ο γάμος είναι μυστήριο ή μόνο μυστήριο

[Theseus]

I have understood the general drift of this sentence but am not quite clear about the meaning of μόνο μυστήριο:-
Ο γάμος είναι μυστήριο ή μόνο μυστήριο όπως τον εμφανίζει η εκκλησία αλλά σχέση ζωής δυο ατόμων....
The context is about the equal validity of civil & religious marriage & about how the state must be the only arbiter in dealing with what marriages are or are not valid.

 

[daeman]

...
My first thought according to the context you provide and the adversative of αλλά, Theseus, was to assume a negative δεν is missing before the first verb: "Ο γάμος δεν είναι μυστήριο -ή μόνο μυστήριο- όπως τον εμφανίζει η εκκλησία, αλλά σχέση ζωής δύο ατόμων," i.e. "Matrimony is not a sacrament or solely a sacrament as the Church presents it, but a life relationship between two persons."

But then again, I may be wrong, mixing two senses of μυστήριο in Greek while only one is meant in that sentence (only a rite, so I'm not right). Some more context would clarify it.

---

Now for the flipside. The thread title may serve as a nice wordplay in Greek:

Ο γάμος είναι μυστήριο ή μόνο μυστήριο, i.e. Marriage is either a mystery or only a rite.

Τι είναι γάμος;

...
22. Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution? — Groucho Marx

Ο γάμος είναι ένας δεσμός ευλογημένος, αλλά ποιος θέλει να ζει με δεσμά;


37. Marriage is a great institution, but I’m not ready for an institution. — Mae West

Ο γάμος είναι ένας δεσμός αξιολάτρευτος, μα εγώ δεν είμαι ακόμα για δέσιμο.
...

“‘I am’ is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that ‘I do’ is the longest sentence?”

~ George Carlin

A life sentence.

 

[Themis†]

Συμφωνώ με τον Δαεμάνο. Σαφώς λείπει μια άρνηση ή πρόκειται για λειψή διατύπωση που καταλήγει στο ίδιο νόημα (π.χ. σε περίπτωση ερωτηματικής πρότασης: Ο γάμος είναι μυστήριο - ή μόνο μυστήριο όπως τον εμφανίζει η εκκλησία - αλλά ή μήπως σχέση ζωής δύο ατόμων...;).

 

[sarant]

Κάτι δεν πάει καλά, πράγματι

 

[Theseus]

I thought initially that there must be a negative missing. And there is no question mark at the end of the sentence. The confusion is compounded by the fact that in the vocabulary μυστήριο is given as meaning 'ceremony, mystery'. This book, although its content is good, is full of mistakes either of vocabulary or-as here-poor editing. Thanks to colleagues for their suggestions. Now the meaning of the sentence Is clear. More later, I'm sure.