Poemander

Everyone is an accountant, yes, and it's not only because we count, you know: one plus one, two plus two etc. people are all accountants because that's how they are, that's how they live in society, that's how they think, talk and deal with others. Have you ever said 'thank you', or answered 'my pleasure'? Congratulations, you passed, you are an accountant. People can't help it, and I really do feel sorry for them. Humanity is changing, meant to become different, but people... People are always the same.

Coming from the word 'conter', to count, the account is a record of the object of perception expressed in words, numbers or other meaningful form. Shall we, perhaps, say that it is meaningful only because it is expressed? Anyway, accounting has always had something to do with “count”, but to a greater degree with the verb “account”, such as to consider and to recon. And to make it a little bit more interesting, recon is a short for 'reconnaissance' – a military surveillance to locate an enemy or their strategic features. Accounting is to be at war, and this hasn't changed. Geopolitical war, war between social classes, economic war or a personal war. Nothing has changed: your 'thanks' and 'welcome', debits and credits are the very same arrows and spears pointed at each-other and everyone of us.

To find out why and how this has happened, you, my dear scholar, will have to go far, very far. Pack your gunny, get a few pairs of durable boots cause the place you'll have to go is your home. Yes, to learn what is account and accounting you'll need to understand what is property. But to make your journey somewhat more exciting I should preemptively mention that your home is not what you think it is. But that's enough for now. Only remember, accountant has only two functions:

- to take the notice: know your enemy's credits, know your own debits.

-to apply judgement.

No, the jurisprudence doesn't take away the later function from an accountant, it simply can't: the accountant is right there, in the field, standing on top of the hill, counting enemy's spears, horses and catapults. Weather and fog may not be helping, but it is up to the accountant to tell the difference between a horse and an elephant, a bow and a saber.

On Property.

So, back home, Let's continue to be paper worms and dig for the meaning: 'property' comes from word 'proper' or Latin 'proprius' for 'one's own' and 'special'. No doubt most people find their home 'a special one'. However, I am always sceptical of being skewed towards Roman's interpretation – the relationship of love and hate- to say it is biased is to say nothing. Sanskrit has a beautiful word 'rta' which carries a meaning for 'proper', 'right', 'true'. Shall we than say that property is that which is proper and right? Property is also that which is true, or perhaps that which you truly have a right to? I think this is where the misinterpretation have occurred, lost in translation: there must have been a few idiots along the Silk Route (Greek for property is 'idiotis', yes, check for yourself, it also means quality and attribute). If not for those long perilous journeys under the scorching sun, we could have ended up with a completely different meaning and interpretation: “Property is that which is true and right for you”. When you are in the shop looking for a pair of shoes, are you more concerned with the right you'll have to those shoes or, indeed, the shoes which are 'right for you'? I guess it is the later unless you are a lawyer, of course, and you logic has already divagated into the bookshelf realms together with the Romans and their perilous journeys.