Editing Veritas

{{short description|Goddess of truth in Roman mythology}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Roman
| name = Veritas
| deity_of = Goddess of truth
| member_of = 
| image = Böcklin-Mappe 1901 Veritas (cropped).jpg
| alt = <!-- for alternate text of the title image per [[WP:ALT]] -->
| caption = Veritas, depicted by [[Arnold Böcklin]]
| other_names = 
| cult_center = 
| symbols = nudity
| abode = 
| consort = 
| parents = 
| siblings = 
| offspring = [[Virtus (deity)|Virtus]]
| predecessor = 
| successor = 
| mount = 
| gender = female
| Greek_equivalent = [[Aletheia]] (debated)
| festivals = 
}}
[[Image:CanadaStatueTruth crop.jpg|thumb|Statue of Veritas outside the [[Supreme Court of Canada]]]]

In [[Roman mythology]], '''Veritas''' ({{IPA|la-x-classic|ˈweː.rɪ.t̪aːs|lang|link=yes}}), meaning Truth, is the [[Goddess]] of [[Truth]], a daughter of [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]] (called [[Cronus]] by the Greeks, the [[Titan (mythology)|Titan]] of Time, perhaps first by [[Plutarch]]) and the mother of [[Virtus (deity)|Virtus]]. She is also sometimes considered the daughter of [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] (called [[Zeus]] by the Greeks),<ref>[[Pindar]] ''Olympian 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.[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0162%3Abook%3DO.%3Apoem%3D10]</ref> or a creation of [[Prometheus]].<ref>[[Aesop]] ''[[Aesop's Fables|Fables]]'' 530 (from [[Phaedrus (fabulist)|Phaedrus]] 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.[http://aesopus.pbworks.com/w/page/1472872/phaedrus095]</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Macey|first1=Samuel L.|title=Patriarchs of Time: Dualism in Saturn-Cronus, Father Time, the Watchmaker God, and Father Christmas|date=2010|publisher=University of Georgia Press|isbn=9780820337975|pages=34–36|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G_z_R89DaPkC&pg=PA35|access-date=4 October 2017}}</ref> The elusive goddess is said to have hidden in the bottom of a [[holy well]].<ref>This aphorism is attributed [[Democritus]]: "Of truth we know nothing, for truth is in a well." ({{cite book|last1=Diogenes Laertius|title=Lives of Eminent Philosophers|publisher= IX, 72. Perseus Project, Tufts University|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:abo:tlg,0004,001:9:11}})</ref> She is depicted both as a virgin dressed in white and as the "naked truth" (''nuda veritas'') holding a hand mirror.<ref>Mercatante, Anthony S. ''The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend''. Facts on File, 1988, p. 654, {{ISBN|0-8160-1049-8}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Warner |first=Marina |date=1985 |title=Monuments and Maidens: The Allegory of the Female Form |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |page=315 |isbn=0520227336 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Goscilo |first=Helena |date=June 1, 2010 |title=The Mirror in Art: Vanitas, Veritas, and Vision |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271108840 |journal=Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=282–319 |doi=10.4148/2334-4415.1733 |access-date=2018-09-26 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The eqivalent Greek goddess is [[Aletheia]] ([[Ancient Greek language|Ancient Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Ἀλήθεια}}).

''Veritas'' was the [[Roman virtue]] of [[Honesty|truthfulness]], which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. The German philosopher [[Martin Heidegger]] argues that the truth represented by ''aletheia'' (which essentially means "unconcealment") is different from that represented by ''veritas'', which is linked to a Roman understanding of rightness and finally to a Nietzschean sense of justice and a [[will to power]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=B. Dallery|first1=Arleen|last2=E. Scott|first2=Charles|last3=Roberts|first3=P. Holley|title=Ethics and Danger: Essays on Heidegger and Continental Thought Issue 17 of Selected studies in phenomenology and existential philosophy|date=1992|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=9780791409831|page=72|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5p_Y0nJzOOsC&pg=PA72|access-date=4 October 2017}}</ref>

In [[Western culture]], the word may also serve as a [[motto]].

==Mottos==
This [[Latin]] word ''veritas'' now appears in the [[motto]]s of many [[college]]s, [[university|universities]] and other organizations. 
It is typically capitalized in mottoes (as ''Veritas'') for being an ideal like Truth, Kindness and Beauty.  

''Veritas'' is the motto of:
* [[Harvard University]]
* [[Hutchesons' Grammar School]]
* [[The University of Western Ontario]]
* [[Drake University]]
* [[Knox College (Illinois)]]
* [[Springfield Convent of the Holy Rosary (South Africa)]]
* [[Bilkent University]]
* the University of California - Hastings College of the Law
* the [[Dominican Order]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]]
** [[Providence College]] and [[Molloy College]], run by the Dominicans
* the [[Naval Criminal Investigative Service]]
* [[Loyola College, Ibadan]]

Additionally, the word appears in mottoes that are phrases or lists, e.g.:
* ''Honor et Veritas'': the [[Buckley School (New York City)|Buckley School]] of the [[New York City|City of New York]]
* ''Veritas, Probitas, Iustitia'': the [[University of Indonesia]]
* ''Veritas Nobis Lumen'': the [[University of Cape Coast]] in [[Ghana]]
* ''Artes, Scientia, Veritas'': the [[University of Michigan]]
* ''[[Veritas vos liberabit]]'' (''The Truth Will Set You Free''): The [[Johns Hopkins University]]; and [[St. Thomas College, Thrissur|St Thomas' College (Autonomous), Thrissur]], the first Catholic college in Kerala
* ''[[Veritas vos liberabit|Veritas Liberabit Vos]]'': [[Doshisha University]] in [[Kyoto]], [[Japan]]
* ''Verbum Tuum Veritas'' ("Your Word is Truth"): [[Monkton Combe School]].
* ''Lux et Veritas'' ("Light and Truth"): [[Indiana University]] and [[Yale University]].
* ''Vox Veritas Vita'' ("Speak the Truth as a way of Life"): [[California State University]]
* ''Veritas Curat'' ("Truth Cures"): the [[JIPMER|Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research]], a medical school in [[Puducherry (city)|Puducherry]], [[India]]. 
* ''Veritas Lux Mea'' ("Truth is my light"): in the logo of [[Seoul National University]], Korea
* ''Veritas, Unitas, Caritas'' ("Truth, Unity, Love"): [[Villanova University]]
* ''Gratiae veritas naturae'': [[Uppsala University]] in Sweden
* ''Lux et Veritas Floreant'' ("Let Light and Truth Flourish"): [[The University of Winnipeg]]

[[Caldwell College]] in [[Caldwell, New Jersey]] issues a "Veritas Award" each year in honor of the [[Dominican Sisters]] who founded and administer the college.

[[Howard University]], in [[Washington, D.C.]], goes by the motto ''Veritas et Utilitas'', translated to "Truth and Service", which is also a motto "Truth-Service" of [[Payap University]], [[Thailand]].

The American communications company [[Verizon Communications|Verizon]] derives its name from the combination of the words ''{{lang|la|veritas}}'' and [[horizon]] - chosen from 8,500 candidates with $300&nbsp;million spent on marketing the new brand.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www22.verizon.com/investor/corporatehistory.htm |title=Verizon p;— Investor Relations — Company Profile — Corporate History |access-date=September 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124005517/http://www22.verizon.com/investor/corporatehistory.htm |archive-date=November 24, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=BryanCulp>{{cite news |last=Culp |first=Bryan |date=January 1, 2001 |title=Playing the Name Game Again |url=http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2000/205/playing-the-name-game-again |newspaper=marketingprofs.com |access-date=November 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318180530/http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2000/205/playing-the-name-game-again |archive-date=March 18, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[In vino veritas]]
* {{Lang|la|[[Via, Veritas, Vita]]}}
* [[John 8:32]]
* [[John 18:38]]
* [[Truth Coming Out of Her Well]]
* [[Urim and Thummim]]
* [[490 Veritas]]
* [[Project Veritas]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.ontology.co/veritas.htm History of Truth: The Latin "Veritas"]
* [http://www.ontology.co/aletheia.htm Aletheia and Other Terms for Truth in Ancient Greek]—Origins and developments of the concept of Truth (From the Greek "Aletheia" to the Latin "Veritas")

<!-- From the Supernatural episode, "You Can't Handle the Truth", S6E6 (29 October 2010) -->

{{Roman religion}}

[[Category:Latin words and phrases]]
[[Category:Personifications in Roman mythology]]
[[Category:Roman goddesses]]
[[Category:Truth]]
[[Category:Children of Zeus]]