--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am not so lost in lexicography as to…" description: "\"I am not so lost in lexicography as to forget that words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven.\" — Samuel Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/samuel-johnson-50_art_i-am-not-so-lost-in-lexicography-as-to-f_2685789.png" --- # I am not so lost in lexicography as to forget that words… ![“I am not so lost in lexicography as to forget that words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/samuel-johnson-50_art_i-am-not-so-lost-in-lexicography-as-to-f_2685789.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/samuel-johnson-50_art_i-am-not-so-lost-in-lexicography-as-to-f_2685789.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/samuel-johnson-50_art_i-am-not-so-lost-in-lexicography-as-to-f_2685789.png) > “I am not so lost in lexicography as to forget that words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Words are grounded in nature, while concepts arise from the heavens, linking language to the world. **In simple terms:** Words come from earth, ideas from sky. Key Takeaway Recognize the natural roots of language. Themes language philosophy nature Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing - teaching - public speaking Key Concepts etymology metaphor cosmology Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect your communication? - What are the limits of language? A Different Perspective Words may not capture all experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Lexicographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lexicographer/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) ## Related quotes > [I am not yet so lost in lexicography, as to forget that words are the daughters of the earth, and that things are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-am-not-yet-so-lost-in-lexicography-as-to-forget-that-words-are-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“There are lots of things sons shouldn’t imagine about their mothers, above all what it was like to become one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bauvard/there-are-lots-of-things-sons-shouldn-t-imagine-about-their-mothers/) [Bauvard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bauvard/) > [The strongest statement ever made about women's rights appears on page one of the Bible. God's first words about his daughters established an indestructible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-custis-james/the-strongest-statement-ever-made-about-women-s-rights-appears-on/) [Carolyn Custis James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-custis-james/) > [A lexicographer, a writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-lexicographer-a-writer-of-dictionaries-a-harmless-drudge/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Lexicographer: a writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge, that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/lexicographer-a-writer-of-dictionaries-a-harmless-drudge-that-busies/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Every other author may aspire to praise; the lexicographer can only hope to escape reproach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/every-other-author-may-aspire-to-praise-the-lexicographer-can-only/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Also of great importance in the discovery of linguistic phenomena that led to cryptanalysis was the development of lexicography.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kahn/also-of-great-importance-in-the-discovery-of-linguistic-phenomena/) [David Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kahn/) > [With "marriage," the word gets applied to same-sex marriages by proponents and opponents alike. That means the word itself is changing, and we reflect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/with-marriage-the-word-gets-applied-to-same-sex-marriages-by/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [Lexicography is a chastening as well as an illuminating and fascinating art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burchfield/lexicography-is-a-chastening-as-well-as-an-illuminating-and/) [Robert Burchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burchfield/) > [ABNORMAL, adj. Not conforming to standard. In matters of thought and conduct, to be independent is to be abnormal, to be abnormal is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/abnormal-adj-not-conforming-to-standard-in-matters-of-thought-and/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Exact science and its practical movements are no checks on the greatest poet, but always his encouragement and support ... The sailor and traveller,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/exact-science-and-its-practical-movements-are-no-checks-on-the/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Lexicographers are language reporters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-mckean/lexicographers-are-language-reporters/) [Erin McKean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-mckean/) > [If we wish that the name Israel be not extinguished, then we are in duty bound to create something which may serve as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-ben-yehuda/if-we-wish-that-the-name-israel-be-not-extinguished-then-we-are-in/) Eliezer Ben-Yehuda > [“It’s not all “molly” and “asshat.” The etymologies of some words are, for the lexicographer and average joe alike, boring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/it-s-not-all-molly-and-asshat-the-etymologies-of-some-words-are-for/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am not so lost in lexicography as to forget that words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-am-not-so-lost-in-lexicography-as-to-forget-that-words-are-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-am-not-so-lost-in-lexicography-as-to-forget-that-words-are-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/samuel-johnson-50_art_i-am-not-so-lost-in-lexicography-as-to-f_2685789.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/samuel-johnson-50_art_i-am-not-so-lost-in-lexicography-as-to-f_2685789.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/samuel-johnson-50_art_i-am-not-so-lost-in-lexicography-as-to-f_2685789.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am not so lost in lexicography as to forget that words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the…” — Samuel Johnson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am not so lost in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-am-not-so-lost-in-lexicography-as-to-forget-that-words-are-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-am-not-so-lost-in-lexicography-as-to-forget-that-words-are-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```