[A Legal Writing Exercise]
How does one define something that she’s just beginning to understand? How do people come up with a definition that’s all-encompassing when nothing really in this world is definite? In my opinion, the best way is to look at a word’s etymology to fully grasp the story behind a word or in this case, a phrase. The common noun, lawyer is defined as someone who has the privilege of practicing law. There really is no contest about that but the crucial part of the phrase is the word Ateneo. I tried to look at its etymology and I found out that:
The word "Ateneo" is the Spanish form of "Athenaeum". An “Athenaeum” is a Roman school named after the Greek word Athenaion, which literally means the temple of Athena, the goddess of wisdom.[1]
I therefore conclude that an Atenean lawyer is someone who acknowledges the importance of wisdom. Someone who does not have interest in being labeled as the best but is more focused on contributing to the betterment of the society. An Ateneo lawyer isn’t afraid of change because he looks at it as an opportunity for growth. He does not run away from challenges but instead eagerly waits for tough times because it is during these times that he learns. An Ateneo lawyer is like “salt”, because unlike sugar which draws attention to itself, salt brings out the best in all the other ingredients.
An Atenean lawyer does not hesitate to hit rock bottom because he knows that there is no way but up after the collision. An Ateneo lawyer is the synergy of justice and compassion. An Atenean lawyer thinks and feels. An Ateneo lawyer is human… but he draws strength from the ultimate judge that is God.
[1] Yahoo! Online Dictionary [Online], URL: http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/athenaeum (Accessed January 8, 2006 )
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