Talk:essence

"of the essence" should be treated here

"of the essence" ~ Of the greatest importance; crucial -Time is of the essence (such a common expression I added it under 'time') -Timing is of the essence -Speed is of the essence (also a very common expression) -Creativity is of the essence -Freedom is of the essence -Continuity is of the essence -In chess, cool nerves are of the essence -International cooperation is of the essence -The right to vote freely for the candidate of one’s choice is of the essence of a democratic society -The continuous deformation from one map to the other is of the essence -In any case, it is of the essence to preserve our towns and to 'keep' their guardian genii.

AND HERE: "of the essence of" seems to talk more about the character or nature of a thing -It is of the essence of the ghost in general to be frightening -It is of the essence of sealing that it is unmistakable when it is given...

BUT HERE "of the essence of" Here the meaning is not as clear... Caution/audacity is crucial in Science? Or that part of the nature of science is caution/audacity? -Caution is of the essence of science, everyone used to say. So Popper said that audacity is of the essence of science, and that, of two theories equal in other respects, the bolder is the better.

Etymology of this expression?


 * See of the essence. Widsith 17:08, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Modern French
This come from Modern French? Sounds a little unlikely. That would suggest it doesn't appear in Middle English or very early Modern English. Does it? Mglovesfun (talk) 11:00, 25 June 2010 (UTC)