blasphemy 的詞源

“褻瀆神或神聖事物的不虔誠或褻瀆言論”，早期13世紀，來自古法語 blasfemie “褻瀆”，源自晚期拉丁語 blasphemia，來自希臘語 blasphēmia “說壞話，不虔誠的言論，誹謗”，來自 blasphēmein “說惡言”。

第二個元素是 phēmē “話語”（來自 PIE 詞根 *bha-（2）“說話，講述”）； 第一個元素不確定，也許與 blaptikos “有害的”有關，儘管 blax “鬆弛（身體和頭腦），愚蠢”也被提出； 德·範（de Vaan）認爲它與拉丁語 malus “壞的，不愉快的”（來自 PIE 詞根 *mel-（3））的詞根有關。在舊約用法中，該詞適用於一種更具體的罪行，即針對耶和華作爲猶太人統治者的尊敬，類似於叛國罪。

Blasphemy cognizable by common law is described by Blackstone to be "denying the being or providence of God, contumelious reproaches of our Saviour Christ, profane scoffing at the Holy Scripture, or exposing it to contempt or ridicule"; by Kent as "maliciously reviling God or religion"; and by Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw as "speaking evil of the Deity with an impious purpose to derogate from the Divine Majesty and to alienate the minds of others from the love and reverence of God." [Century Dictionary, 1895]

布萊克斯通（Blackstone）描述的普通法可認定的褻瀆是“否認上帝的存在或上帝的安排，對我們的救主基督進行侮辱，褻瀆聖經，或使其受到輕蔑或嘲笑”； 肯特（Kent）則認爲是“惡意誹謗上帝或宗教”； 萊繆爾·肖（Lemuel Shaw）首席大法官則認爲是“說上帝的惡言，意在貶低神聖的威嚴，使他人心靈遠離上帝的愛和尊敬。”[世紀詞典，1895]

To laugh at the pretensions of Mohammed in Constantinople is blasphemy. To say in St Petersburg that Mohammed was a prophet of God is also blasphemy. There was a time when to acknowledge the divinity of Christ in Jerusalem was blasphemy. To deny his divinity is now blasphemy in New York. Blasphemy is to a considerable extent a geographical question. [Robert G. Ingersoll, quoted in "Discussions," 1902]

在君士坦丁堡嘲笑穆罕默德的聲張是褻瀆。在聖彼得堡說穆罕默德是上帝的先知也是褻瀆。曾經在耶路撒冷承認基督的神性是褻瀆。在紐約否認他的神性也是褻瀆。褻瀆在很大程度上是一個地理問題。[羅伯特·G·英格索爾（Robert G. Ingersoll），引自“討論”，1902]