In vino veritas
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In vino veritas is a well-known Latin phrase. It means “in wine [there is the] truth”. It is also known as a Greek phrase “Ἐν οἴνῳ ἀλήθεια” En oino álétheia, which has the same meaning. The author of the Latin phrase is Pliny the Elder,[1] the Greek phrase is attributed to the Greek poet Alcaeus.
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[edit] Meaning and origin
The phrase suggests that one tends to reveal his true feelings under the influence of alcohol.
The Greek poet Alcaeus is the oldest known source for the phrase. The Roman historian Tacitus described how the Germanic peoples always drank wine while holding councils, as they believed nobody could lie effectively when drunk.
The phrase is often continued as, "In vino veritas, in aqua sanitas," i.e., "In wine there is truth, in water there is health."
Similar phrases exist across cultures and languages. The Babylonian Talmud (תלמוד בבלי) contains the passage: "נכנס יין יצא סוד", i.e., "In came wine, out went a secret". [2]
It continues, "בשלשה דברים אדם ניכר בכוסו ובכיסו ובכעסו", i.e., "In three things is a man revealed: in his wine goblet, in his purse, and in his wrath." [3]
[edit] Christianity
The phrase has been employed in Roman Catholic theology to describe the wine drank at Mass.[citation needed] Catholics believe in transubstantiation and as such believe consecrated wine has become the true blood of Jesus Christ. Also Jesus is considered "the truth", it is with this in mind that St. Thomas Aquinas is said[by whom?] to have muttered when meditating on the Mass- "in vino veritas".[cite this quote]
[edit] In popular culture
- "In vino veritas" is the traditional slogan of the Krewe of Bacchus, an organization in New Orleans which organizes events during Carnival.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Pliny the Elder, Naturalis historia 14, 141
- ^ See Tractate Eruvin 65a (מסכת עירובין, פרק ו, דף סה,א גמרא).
- ^ Id. at 65b (דף סה,ב גמרא).
- ^ http://www.kreweofbacchus.org/html/index.htm
