Language is the archives of history...Language is fossil poetry.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Emerson states that language preserves history and acts as a form of ancient poetry.
- In plain terms
- Language stores history like a collection of old poetry.
- What can you take from it?
- Respect language as a historical record.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does language shape your view of history?
- What does an old word tell you?
Another view
History is also preserved in artifacts and records beyond language.
More from Ralph Waldo Emerson
We are symbols, and inhabit symbols.
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