Et in Arcadia Ego…

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In English, Latin loan-words carry overtones of intellectual,

moral and aesthetic superiority that are not

borne by their Anglo-Saxon equivalents:

‘maternal’ for ‘motherly’ for example or ‘intoxicated’ for ‘drunk’ etc.

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Unfortunately, our word for ego, ‘personality’, is derived from the Latin,

and thus carries with it a high degree of respectability.

Were we to use its Anglo-Saxon equivalent, which we seldom ever do,

we may not be so enamoured of its glamourous yet wholly disreputable charms.

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The Anglo-Saxon word for ego is ‘selfness’.

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“What, that very selfness which the prevailing view at all times

and in all places declares must be overcome in order to achieve

unitive knowledge and awareness of the Divine Source?”

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“Yes, that’s the one…”