It would be absurd and ridiculous to suppose that any person, howevergreat, or learned, or wise, could employ language correctly without aknowledge of the things expressed by that language. No matter how chastehis words, how lofty his phrases, how sweet the intonations, or mellowthe accents. It would avail him nothing if ideas were not representedthereby. It would all be an unknown tongue to the hearer or reader. Itwould not be like the loud rolling thunder, for that tells the wondrouspower of God. It would not be like the soft zephyrs of evening, theradiance of the sun, the twinkling of the stars; for they speak theintelligible language of sublimity itself, and tell of the kindness andprotection of our Father who is in heaven. It would not be like thesweet notes of the choral songsters of the grove, for they warble hymnsof gratitude to God; not like the boding of the distant owl, for thattells the profound solemnity of night; not like the hungry lion roaringfor his prey, for that tells of death and plunder; not like the distantnotes of the clarion, for that tells of blood and carnage, of tears andanguish, of widowhood and orphanage. It can be compared to nothing but aBabel of confusion in which their own folly is worse confounded. Andyet, I am sorry to say it, the languages of all ages and nations havebeen too frequently perverted, and compiled into a heterogeneous massof abstruse, metaphysical volumes, whose only recommendation is theelegant bindings in which they are enclosed.And grammars themselves, whose pretended object is to teach the rules ofspeaking and writing correctly, form but a miserable exception to thissweeping remark. I defy any grammarian, author, or teacher of thenumberless systems, which come, like the frogs of Egypt, all of onegenus, to cover the land, to give a reasonable explanation of even theterms they employ to define their meaning, if indeed, meaning they have.What is meant by an "in-definite article," a dis-junctivecon-junction, an ad-verb which qualifies an adjective, and"sometimes another ad-verb?" Such "parts of speech" have no existencein fact, and their adoption in rules of grammar, have been foundexceedingly mischievous and perplexing. "Adverbs and conjunctions," and"adverbial phrases," and "conjunctive expressions," may serve ascommon sewers for a large and most useful class of words, which theteachers of grammar and lexicographers have been unable to explain; butlearners will gain little information by being told that such is anadverbial phrase, and such, a conjunctive expression. This is aneasy method, I confess, a sort of wholesale traffic, in parsing(passing) language, and may serve to cloak the ignorance of theteachers and makers of grammars. But it will reflect little light on theprinciples of language, or prove very efficient helps to "speak or writewith propriety." Those who think, will demand the meaning of thesewords, and the reason of their use. When that is ascertained, littledifficulty will be found in giving them a place in the company ofrespectable words. But I am digressing. More shall be said upon thispoint in a future lecture, and in its proper place.I was endeavoring to establish the position that all language dependsupon permanent principles; that words are the signs of ideas, and ideasare the impressions of things communicated to the mind thro the mediumof some one of the five senses. I think I have succeeded so far assimple material things are concerned, to the satisfaction of all whohave heard me. It may, perhaps, be more difficult for me to explain thewords employed to express complex ideas, and things of immateriality,such as mind, and its attributes. But the rules previously adopted will,I apprehend, apply with equal ease and correctness in this case; and weshall have cause to admire the simple yet sublime foundation upon whichthe whole superstructure of language is based.In pursuing this investigation I shall endeavor to avoid all abstruseand metaphysical reasoning, present no wild conjectures, or vainhypotheses; but confine myself to plain, common place matter of fact. Wehave reason to rejoice that a wonderful improvement in the science andcultivation of the mind has taken place in these last days; that we areno longer puzzled with the strange phantoms, the wild speculations whichoccupied the giant minds of a Descartes, a Malebranch, a Locke, a Reid,a Stewart, and hosts of others, whose shining talents would havequalified them for the brightest ornaments of literature, realbenefactors of mankind, had not their education lead them into dark andmetaphysical reasonings, a continued tissue of the wildest vagaries, inwhich they became entangled, till, at length, they were entirely lost inthe labyrinth of their own conjectures.Godfrey Philander is the webmaster of a translation website with lots of topics covering href="http://interpret.co.za">language translation language translation, language, languages, online translator, online translation, free translation, free translation services, online translation, free online translation, free online translatorThe occasion of all their difficulty originated in an attempt toinvestigate the faculties of the mind without any means of getting atit. They did not content themselves with an adoption of the principleswhich lay at the foundation of all true philosophy, viz., that thefacts to be accounted for, do exist; that truth is eternal, and we areto become acquainted with it by the means employed for its development.They quitted the world of materiality they inhabited, refused to examinethe development of mind as the effect of an existing cause; and at onebold push, entered the world of thought, and made the unhallowed attemptto reason, a priori, concerning things which can only be known by theirmanifestations. But they soon found themselves in a strange land,confused with sights and sounds unknown, in the explanation of whichthey, of course, choose terms as unintelligible to their readers, as theideal realities were to them. This course, adopted by Aristotle, hasbeen too closely followed by those who have come after him.[2] But a newera has dawned upon the philosophy of the mind, and a correspondingchange in the method of inculcating the principles of language mustfollow.[3]In all our investigations we must take things as we find them, andaccount for them as far as we can. It would be a thankless task toattempt a change of principles in any thing. That would be anencroachment of the Creator's rights. It belongs to mortals to use thethings they have as not abusing them; and to Deity to regulate the lawsby which those things are governed. And that man is the wisest, thetruest philosopher, and brightest Christian, who acquaints himself withthose laws as they do exist in the regulation of matter and mind, in thepromotion of physical and moral enjoyment, and endeavors to conform tothem in all his thoughts and actions.From this apparent digression you will at once discover our object. Wemust not endeavor to change the principles of language, but tounderstand and explain them; to ascertain, as far as possible, theactions of the mind in obtaining ideas, and the use of language inexpressing them. We may not be able to make our sentiments understood;but if they are not, the fault will originate in no obscurity in thefacts themselves, but in our inability either to understand them or thewords employed in their expression. Having been in the habit of usingwords with either no meaning or a wrong one, it may be difficult tocomprehend the subject of which they treat. A man may have a quantity ofsulphur, charcoal, and nitre, but it is not until he learns theirproperties and combinations that he can make gunpowder. Let us thenadopt a careful and independent course of reasoning, resolved to meddlewith nothing we do not understand, and to use no words until we knowtheir meaning.A complex idea is a combination of several simple ones, as a tree ismade up of roots, a trunk, branches, twigs, and leaves. And these againmay be divided into the wood, the bark, the sap, &c. Or we may employthe botanical terms, and enumerate its external and internal parts andqualities; the whole anatomy and physiology, as well as variety andhistory of trees of that species, and show its characteristicdistinctions; for the mind receives a different impression on looking ata maple, a birch, a poplar, a tamarisk, a sycamore, or hemlock. In thisway complex ideas are formed, distinct in their parts, but blended in acommon whole; and, in conformity with the law regulating language,words, sounds or signs, are employed to express the complex whole, oreach distinctive part. The same may be said of all things of likecharacter. But this idea I will illustrate more at large before theclose of this lecture.First impressions are produced by a view of material things, as we havealready seen; and the notion of action is obtained from a knowledge ofthe changes these things undergo. The idea of quality and definition isproduced by contrast and comparison. Children soon learn the differencebetween a sweet apple and a sour one, a white rose and a red one, a hardseat and a soft one, harmonious sounds and those that are discordant, apleasant smell and one that is disagreeable. As the mind advances, theapplication is varied, and they speak of a sweet rose, changing fromtaste and sight to smell, of a sweet song, of a hard apple, &c.According to the qualities thus learned, you may talk to themintelligibly of the sweetness of an apple, the color of a rose, thehardness of iron, the harmony of sounds, the smell or scent ofthings which possess that quality. As these agree or disagree with theircomfort, they will call them good or bad, and speak of the qualitiesof goodness and badness, as if possessed by the thing itself.In this apparently indiscriminate use of words, the ideas remaindistinct; and each sign or object calls them up separately andassociates them together, till, at length, in the single object isassociated all the ideas entertained of its size, qualities, relations,and affinities.In this manner, after long, persevering toil, principles of thought arefixed, and a foundation laid for the whole course of future thinking andspeaking. The ideas become less simple and distinct. Just as fast as themind advances in the knowledge of things, language keeps pace with theideas, and even goes beyond them, so that in process of time a singleterm will not unfrequently represent a complexity of ideas, one of whichwill signify a whole combination of things.On the other hand, there are many instances where the single declarationof a fact may convey to the untutored mind, a single thought or nearlyso, when the better cultivated will take into the account the wholeprocess by which it is effected. To illustrate: a man killed a deer.Here the boy would see and imagine more than he is yet fully able tocomprehend. He will see the obvious fact that the man levels his musket,the gun goes off with a loud report, and the deer falls and dies. Howthis is all produced he does not understand, but knowing the fact heasserts the single truth--the man killed the deer. As the childadvances, he will learn that the sentence conveys to the mind more thanhe at first perceived. He now understands how it was accomplished. Theman had a gun. Then he must go back to the gunsmith and see how it wasmade, thence back to the iron taken from its bed, and wrought into bars;all the processes by which it is brought into the shape of a gun, thetools and machinery employed; the wood for the stock, its quality andproduction; the size, form and color of the lock, the principle uponwhich it moves; the flint, the effect produced by a collision with thesteel, or a percussion cap, and its composition; till he finds a singlegun in the hands of a man. The man is present with this gun. The motiveswhich brought him here; the movements of his limbs, regulated by thedeterminations of the mind, and a thousand other such thoughts, might betaken into the account. Then the deer, his size, form, color, manner ofliving, next may claim a passing thought. But I need not enlarge. Herethey both stand. The man has just seen the deer. As quick as thought hiseye passes over the ground, sees the prey is within proper distance,takes aim, pulls the trigger, that loosens a spring, which forces theflint against the steel; this produces a spark, which ignites thecharcoal, and the sulphur and nitre combined, explode and force the wad,which forces the ball from the gun, and is borne thro the air till itreaches the deer, enters his body by displacing the skin and flesh,deranges the animal functions, and death ensues. The whole and much moreis expressed in the single phrase, "a man killed a deer."It would be needless for me to stop here, and examine all the operationsof the mind in coming at this state of knowledge. That is not the objectof the present work. Such a duty belongs to another treatise, which maysome day be undertaken, on logic and the science of the mind. The hinthere given will enable you to perceive how the mind expands, and howlanguage keeps pace with every advancing step, and, also, howcombinations are made from simple things, as a house is made of timber,boards, shingles, nails, and paints; or of bricks, stone, and mortar; asthe case may be, and when completed, a single term may express theidea, and you speak of a wood, or a brick house. Following thissuggestion, by tracing the operations of the mind in the young child, oryour own, very minutely, in the acquisition of any knowledge beforewholly unknown to you, as a new language, or a new science; botany,mineralogy, chemistry, or phrenology; you will readily discover how themind receives new impressions of things, and a new vocabulary is adoptedto express the ideas formed of plants, minerals, chemical properties,and the development of the capacities of the mind as depending onmaterial organs; how these things are changed and combined; and howtheir existence and qualities, changes and combinations, are expressedby words, to be retained, or conveyed to other minds.But suppose you talk to a person wholly unacquainted with these things,will he understand you? Talk to him of stamens, pistils, calyxes; ofmonandria, diandria, triandria; of gypsum, talc, calcareous spar,quartz, topaz, mica, garnet, pyrites, hornblende, augite, actynolite; ofhexahedral, prismatic, rhomboidal, dodecahedral; of acids and alkalies;of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon; of the configuration of thebrain, and its relative powers; do all this, and what will he know ofyour meaning? So of all science. Words are to be understood from thethings they are employed to represent. You may as well talk to a man inthe hebrew, chinese, or choctaw languages, as in our own, if he does notknow what is signified by the words selected as the medium of thought.Your language may be most pure, perfect, full of meaning, but you cannotmake yourself understood till your hearers can look thro your signs tothe things signified. You may as well present before them a picture ofnothing.
By: Godfrey Philander
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