The Power of the Word

Words and language, subjects near and dear to my translator heart are the topics covered in Chapter 8 of Ideas Have Consequences. No doubt my poet friend, Cindy, is thrilled with the concepts in this chapter as well. Surely, editor Carmon is wooed by Weaver’s efforts to restore America’s communication skills. Kelly? not sure which area fits her personality best. I’m more concerned that her daughter’s health is greatly improved.

Seriously though, now that we’re safe and hunkered down in our (underground) pieces of private property (that last metaphysical right), Weaver establishes the next offensive line of attack to rescue society from the perils he recognized in his short lifetime. Whether one agrees or not, community depends upon the ability of men to understand (one another). And I am here to lob metaphorical grenades from the trenches in an effort to keep the family together :)

My heart is further warmed by Weaver’s initial mention of the divine element present in language (Yay God!) and his quoting of Scripture (Genesis, John, and, everlasting life.) There was lots of background information on language. I suffered through the detailed explanation of the different theories of language and their various mutilations with dictionary in hand. It will make you feel better to know that I checked the definitions of the following words: teleology, tropes, noumenal, semanticist, atomist, positivist, and Charles Peguy. Have you ever read him? Not me, but maybe I should since this French poet is mentioned in almost every chapter!

Finally, Weaver gets to the heart of the matter.

Words are our reminders of knowledge.

And

language is our great storehouse of universal memory

not imprisoning us, but aiding us to get at the true meaning of things. The common currency provided by words allows man to evoke the ideal or the proper sentiment. He supports these statements by quoting poet Percy Shelley and Wilbur Marshall Urban, a contemporary psychologist and author of Language and Reality.


I loved the examples of the relationship between speech, dress(attire) and manners, pg 160 and the chinks in the armor of French, Bolivian, and Japanese societies. Current professor Walter Williams weighs in on this *pressure to abandon* in this short article. Note how his John Milton quote is similar to Ralph Waldo’s, the chapter’s opening quote.

The corruption of man is followed by the corruption of language.

That’s the point! Weaver is trying to reverse the trend of lowering the level of abstraction behind the meaning of words. Weaver knows that there are absolute meanings which the opposition is trying to muddle or destroy. We live in an age frightened by the very idea of certitude. pg 163 Thankfully since Weaver quotes Scripture, I feel permission to as well in support of the fact that FIRST comes the corruption of man.

Nothing outside a man can make him unclean by going into him.
Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean.

Mark 7:15

Futhermore, in light of the fact that the skill with which one uses his language is a solid indicator of success, Weaver rightly declare that dramatic poets would top the scale over scientists when rating *the best teachers*. Remember he's annoyed at the scientists development of the atomic bomb. And so, it should come as no surprise then when Weaver plops the task of rehabilitating the *word* in the lap of educators. That, dear reader, is YOU and the very reason that you are reading Ideas Have Consequences in the first place.

If you want to avoid the vices of sentimentality and brutality, the unfortunate results of our government's educational system, employ the twofold training Weaver proposes (1)literature and rhetoric and (2)logic and dialectic in your academic schooling. Read Cindy. She covers poetry very well. I (grammarian and spelling-n*zi who minored in French and German) will promote the study of foreign languages. Just do it!

Nothing so successfully discourages slovenliness in the use of language as the
practice of translation.

Teachers of the present order have not enough courage to be definers; lawmakers have not enough insight, pg 164. Presidential candidate Ron Paul's defines Freedom in this short article, which is important, but not as important as Justice, Mercy, and Truth. So, be an evangel. Your audience (offspring) is ready and waiting.

It’s all about definitions - order and forms (and proper spelling - tee hee). ALL education is learning to name rightly, ...to discern, ...to have the courage to see truly what you see.... to have a stable vocabulary so we have stable law. Make sure you’re not climbing down the ladder of abstraction (pg 155) but rather up to the WORD which is deliverance.

When Jesus Christ utters a word, he opens his mouth so wide that it embraces all heaven and earth, even though that word be but in a whisper.

- Martin Luther


Addtl reading at the Heritage Foundation lecture on the power of language.