“ The corruption of man is followed by the corruption of language. ”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature (1836). copy citation
| Author | Ralph Waldo Emerson |
|---|---|
| Source | Nature |
| Topic | language corruption |
| Date | 1836 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nature,_Addresses_and_Lectures/Nature |
Context
“A man's power to connect his thought with its proper symbol, and so to utter it, depends on the simplicity of his character, that is, upon his love of truth, and his desire to communicate it without loss. The corruption of man is followed by the corruption of language. When simplicity of character and the sovereignty of ideas is broken up by the prevalence of secondary desires, the desire of riches, of pleasure, of power, and of praise,—and duplicity and falsehood take place of simplicity and truth, the power over nature as an interpreter of the will, is in a degree lost; new imagery ceases to be created, and old words are perverted to stand for things which are not; a paper currency is employed, when there is no bullion in the vaults.”
source
Meaning and analysis
