and count it a bondage, to fix a belief" - "certainly there are people who enjoy being frivolous and superficial. For these people, being consistent in their beliefs would feel like being imprisoned."

"affecting free-will in thinking, as well as in acting" - "being free to think whatever they like, in the same way that they are free to do whatever they like".

In modern English, "affecting" usually means to make a difference to something. But in psychology and in older English it can also mean showing a particular mind-set; if I am "affecting distress", it means that I look distressed (whether or not I actually am).

So, putting those all together, Bacon is saying that some people don't take the idea of "truth" seriously.

P.S. I think the title of the essay should be "On Truth" rather than "Of Truth".

Either would be correct here, and would mean the same thing. "Of" can mean "about".
 
Completely not its purpose, but this thread is all kinds of sexy.


You getting a bit of that RAWR tan-tweed-jacket-with-leather-elbows-and-smells-like-Hai-Karate vibe, and sense that...certain je ne sais quoi too, or is it the numerous times 'bacon' is used in the preceding posts that is getting it done for you?


It is getting hawt up in here! :)
 
She threw a chalkboard duster at me once in fit of rage. So no, definitely not English, there was far too much unrestrained emotion in her for that.


Brutal.

She probably didn't let you have pudding either, even when you ate yer meat.
 
She threw a chalkboard duster at me once in fit of rage. So no, definitely not English, there was far too much unrestrained emotion in her for that.

What % of your teachers threw classroom items at you over the years?
 
I never had an English teacher that made Mr Happy stand at attention, but my Algebra teacher always had my undivided attention in every way. Later I had a German professor that was equally motivational (shall we say).
 
The Lustrous One's B-Hole has been behind many a thread derailment before.
 
Today's homework is John Donne's "The Flea".

(My seventh-grade teacher must have been at least seventy, and she made that poem sexy as hell. I think she was born to teach.)
 
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