--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ever since his first ecstasy or vision of…" description: "\"“Ever since his first ecstasy or vision of Christminster and its possibilities, Jude had meditated much and curiously on the probable sort of process t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/thomas-hardy-410_dreams_ever-since-his-first-ecstasy-or-vision-o_2798314.jpg" --- # Ever since his first ecstasy or vision of Christminster… ![“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…” quote by Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/thomas-hardy-410_dreams_ever-since-his-first-ecstasy-or-vision-o_2798314.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/thomas-hardy-410_dreams_ever-since-his-first-ecstasy-or-vision-o_2798314.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/thomas-hardy-410_dreams_ever-since-his-first-ecstasy-or-vision-o_2798314.jpg) > ““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.”” [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cipher-867326/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Grimm Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grimm-law-3430932/) [Jude Meditated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jude-meditated-3430933/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Possibilities Jude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibilities-jude-3430931/) [Turning Expressions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turning-expressions-3430934/) ## Related quotes > [“Hildegard von Bingen, an 11th-century nun who saw apocalyptic visions and was later canonized, had a cipher alphabet which she claimed came to her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kahn/hildegard-von-bingen-an-11th-century-nun-who-saw-apocalyptic-visions/) [David Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kahn/) > [“years ago one of the translators working on the original Dead Sea scrolls, Professor Schonfeld, discovered a recurring cipher in some texts. A hidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-meade/years-ago-one-of-the-translators-working-on-the-original-dead-sea/) [Glenn Meade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-meade/) > [I carry my unwritten poems in cipher on my face!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-carry-my-unwritten-poems-in-cipher-on-my-face/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“I tried all the basic approaches,” he said. “Including the one those teachers used to crack the cipher he sent to the papers. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-faust/i-tried-all-the-basic-approaches-he-said-including-the-one-those/) [Christa Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-faust/) > [Most actors do that. They fill in the blanks. You don't want to play a cipher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-todd/most-actors-do-that-they-fill-in-the-blanks-you-don-t-want-to-play-a/) [Tony Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-todd/) > [“Everything in our universe is ciphered and to know the cipher is to know the thing—and to know the thing is to command it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/everything-in-our-universe-is-ciphered-and-to-know-the-cipher-is-to/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [“A photograph is a cipher for which we consult our own code books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-ang/a-photograph-is-a-cipher-for-which-we-consult-our-own-code-books/) [Tom Ang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-ang/) > [“There are exceptions, for instance, the popular stream cipher RC4. •”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christof-paar/there-are-exceptions-for-instance-the-popular-stream-cipher-rc4/) [Christof Paar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christof-paar/) > [“The more a cipher deviates from the simple form in which one ciphertext letter invariably replaces the same plaintext letter, the harder it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kahn/the-more-a-cipher-deviates-from-the-simple-form-in-which-one/) [David Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kahn/) > [Few persons can be made to believe that it is not quite an easy thing to invent a method of secret writing that shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/few-persons-can-be-made-to-believe-that-it-is-not-quite-an-easy-thing/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“Much of my unassisted self, and more by the help of Biddy than of Mr. Wopsle's great-aunt, I struggled through the alphabet as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/much-of-my-unassisted-self-and-more-by-the-help-of-biddy-than-of-mr/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Laughter is the cipher key wherewith we decipher the whole man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/laughter-is-the-cipher-key-wherewith-we-decipher-the-whole-man/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [We write our lives indeed, But in a cipher none can read, Except the author](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-ridley-havergal/we-write-our-lives-indeed-but-in-a-cipher-none-can-read-except-the/) [Frances Ridley Havergal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-ridley-havergal/) > [You are not going to know the meaning of God or prayer unless you reduce yourself to a cipher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/you-are-not-going-to-know-the-meaning-of-god-or-prayer-unless-you/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Sometimes you start flowing and shits starts adding on to whatever cipher you're dealing with. Meanwhile you got all of these thoughts in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakim/sometimes-you-start-flowing-and-shits-starts-adding-on-to-whatever/) [Rakim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakim/) ## More by Thomas Hardy > [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. Secondarily, he made close acquaintance with phenomena which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/he-grew-away-from-old-associations-and-saw-something-new-in-life-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“She was in a sound sleep, Jude, dying of anxiety lest she should have caught a chill which might permanently injure her, was glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/she-was-in-a-sound-sleep-jude-dying-of-anxiety-lest-she-should-have/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [You ride well, but you don't kiss nicely at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-ride-well-but-you-don-t-kiss-nicely-at-all/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [You could sometimes see her twelfth year in her cheeks, or her ninth sparkling from her eyes; and even her fifth would flit over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-could-sometimes-see-her-twelfth-year-in-her-cheeks-or-her-ninth/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“It was mid-May time, bringing with it weather not, perhaps, quite so blooming as that assumed to be natural to the month by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-was-mid-may-time-bringing-with-it-weather-not-perhaps-quite-so/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have let him alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/if-galileo-had-said-in-verse-that-the-world-moved-the-inquisition/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Some folk want their luck buttered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/some-folk-want-their-luck-buttered/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Measurement of life should be proportioned rather to the intensity of the experience than to its actual length.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/measurement-of-life-should-be-proportioned-rather-to-the-intensity-of/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“I was court-martialed in my absence, and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/i-was-court-martialed-in-my-absence-and-sentenced-to-death-in-my/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“It being the first time in his life that he had touched female fingers under water, Dick duly registered the sensation as rather a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-being-the-first-time-in-his-life-that-he-had-touched-female/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“As soon as she could discern the outline of the house, it had all its old effect upon Tess's imagination. Part of her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/as-soon-as-she-could-discern-the-outline-of-the-house-it-had-all-its/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [ The perfect woman, you see \[is\] a working-woman; not an idler; not a fine lady; but one who \[uses\] her hands and her head… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-perfect-woman-you-see-is-a-working-woman-not-an-idler-not-a-fine/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“The Sinister Spirit sneered: 'It had to be!' And again the Spirit of Pity whispered, 'Why?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-sinister-spirit-sneered-it-had-to-be-and-again-the-spirit-of-pity/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“Justice” was done, and the President of the Immortals (in Aeschylean phrase) had ended his sport with Tess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/justice-was-done-and-the-president-of-the-immortals-in-aeschylean/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Explore all 561 Thomas Hardy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## More Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“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.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Hardy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/ever-since-his-first-ecstasy-or-vision-of-christminster-and-its/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dreams" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/ever-since-his-first-ecstasy-or-vision-of-christminster-and-its/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/thomas-hardy-410_dreams_ever-since-his-first-ecstasy-or-vision-o_2798314.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/thomas-hardy-410_dreams_ever-since-his-first-ecstasy-or-vision-o_2798314.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/thomas-hardy-410_dreams_ever-since-his-first-ecstasy-or-vision-o_2798314.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ever since his first ecstasy or vision of Christminster and its possibilities, Jude had meditated much and…” — Thomas Hardy", "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": "Thomas Hardy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Ever since his first ecstasy or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/ever-since-his-first-ecstasy-or-vision-of-christminster-and-its/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/ever-since-his-first-ecstasy-or-vision-of-christminster-and-its/#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 } } ] } ```