Dreams Quote by Thomas Hardy
““Ever since his first ecstasy or vision of Christminster and its possibilities, Jude had meditated much and curiously on the probable sort of process that was involved in turning the expressions of one language into those of another. He concluded that a grammar of the required tongue would contain, primarily, a rule, prescription, or clue of the nature of a secret cipher, which, once known, would enable him, by merely applying it, to change at will all words of his own speech into those of the foreign one. His childish idea was, in fact, a pushing to the extremity of mathematical precision what is everywhere known as Grimm's Law—an aggrandizement of rough rules to ideal completeness. Thus he assumed that the words of the required language were always to be found somewhere latent in the words of the given language by those who had the art to uncover them, such art being furnished by the books aforesaid.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Jude the Obscure, 1895
He explores the idea of a hidden linguistic cipher that could translate languages perfectly, reflecting on the limits of linguistic theory.
In simple terms: He imagines a secret rule that lets one language become another.
Key Takeaway
Language may hide universal patterns.
Themes
language
translation
theory
Mood
speculative
intellectual
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- literature
Key Concepts
linguistics
cryptography
Practical Applications
- academic study
- language learning
- translation software
Questions to Reflect On
- Can a perfect linguistic cipher exist?
- What does this say about language learning?
A Different Perspective
Assumes language can be reduced to simple rules, ignoring cultural nuance.
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