The poets made all the words, and therefore language is the archives of history, and, if we must say it, a sort of tomb of the muses For, though the origin of most of our words is forgotten, each word was at a stroke of genius, and obtained currency, because for the moment it symbolizes the world to the first speaker and to the hearer. The etymologist finds the deadest word to have been once a brilliant picture. Language is fossil poetry. As the limestone of the continent consists of infinite masses of the shells of animalcules, so language is made up of images, or tropes, which now, in their secondary use, have long ceased to remind us of their poetic origin. But the poet names the thing because he sees it, or comes one step nearer to it than any other. This expression, or naming, is not art, but a second nature, grown out of the first, as a leaf out of a tree. What we call nature, is a certain self-regulated motion, or change; and nature does all things by her own hands, and does not leave another to baptise her, but baptises herself; and this through the metamorphosis again. —Ralph Waldo Emerson —Essays: Second Series [1844]: The Poet (American Transcendentalism Web)
I was inspired to find this quotation in response to a comment Eric Mayer left on something I blogged this morning about the English language.
“Language, of every entity from bees to human beings, is the Universe commenting on itself, while God listens and evaluates.” — Vaspers the Grate (Steven Streight)
“Language is the self-consciousness of the Universe, the Word emanating from Matter.” — Vaspers the Grate
“I speak, therefore I say: I am. Or at least: I think I am.” — Vaspers the Grate
Derrida believed that the written, inscribed Word is prior and superior to the spoken, speech-centric Utterance.
I’ve never quite understood that as deeply as I wish, but it makes sense. In WRITING & DIFFERENCE, MARGINS OF PHILOSOPHY, etc. he makes a good case for it.
Blogs as Random Blather Vanity Slow Chat Rooms are doomed. We must delineate between digital diaries and serious professionalized blogs.
Blogs began as URL lists, with no comments or user generated content, if I have my history correct.
I’m trying to figure out how to organize things to keep up with some blogs, and still have time to work, write etc…so I just checked this via Bloglines, and I was reading and thinking — what a fantastic quote! I’ll just have to refer back to this from my blog tomorrow. Then I get to your note at the end. Weird!