Swear words
When an Aussie says, “fuckin oath,” it means that they strongly agree with you. It’s a “vehement assertion of truth,” according to Boaster McBoat in an Ask An Australian Reddit thread on the topic.
We take an oath when we’re sworn in as a witness in court. We don’t use the F-word, but it’s still a vehement assertion. We assert, affirm, and solemnly declare the full extent of the truth that we’re about to tell.
We use weighty words when we’re sworn in. Swear words have heft, so help me God.
I swear that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
The witness oath is a work of art. It’s poetic. It has pomp, but stops short of being pompous. It’s a potent combination of precision and gravitas. Indeed, its power comes from its style. From vehemence comes emphasis and sincerity. If we were only concerned with clarity, we could write a more transactional alternative:
“I promise not to lie at any point in my evidence. I promise not to leave out any relevant information.”
It’s clear and precise, but it’s lost a lot of weight. It doesn’t sound like an oath any more. The witness oath shows that, sometimes, style is substance.
The ancient Greeks knew this. They had a framework for it. Greek orators optimised their language for Force.
Clarity is a prerequisite for writing or speaking with Force. But the Greeks knew that clarity alone could come across as trite and mundane. Depending on context, they would dial up the grandeur or beauty of their language. They would play with rhythm. They would adopt a character. They were smart cookies.
The witness oath has Force, which it owes to its grandeur. And its grandeur comes from its solemnity. Indeed, it’s evident that the oath draws directly from Greek ideas on the mechanics of solemnity as detailed in Hermogenes On Types Of Style:
The thoughts characteristic of Solemnity (semnotes) are general, universal statements about elevated topics such as justice, goodness, and glorious deeds. The thought must be stated directly, without hesitation or qualification, using short clauses and a preponderance of nouns rather than verbs.
The operative clauses in the oath - the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth - are short, they have no verbs, and they repeat one noun (truth) to solemn effect.
If we want to sound like smart cookies we should add some poetry to our prose. We should recognise that style is substance. And, as the Greeks have shown, we should be structured, selective, and, in other words, strategic about it.
Kae Tempest knows this. They are an arch linguist strategist. This is from their What I Love conversation with Ian Rickson:
"It’s why the bible is written in poetry. We use poetic register to talk about deeply felt truth."
Strategy is a deeply felt truth about how to prosper. So it’s no accident that the best strategies are expressed with Force. Strategy isn’t just about smart choices, it’s about smart language too.
I do solemnly request that ye vouchsafe unto me a subscription to this modest epistle.