a LANGUAGE 1 cen to be true of language points to che fact STP ine mone signiant and closal work tha thet oman spit has evolved—nothing short of Be PST for af expresion forall communicable ex ao This form may be endlesly varied by the Peretual without thereby losing is distinctive con tour and constantly veshapng fea alla rage is the mont massive and inclusive art we Tange cumtainous and anonymous work of Uncot- feious generations Edicunt Sarit, Kans nape (Betton, (21 Language and Literature ° Languages are more to us than systems of thought twansference. They are invisible garments that drape themselves about our spirit and give a predetermined form to all its symbolic expression. When the expres- sion is of unustal significance, we call it literature? ‘Art isso personal an expression that we do not like to- feel that it i bound to predetermined form of any sort. The possibilities of individual expression are finite, language in particular i the most fluid of medi- tums. Yet some limitation there must be to this free. dom, some resistance of the medium. In great art there is the illusion of absolute freedom. The formal re straints imposed by the, material—paint, black and white, marble, piano tones, or whatever it may be— are not perceived: i is 2s though there were a limitless margin of elbowroom between the artist's fullest zation of form and the mort that the material ie in- nately capable of. The artist has intuitively eurren- dered to the inescapable tyranny of the material, made brute nature fuse easily with his conception The 1 can hardly stop wo define fst whet Kind of expreaion bs ssigolican” enough tobe eed ar or lester Sisco SoFeracly know We tall hge take Keeature for granted. soto artic cmnenion, More tan on tevlt inser a ESieete domicsed by the dese to get out ofthe ater foxEe a See oes Ss ‘material “disappears” precisely because there is noth: ing in the artist’ conception to indicate that any other material exists For the time being, he, and we with hhim, move in the artistic medium as a fish moves in the water, oblivious ofthe existence af an alien atmos. phere. No sooner, however, does the artist tranigress the law of his medium than we realize with a start tar there is medium to obey Language is the medium of literature as marble of bronze or clay are the materials ofthe sculptor. Since every language has its dstinetive peculiarities, the in nate formal limitations—and posibilitesof one lit erature are never quite the same as those of another ‘The literature fashioned out of the form and su. stance of a language hae the color and the texture of its matrix. The literary artist may never be consctous of just how he is hindered “or helped or otherwise guided by the matrix, but when itis @ question of ‘anslating his work into another languages the nature ofthe original matrix manifest itself at once, All his effects have been calculated, of intulvely felt, with reference to the formal “genie” of his own langusge they cannot be earsied over without loss or modifies, tion. Croce is therefore perfectly right in saying that work of literary art can never be translated. Never theless Titerature does get itself translated, sometimes With astonishing adequacy. This brings up the ques tion whether in the art of literature there are not fn terewined two distinct kinds of levels of arta gener. alized, non-linguistie ar, which can he. transterred ‘without loss into an alien linguistic medium, and a "Tike Reoeteto Cine, Aesthetic Language and Literature ey specially linguistic art that is not transferable 1 Delieve the distinction is entirely valid, though we never get the «wo levels pure in practice. Literature ‘moves in language as 2 medium, but that medium couprises two layers, the latent content of language our intuitive record of experience and the partie ular conformation of a given language—the specitc ‘how of our record of experience. Literature that draws its sustenance mainly~—never entirely from the lower level, say a play of Shakespeare's is anslaable with ‘ut foo great a loss of character. I it moves in the ‘upper rather than in the lower level far example isa lyric of Swinburne's—it is as good as untransiae able. Both types of literary expression may be great of mediocre. There is really no mystery in the distinction. It can bbe clarified a lide by comparing literature with seh ence. A scientife wuth is impersonal in its esence ft is untinetured by the particular linguistic median in ‘which it finds expression. Ie can as readily deliver iy ‘message in Chinese asin English, Nevertheles it mst hhave some expression, and that expression must needs be a linguistic one. Indeed the apprehension of the scientific truth is iself 2 linguistic proces, for thought fi nothing but language denuded ofits outward garb ‘The proper medium of scientific expresion is there. to me wo'be of genuine thearete iter: For iar we at medi “apart mach ey anes ie, (he, {8.1 handy meats of giving outward expreston So a cneeption "plore of fone Chine a Sette provide oat with ane ec oie Yai mie naeae LANGUAGE fore a generalized language that may be defined 28 2 symbolic algebra of which all known Taoguages are Gamslations: One cam adequately easlae scentific Tieratre because the original scentife expression is ite a tansation. Licrary expression is personal and once uh ent em ht 1 ieee {Salogether bound up withthe accidental qualities o ihe medium. A truly cep symbolism, foF instance, flees not depend on the verbal atocatons ofa partie Sar language but rests scarey om an incitive basis that underlies all linguist expresion. ‘The artists “ntuitom,” to ase Croce’s term, is immediately fash foned. out of ‘a generaied ‘human experince— thought and feelingeol which his owe individual ex percnce ia highly pewonalized selection. The thought Felons in thie deeper level Nive no speci linguistic ‘eturer the shh ate fre, not bound, in the fst Tnstane, tothe traditional ryt of the arti’ Tans guage, Cercain artists whose apr moves largely in the onlinguisde. (beter, in the generalied linguistic) Iayee even finda certain dficlty in gesting them selves expresed in the rigidly terms of thee ac pred idiom, One fels that they sre unconsiouly Stlving fora generalized art language 2 teary alge ba hae is elated co the sum of all known languages va perfect mathematical symbolism i related to all dhe roundabout reports of mathemati relations that formal speech is capable of conveying. Their ar ox Dresion fy frequenty strained, fe sounds at dines tke E*fandation tom a0 unkown original, i lech i precisely what iis These artis-—Whitas Shd Brownings-~impres ws rather by the greatness of ‘hee spire chan the fcliiy of thei at. The rlative tage ofthe gente ago ae a a indo ‘more intuteive linguistic medium than any particular Tango vertheles, human expremion being what itis the Language and Literature 335 restest—or shall we say the most tisying—icera Etiam he Shakepeste and elon ste thous TAS iave Lnown subeanscouly to Be or tim the deeper Inwuiion to the. provincl scents of ther iy speech, In them there eno effect of sain. Theis per tonal “intition” appears completed synthe of {he absolute art of isiton and the inate, spec fnedsreof the linguistic medium. With Heine: Tor instance, one fs under the ison that the universe speaks Corman, The material “dappear.” Ever language tel collective a of expresion, “There is concealed in it's particola st of ethele {setonphonene, shythnit mole, morphological wich edocs ot ompltely sare wi anyother la guage These factors may either merge het potencies Sith tho of that unknown, absolute lnguage to which I have reterred=ihie i the method ef Stake tpesre and Hene=or hey may mesve spite rh Meal are fabrie oftheir wn, he inate rtf the Tnnguoge intenibed or sublimated. The later type thermo technically “literary” art of Swinburne se ‘nous of delete "minor" pets too frie Tor Srdurance Is built out of praised materia, not fut of spirit "The sucess of the Swinburne af 33 Salusble for diagnostic purposes a the sem afures Uf the Browning ‘They show to what extent erary Src may lean othe eolectve ar ofthe language {eit "The more exreme technical prstiioners may {S overindivgualied dhs collecive ar fo wake dimost unendurable. One isnot always tanklul fave one's fh and blood froren to Wry nar mut tin the native eet reworces aot his spech, He may be thank if the given palee colors eich, i the springboard sigh: Bur he de Server no spec credit for fer tht are the lan funges own: We most take for granted this language Sich all tr quale of exibilly or righiy ane se the arias workin relation to it A cthedal on d236 LANGUAGE, lowlands is higher than a stick on Mont Blane. In other words, we must not commit the flly of admir- ing a French sonnet because the vowels are mote sono- rows than our own of of condemning Nietzche's prose because it harbors in ts texture combinations of con- sonants that would afrght on English soil. To #0 judge literature would be tantamount to loving “Tris tan und Isolde” because one is fond of the trmbre of hhoms There ate certain things that one language can ddo supremely well which it would be almost vain for nother to attempt. Generally there are compensa tions, The voralia of English is an inherently érab- ber thing than the vowel sale of French, yet English ‘compensates for this draeback by is greater rhythmical Slerimess Te is even doubtful ifthe snmate sonorty of 4 phonetic aystem counts for as much, a esthetic de terminants a6 the relations between the sounds, the oral gamut of their similaities and. contrast. AS Tong a+ the artist has the wherewithal o lay out his Sequences and thythm, fe matters lie what are the festauous qualities of the elements of his material “The phonetic groundwork of a language, however, is only one of the feawures that give its literaure a ‘certain direction, Far more important are its morpho- Togieal peculiarities. Tt makes a great deal of difer- fence for the development of style if the language can for cannot create compound words, if is structure is Synthetic or analytic, the words ofits sentences have Considerable freedom of position or ate compelled to fall into-a rigidly determined sequence. The major characteristics of sejle, in so far a8 syle isa technical smatter of the building and placing of words, ae given by the language iselt, quite as inescapably, indeed, as the general acoustic ellect of verse is given by the sountis and natural accents of the language. ‘These iecessary fundamentals of style are hardly fel by the frist ta. constrain his individuality of expresion. ‘They rather point the way to dhe sylstie develop- sents that most suit the nauural bent of the Language. Language and Literature 7 Tis notin the least likely that a erly great syle can Seriously oppose ieelf othe basic form pattems of the Tanguage tot only incorporates them, ie Duds on them. The merit of such atte as W. H. Hudson's or George Monte that i does with eae and economy ‘what the langoage ie always trying to do. Carles, Though individeal and vigrout ryt no styles ie i 2 Tettonfe manners, Nor the prove of Mitton and is contemporaries nity English fb semiLacin Alone into magnificent English words Tis srange how long ithas taken the European Wit erature to learn that sige i not an absalte a some Ching that isto be dmposed”on the language from Greck or Latin modes but merely the language feel Funning in ie natral grooves and with enough ofan Individual accen to allow the art's personality tobe fete asa pescnce, not a an acrobat. We understand nore elesriy now that what i fective and beautifl Invone language vice in another Latin and Es vos with their highly inflected form, led. them teive tan elaborately periodic srucare that would Se boring in Engh: English allows even demands, a Toowenest dha would be insipid sn Chinese. And Chi toe with i unmodified words and viid sequences, hie compactness of phrase, terse parallelism, and 3 ene soggestivenes dat would be wo tat oo math matical tor the English gensss. While we cannot Shimiote the lusurous period. of Latin nor the Doimillie syle of the Chinese cacy we can enter Brmpatheically into the spire of these alien tech “Tlieve that any English poet of today would be hank forthe comcison that a Chinese poetaser at tains without elfore Here is an example? eres waiden by young Chine fend of mine wheo Be et228 LANGUAGE ‘Wuriver stream mouth evening sam sink, North Took Lise Tung. not sce ome Steam while several note sty.arth boondles, Flont float one reed out Middle Kingdom These twentycight syllables may be cumaily inter preted: “At the mouth of the Yangtze River, a the fun is about to sink, Tlook north toward Liso-Tung. ‘but do not see my home, The steamwhistle sh several times on the boundless expanse where meet sky and earth, The steamer, floating gently like a hol low reed, sails out of the Middle Kingdom." But wwe must not envy Chinese itt terseness unduly. Our more sprawling mode of expression is capable of itt ‘own beauties and the more compact luxutianee of Latin style has its lovelines too. There are almost st ‘many natural ideals of literary style as there are la guages Most of these are merely potential, awaiting the hand of artists who will never come. And yet in © recorded texte of primitive wadicion and song there are many passages of unique vigor and beauty. ‘The structure of the language often forces an assert biage of concepts that impreses us as a stylistic die. covery. Single ‘Algonkin words are like tiny imagist poems. We must be careful not to exaggerate a fresh fess of content that is a least half due to ou fresh nest of approaeh, but the possibility ix indicated none the less of utery alien literary sles, each distinctive with its disclosure of the search of the human spirit for beautiful form. Probably nothing better illustrates the formal de pendence of Ierature on language than the prosodic spect of poetry. Quantitative verse was entirely nat lal to the Greeks, not merely because poetry grew Sh proce of Maca Language and Literature 29 ‘up in connection withthe chant and the dance. but because alterations of long and short bles wee eenly live fats inthe day economy of the lagu “The tonal accent, which were only conan sees phenomena, helped vo give te oleic fa quandion ee Individuality. When the Greek meters vere eared aver into Latin vere, here was Comparsvely Tos train, for Latin too was characterized by an acite avarenes of quaniatve Satincuons. However the {tin acent wes more markedly stened than tha of Greek. Probably, therefore, the purely quandhatioe meters modeled after the Greek were la 8 shade tnoreartifdal Gan inthe langage of ther ong ‘The attempe to est Engh fers ino. Latin Se Greck molds as ever ben sucenfls'The dynarie basis of English nov ean’ but sues the alte nation of scented and unacehed syable Th fact, fives Engl vere an ently deren sant an has termined the development oft pote forma snl reponsible forthe evolution of ew forms, Neer Stren nor allabie weigh i's very Leen papehsont, factor in the Symamir of French, The sabe es feat inherent sonory and does not fecuate vgn Elnay a8 to quanscy snd sre: Quamtiave of ae cena mews wold bea aria in French as se tmetcs in clasical Greek quanti ox poraly Silabie metres im Engh, French prosody wa come Pelled to develop onthe bans of unt ylsle froups Awonance, Iter tyme, could not ba prose 2 welcome, an all but necessary, ean of ariealting a sectioning the somewhat splncicn movement of ‘norous lables Engish ws hope tothe French ging voice ard the meatre'of the dance: Yer'ccentul sed EBM ps tee er hn tie sre ave nt ht Sine nen pce aloe tha oy haeore i 2 ‘ 4 i 230 LANGUAGE suggestion of rhyme, but did not seriously need it in ts thythmic economy. Hence thyme has alwaye been ttricly subordinated to stres as a somewhat decora- tive feature and has been frequently dispensed with, is no prychologie acsident that rhyme came later {nto Englsh than in French and is leaving it sooner:* (Chinese verte has developed along very much the sme Lines as French verse. The syllable is an even mor {integral and sonorous unit than in French, whil ‘quantity and stress are too uncercain to form the basi fa metric system. Syllable groups—so and so many ‘yllables per rhythmic unit—and rhyme are therefore ‘0 of the controlling factors in Chinese prosody. The {third factor, the alternation of syllables with level tone and syllables with inflected (ising or falling) tone, is peculiar to Chinese. “To summarize, Latin and Greek verse depends on the principle of contrasting weights; English verse, on the [principle of ‘contrasting steer; French verse, fon the principles of number and echo; Chinese verse, fon the principles of number, echo, and contrasting pitches, Each ofthese rhythmic systems proceeds from fhe unconscious dynamic habit of the Language, fall ing from the lipe of the folk. Study carefully the pho- netic system of language, above all its dynamic fex- tres, and you can tell what kind of a verse it has eveloped—or, if history has played pranks with its prychology, what Kind of verse it should have devel: Sped and tome day wil, ‘Whatever be the sounds, accents, and forms of a language, however these lay hands on the shape ofits literature, theve is a subd law of compensations that giver the artist space. If he is squeered a bit here, he ‘an awing a free arm there. And generally he has rope Language and Literature ae enough (0 hang himself with, if he must, Ie is not Strange that ths should beso: Language fs fat the callecive art of expresion, 2 summary of thousands ‘upon thousands of individual intuitions, The inde ida goes lat inthe collective creation, but his per tonal expression has left some trace in certain fs fp Ret hat are nen inal calectve wor the human sprit: The language steady or can be uy made ready, to define he in individu iy. leno literary artst appears it is not esentaly because the language i a0 weak an nstruments because the cultare of the people not favorable to the growth of such perionaley sche sway individ. tal verbal expreson