Veritas was theRoman virtue oftruthfulness, which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. The German philosopherMartin Heidegger argues 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.[8]
ThisLatin wordveritas now appears in themottos of manycolleges,universities and other organizations. It is typically capitalized in mottoes (asVeritas) for being an ideal like Truth, Kindness and Beauty.
The American communications companyVerizon derives its name from the combination of the wordsveritas andhorizon - chosen from 8,500 candidates with $300 million spent on marketing the new brand.[9][10]
^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]
^AesopFables 530 (fromPhaedrus Appendix 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]
^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.)
^Mercatante, Anthony S.The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend. Facts on File, 1988, p. 654,ISBN0-8160-1049-8.
^Warner, Marina (1985).Monuments and Maidens: The Allegory of the Female Form. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 315.ISBN0520227336.
^Culp, Bryan (January 1, 2001)."Playing the Name Game Again".marketingprofs.com.Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. RetrievedNovember 27, 2013.
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