E-lēgo , āvi, 1, v. a.,
I.to
convey away (from the family) by
bequest, to bequeath away,
Petr. 43, 5; Gai. Inst. 2, 215.
Girardian
Reflections on the Lectionary:
5.4.2 Behind the
anthropological predilections against the victim's
perspective, there is a very practical, quasi-historical
reason: namely, the victim is shunned and often killed.
In the ancient world, the role of music during
ritual sacrifice was often to drown out any cries
from the victim. (45) It is crucial
that the victim not be heard. The practical
mechanics of making victims means that it is unusual for
the victim's perspective to survive. In the world of
ancient ritual it was probably impossible.
45.
The Greek verb myo means to close the
mouth or shut the eyes. There is debate about
whether myo plays a crucial role in the etymology
of other significant words such as myth, mystery,
and even music. These etymologies make sense
within the Girardian hypotheses.
Myth
means to close ourselves to the victim
and tell the tale according to the perpetrator's
perspective;
mystery cults are based on the silence of the
victims; music derives from drowning out
the voice of the victim
5.5 In general, then, the
survival of the victim's perspective is highly unusual
as a historical phenomenon -- until more recent history,
that is, when the victim's perspective
has finally established a beachhead in Western culture,
namely, the cultures most often in closest contact with
the Gospel (more on this below). (And it must be
emphasized that the close contact is in the category of
being an accident of history and not by any meritorious
claims for Western culture. In short, the perspective of
the victim has established a place in Western culture
not because of any inherent merit in Western culture but
because of the historical accident of being in close
proximity to the Gospel over a long period of time.)