Pelagic

[Grogie]

Relating to or occurring or living in the ocean.

[Apoclima]

Great word!

ar·chi·pel·a·go (är'kə-pĕl'ə-gō') pronunciation
n., pl. -goes or -gos.

1. A large group of islands: the Philippine archipelago.
2. A sea, such as the Aegean, containing a large number of scattered islands.

[Italian Arcipelago, the Aegean Sea, alteration (influenced by arci-, chief, archi-) of Medieval Latin Ēgēopelagus : Latin Aegaeus, Ēgēus, Aegean (from Greek Aigaios) + Latin pelagus, sea (from Greek pelagos).]

Hey, portokalos, do you think that πελαγος is related to πελεκαν?

Απο

[Flaminius]

Or to the tribe of Pelasgoi?

[portokalos]

I don't know. i have πελαγώσει.See you next week

[M. Henri Day]

There is, as might be expected, a plethora of ocean-related words ; pelagic refers more specifically to those living in open oceans or seas rather than waters adjacent to land or inland waters. It seems to derive from an Indoeuropean root meaning flat....

Henri

[gailr]

Although not derivitive, this word brings to my mind the Pelagian heresy, with Pelagius swimming in a sea of dogmatic controversy.
-gailr

[M. Henri Day]

Thanks for the link, gailr ! After reading the discussion, my first thought was - think, that life and death (and torture as well) used to hang upon (what one said were) one's views on such matters ! Certainly exemplifies the wisdom of keeping Church and State separate....

Henri

[portokalos]

[M. Henri Day]

... Can all the people wear the same trouser?

Probably not. For that precisely that reason, the authors of the US Constitution (that was the context in which I was writing) - with the help of a pointed reminder by Thomas Jefferson - decided that religion (whether to believe in the supernatural or not, and if so, what to believe and in what sort of cult to enshrine that belief) is best left to private decision. Otherwise, by attempting to regulate belief, the state attempts, in your metaphor, to make all wear the same trousers. For an example that may be closer to home for you, portokalos, than that of so young a country as the United States, consider the history of the Greek Church, with its long list of doctrinal struggles related to Arianism, Nestorianism, monophysitism, iconoclasism, etc, etc, which also show the difficulties in trying to make everybody wear those same trousers. For those who believe in an Intelligence greater than that vouchsafed to humankind, the (to me, at least) obvious conclusion must be that our attempts to interpret that Intelligence must be fallible and limited. Given this fact, we should let everybody choose their own trousers, or indeed, if they prefer, to wear shorts instead....

Life and death is too important realities to give them to viuses of people.God gave us mind.

I have some difficulty in understanding what you mean by «give them to the viuses (sic) of people». If you can elucidate further, I shall attempt to respond....

Henri

[Apoclima]

Not to speak for him, but I think that portokalos meant:

"Life and Death are too important to leave to the (various) views (or opinions) of individuals, and that the Church should be the sole and faithful guide in such matters."

Am I close, portokalos? If, not, I apologize.

Henri:

the authors of the US Constitution (that was the context in which I was writing) - with the help of a pointed reminder by Thomas Jefferson - decided that religion (whether to believe in the supernatural or not, and if so, what to believe and in what sort of cult to enshrine that belief) is best left to private decision. Otherwise, by attempting to regulate belief, the state attempts, in your metaphor, to make all wear the same trousers.

Just for clarification, the "what to believe" was left to the individual only in the sense that the different states were free to have a "state religion" or not!

In American constitutional law, the section of the First Amendment concerning religion is generally divided into two clauses: the Establishment Clause - “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion;” and the Free Exercise Clause - “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” At the time of adoption, and for over a hundred years after, the Bill of Rights was construed to apply only to the federal legislature.

Thus, the whole power over the subject of religion is left exclusively to the State Governments to be acted upon according to their sense of justice and the state constitutions.

Religious Freedom in the United States of America

States' rights have undergone an unfortunate subjugation to Federal domination, the establishment of religion not being one subjugation that I regret.

Apo

[portokalos]

[M. Henri Day]

...

States' rights have undergone an unfortunate subjugation to Federal domination, ...

Yes, indeed, most notably in the coup d'état of 2000, in which jurisdiction over voting procedures in the State of Florida was unconstitutionally lifted from the Supreme Court of that state to the Supreme Court of the United States. Surprisingly (to some), expediency won out over principles among supporters of States' Rights....

Henri

[portokalos]

[M. Henri Day]

Perhaps its just another word for nothing left to loose....

Henri

[Stargzer]

Perhaps its just another word for nothing left to loose....

Henri

. . . I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana

Ah, you get what you pay for on The Internet, and you pay for what you get.

I don't believe she was hunting whales, and in any case I doubt a trucker would have picked up someone carrying a harpoon. I remember the lyric more as:

I pulled out my harp out from my dirty red bandana

Harp in this case is not that ethereal-sounding stringed insturment but rather a mouth harp or harmonica.

[Stargzer wanders off to find his harmonica to practice his rendition of Juanita . . . ]