Horne Tooke by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Name: Horne Tooke
Author: Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The work presents a critical examination of Horne Tooke, emphasizing his intellectual limitations and the superficiality of his contributions to the philosophy of language. The author asserts that Tooke's insights are largely derivative, lacking depth and originality, primarily drawn from earlier thinkers like Lennep. The critique highlights Tooke's failure to grasp the broader implications of language, reducing it to mere etymology and political commentary. The text discusses Tooke's treatment of language as a political tool rather than a profound subject worthy of serious exploration. It critiques his simplistic approach to the origins of words and the arbitrary nature of grammatical gender, particularly in German. The author argues that Tooke's interpretations are flawed, particularly in his analysis of the sun and moon's genders, suggesting that historical linguistic shifts and cultural contexts are overlooked. The narrative delves into the evolution of the German language, contrasting the Platt-Deutsch and Ober-Deutsch dialects. It explains how the definite articles evolved and how Luther's translation of the Bible played a crucial role in shaping modern German. The author posits that the gender assignments in language are not as fixed as Tooke suggests, and that cultural perceptions of gender in relation to natural phenomena like the sun and moon are complex and historically contingent. Overall, the work serves as a critique of Tooke's methodology and conclusions, advocating for a more nuanced understanding of language that considers its philosophical, moral, and historical dimensions. The author calls for a recognition of the richness of linguistic study beyond Tooke's narrow focus, emphasizing the need for depth and rigor in the exploration of language's nature and function.

By Samuel Taylor Coleridge · First published 1798 · Genre: Philosophy, Literary Criticism, Political Commentary · 898 words

First lines

Horne Tooke was pre-eminently a ready-witted man. He had that clearness / which is founded on shallowness. He doubted nothing; and, therefore, gave / you all that he himself knew, or meant, with great completeness. His voice / was very fine, and his tones exquisitely discriminating. His mind had no / progression or developement. All that is worth any thing (and that is but / little) in the Diversions of Purley is contained in a short pamphlet-letter / which he addressed to Mr. Dunning; then it was enlarged to an octavo, hut / there was not a foot of progression beyond the pamphlet; at last, a quarto / volume, 1 believe, came out; and yet, verily, excepting newspaper lampoons / and political insinuations, there was no addition to the argument of the / pamphlet, It shows a base and unpoetical mind to convert so beautiful, so / divine, a subject as language into the vehicle or make-weight of political / squibs. All that is true in Horne Tooke's book is taken from Lennep, who / gave it for so much as it was worth, and never pretended to make a system / of it. Tooke affects to explain the origin and whole philosophy of language / by what is, in fact, only a mere accident of the history of one language, / or one or two languages. His abuse of Harris is most shallow and unfair. / Harris, in the Hermes, was dealing -- not very profoundly, it is true, -- with / the philosophy of language, the moral, physical, and metaphysical causes / and conditions of it, &c. Horne Tooke, in writing about the formation of / words only, thought he was explaining the philosophy of language, which is / a very different thing. In point of fact, he was very shallow in the Gothic / dialects.

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Horne Tooke is listed on Textopian as an essay by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, dated 1798 CE.

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Work type: Essay
Author: Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Date: 1798 CE
Language: English
Genres: Philosophy, Literary Criticism, Political Commentary, Linguistics, Historical Analysis
Length: 898 words
Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)

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Genres

Philosophy — The text critiques the philosophy of language, focusing on the nature and origin of words.
Literary Criticism — The work evaluates Horne Tooke's contributions and shortcomings in linguistic theory.
Political Commentary — The text discusses the political implications of language and Tooke's approach to it.
Linguistics — The analysis of language formation and dialects is central to the discussion.