«THERE IS A WORD THAT LIFTS YOU TO THE MOUNTAINTOP, THERE IS A WORD THAT BRINGS YOU DOWN THE MOUNTAIN»…
«The builder and the destroyer of the world is the tongue» – The word can unite, create or destroy relationships and states…
«There is a word that lifts you to the mountaintop, there is a word that brings you down the mountain».
The word is one of the most powerful instruments of human existence — capable of shaping reality, of influencing people’s thoughts and feelings, of building or destroying relationships, of changing societies.
A rightly chosen word conveys knowledge and emotion, becomes an instrument of social unity and a stimulus for human development.
In the ancient world the art of the word — rhetoric, was one of the most important spheres of education and public life. The orator had to be able to choose, at the right moment, the apt word — with the best effect of its meaning.
Since ancient times the art of rhetoric was one of the most important abilities of the educated person, of the citizen and of the leader, for in public life much was decided by means of the spoken word.
Political life was based on public speech (as in Athens — the political participation of citizens required the gift of speaking in assemblies — to present one’s point of view, to defend a proposal and to answer the opponent’s arguments).
Therefore — the ability to speak was a practical political skill.
Whoever was able to formulate his thought clearly, to substantiate it and to present it convincingly to the public, could have a greater role in public life.
In court a person had to be able to defend himself (it was necessary to present the evidence, to argue, to reason, to answer the accusations and to convince the judges)…
Consequently — oratory was one of the important components of legal and civic education.
A rightly chosen word can explain a complex idea, persuade, inspire, reconcile people and direct their actions. And a careless or wrongly chosen word can give rise to conflict, misunderstanding and even — destroy trust.
For the philosophers, logically reasoned debates with convincing arguments were a means of revealing the truth.
The word is an important instrument of power…
The same word at different times can have a different meaning.
Below — the instructive interpretation of a dream of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, who lived in the 8th century and is often mentioned in eastern tales, where the importance of the manner in which the content of a conveyed thought is presented is emphasized.
«One night Harun al- Rashid, the famous caliph of the Arab world, had a dream.
He ordered the dream-readers and dream-interpreters to present themselves in the morning and interpret it.
In olden times people believed more in dreams and their interpretation. They feared bad dreams — convinced that every dream is information about the future. That was the reason why kings had their own special dream-readers and dream-experts, and when they had a terrifying or a joyful dream, they asked them for the interpretation. Sometimes they even took those interpretations as the basis for their intentions and deeds — undertaking strange affairs. Sometimes cunning dream-readers, taking advantage of this, achieved their own aims.
Harun al – Rashid had noticed many times that the dream-readers said unreliable things. Therefore he did not quite believe what they said and reasoned:
– If dream-reading is a science, then everyone should interpret one dream in the same way, and not each say something different.
He had the habit of telling one dream separately to different dream-experts. If their interpretations were similar, he believed them, but if they were completely different, he believed none of them.
That day too two dream-readers presented themselves. The caliph first received one and told him his dream:
– In my dream my teeth fell out one by one, and not a tooth remained in my mouth. How will you interpret it?
– It is not a good dream. It means that all the caliph’s relatives will die before him.
– A very bad interpretation,- said the caliph, then ordered him to be punished with a hundred lashes of the whip and driven out of the palace.
Then he invited the second dream-reader, told the same dream and ordered him to interpret it.
– This is a good dream. It means that the caliph’s life will be longer than that of all his intimates and relatives: he is longer-lived.
The caliph said:
– It was an astonishingly sweet interpretation,- and ordered that a hundred gold coins be given to him.
Then he summoned the viziers and commanded:
– Go, find the first dream-reader too and console him somehow, give him some gift, since the first interpretation was the same as the second, but his word was bitter. Both said the same thing, but the word of one was bad, and the other’s — good».
«A sweet tongue will draw the snake out of its hole»…
