St. Thomas Aquinas once quipped, “Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder.” Aquinas’ romantic approach to awe stands in stark contrast to its origins. For our purposes we will be looking at the word awesome (the suffix makes the word mean: a quality of awe). While the term awesome was first recorded in 1598,[1] there is an equivalent that was used during the writings of Homer and Plato called epainos, meaning dread.[2] Biblical writings started to put some positive connotations back into awesome. During this period the word added the element of veneration (directed at the Supreme Being, God).[3] In 1980 the word changed again, as it became a colloquialism meaning excellent. Today, it is commonly associated with power, and can be either positive or negative.[4]
Homer and Plato both utilized the term epinos in their writings. In Homer’s The Illiad Meleager’s mother is praying to the gods, calling on Hades and epinos (translated to mean dread) Persephone.[5] Plato references epinos in Laches as Lysimachus is congratulating Socrates on his reputation. In this instance, however, epinos is used to mean praise.[6] This could mean one of two things: either Plato was a very forward thinker, or the term had polarizing meanings during the time of the Greeks.
Today, awe/awesome has taken a turn back to its Greek origins. The war in Iraq has resulted in several new expressions being developed to describe military strategies and stances. During the first Iraq war, the phrase “shock and awe” was used to describe a method of coercing people, either physically or psychologically, to do what you want. This thinking is modeled off of Sun Tzu and Karl von Clausewitz and hopes to strike dread or epinos in enemies without actually having to go to war. In essence it is a form of diplomacy.[7]
As you can see awe/awesome have become contextual words. Perhaps Anthony Robbins was correct when he said, “Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Human beings have the awesome ability to take any experience of their lives and create a meaning that disempowers them or one that can literally save their lives.” The word awesome has the ability to give power or take it away, depending on how it is used.
[1] Online Entomology Dictionary (2001) Douglas Harper
[2] Crane, G.R., Perseus Project (2007)
[3] Online Entomology Dictionary (2001) Douglas Harper
[4] A Google Scholar search of “awesome power” resulted in the phrase being used in the titles of 44 books, articles, and papers.
[5] Homer (1924). The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd.
[6] Plato (1955). Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 8 translated by W.R.M. Lamb. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd.
[7] Ullman, H. (2007). “Origins of Shock and Awe.” United Press International May, 16.
1 comment:
I appreciate the excavation of awesome as both positive and negative. I think a key observation is that awesome is certainly not singular in this modern turbulance of meaning. To quote Wicked:
"A man's called a traitor - or liberator
A rich man's a thief - or philanthropist
Is one a crusader - or ruthless invader?
It's all in which label
Is able to persist
There are precious few at ease
With moral ambiguities
So we act as though they don't exist"
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