What is eternity? When they talk about it, in most cases they mean a period of time that never ends. However, not everyone knows that the concept of eternity is also used in religion and in philosophy. Another word is used in a figurative sense. More information about what eternity will be described in the article.
Dictionary Interpretation
It seems advisable to get acquainted with the meaning of "eternity", presented in the dictionary.
As a first option, the following interpretation is proposed. Eternity is a period of time that lasts forever.
Examples of sentences with the word under study:
- From the point of view of eternity, a person actually does not own anything, but only takes it for temporary use.
- For many peoples, the turtle is a symbol of eternity, leisurelyness and longevity.
- All human feelings, impulses, passions seem so naive and insignificant in the face of eternity in which we all abide.
- He suddenly realized himself at a crossroads, found himself in the abyss between low and high, divine and earthly, between instant and eternity.
- We can say that in comparison with those who have gone into eternity, he is an unremarkable, ordinary, ordinary person.
Figuratively
For a better understanding of the meaning of the word "eternity", it should be noted and its use in a figurative sense, which is often observed in colloquial speech. This refers to a very long time span.
The following suggestions can be cited as examples of the use of the studied token:
- It seemed that since the lovers rode together, it took forever.
- Ever since school graduated, it took forever, but childhood memories were surprisingly fresh in his memory, and he always thought of that time with nostalgia.
- It was a great happiness for the girl for ages to be close to such wonderful people as her new friends.
- The young man was ready to wait forever, if only Anna agreed to become his wife.
- “It takes eternity to understand the teachings of the yogis,” the guru explained to his disciples.
Next, the origin of the word will be considered.
Etymology
The lexeme under study is formed using the suffix “spine” from the adjective “eternal”, which, in turn, was formed from the noun “eyelids” using the suffix “n”.
The latter comes from the pre-Slavic noun vēkŏs, from which also occurred:
- Old Slavonic - vѣk, vѣchn;
- Bulgarian - century;
- Serbo-Croatian - Vȉek;
- Slovenian - vȇk;
- Slovak - vek;
- Czech - věk;
- Polish - wiek.
The word is related Lithuanian:
- noun viẽkas, meaning "power", "life";
- the verbs veikiù, veĩkti in the meaning of "act", "do";
- the adjective véikus, which translates as “agile”, “fast”;
- adjective veiklus - “active”, “active”, “business”;
- the noun vỹkis, meaning "liveliness";
- adjective »vikrùs, which means" peppy. "
And:
- the Latvian verb vèicu, meaning "to achieve", "to overpower", "to overcome";
- Old Icelandic noun veig, which means "power" and the noun víg - "struggle";
- the Gothic verb weihan, which translates as "fight";
- the Old High German verb wîgan, in the same meaning as in the Gothic language;
- the irish verb fichim - “fighting”;
- the Latin verb vincere, meaning "to win";
- Latin adjective pervicāx in the meaning of "stubborn", "persistent".
To understand what eternity is, you need to say about it as one of the philosophical concepts.
In philosophy
In philosophical science, eternity, this concept has two definitions.
The first of these is the state and property of a substance or creature, which is certainly not subject to time. That is, it does not have a beginning, a continuation, an end in time, but contains the entirety of its own being in one indivisible act. Such is the eternity of an absolute being.
The second definition also means by eternity an endless continuation or repetition of being in time. It looks like the eternity of the world, which is accepted in many philosophical systems. Sometimes, for example, among the Stoics, it appears in the form of a simple repetition of the same historical and cosmogonic content in countless cycles.
In conclusion of the consideration of the question of what eternity is, a few words will be said about its understanding in one of the religions.
In Judaism
According to the teachings of Kabbalah, eternity is a spiritual property based on love for one's neighbors and selfless bestowal. The soul, which is in our world in a material shell, feels that its existence is temporary. Since egoism, being distant from the Creator, can withstand only a limited number of blows, after which it dies.
When a person gains spiritual qualities, altruism, he gains the ability for unlimited development in time. And also he can receive infinitely growing pleasure. This is due to the fact that pleasure is not for its own sake is not limited to the size of their own desires.
At the same time, the essence of man is the desire to give pleasure to the Creator, and it becomes as eternal as the Creator himself. Thus, a person receives freedom from the angel of death.