3/09/2004 07:25:00 PM|||Andrew|||Another anecdote from my Bible as Lit class, this one entirely unconnected to anything Biblical or Literary. My prof went off on a rant about the word "very," saying that it betrayed nervous anxiety. For instance, one might say to one's beloved, "You are beautiful." All well and good, yes? But to insert a "very," like so, "You are very beautiful," seems to suggest that the speaker feels that "beautiful" itself remains unconvincing. Or perhaps it would be convincing as it is, but the speaker says "very" to convince merely himself.

I'm not sure if I buy that entirely, but it seems to me to have elements of truth. I was reminded of the admonition of Jesus in his sermon on the mount. Jesus says (and I'm paraphrasing here) not to swear oaths, but to simply let your Yes be Yes and your No, No. I think the same principle in operation. Who is it that swears oaths (by heaven or the earth, or on "the precious")? It is those who do not trust themselves to keep to a simple Yes or a simple No? Who is it that you might demand an oath from? Is it not when, as when Frodo addresses Gollum, you do not trust the one giving the oath? An oath is meant to be an extra binding beyond a Yes or No. In the same way, perhaps, very binds the speaker to what he or she says all the more.

Some interesting thoughts, at the least.|||107888912342348730|||