No matter of whom, or of what, a man speaks, the one thing that he reveals in speaking is — himself.
Therefore the wise man showed a knowledge of human nature when he declared that “He that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.” A wiser than Solomon unfolds a still deeper truth in the declaration, “By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned,” for the words used by a speaker are a sure index of the depth of his knowledge, his acquaintance with literature, range of thought, mental discipline, habits of discrimination, and power of analysis.
- A.C. Webb (A Manual of Etymology)
He that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
- Solomon (Proverbs 17:28)
By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned
- Jesus (Matthew 12:37)
etymology
The importance of words, in all the processes of education, cannot be over-estimated. Education depends on a knowledge of the meaning and application of words. Knowledge can be imparted and received only by the medium of words correctly used and properly understood.
The basis of a good education must be laid with words well chosen, properly arranged, and firmly implanted in the mind.
- A.C. Webb (A Manual of Etymology)
Etymology is the study of the origin and history of words, including how their meanings have changed over time.
words are concepts; symbols. some purely conceptual, others backed with or charged by our direct experiences.
order & context
One of the problems in education, is to determine the method by which pupils are to be taught the correct use of words. From the richness of the English language, which gives many words to the same meaning, and many and diverse meanings to the same word, the proper use of a word cannot be deduced from its meaning.
How, then, is the knowledge of the use of words to be imparted to children?
Either by the teacher, or by conversation and reading. The knowledge acquired by conversation and reading is limited in extent; and, as it is entirely dependent on the power of observation, the impressions are faint and ill-defined, and the conclusions frequently incorrect.
No teacher would think of teaching Arithmetic by simply imparting the rules, and then leaving to the child their correct application. Yet, the practice of Arithmetic might possibly be left to such teaching, inasmuch as Arithmetic is an exact science based on fixed principles, from which correct reasoning must deduce correct results.
But no reasoning can show to the child, who has learned “Deduce, to draw,” that he must not say, “I tried to deduce the horse from the stable;” or, “Deciduous, falling.” “The boy deciduous from the window, was killed.”
The sympathizing teacher feels acute pain in witnessing the disappointment of the pupil, whose industrious and well-meant effort only provoked a laugh from idle scholars, who made no failure, because they made no attempt. Witness such failures as the following, taken from school exercises:
Incipient, commencing.
We are incipient to draw.
Acute, sharp.
The razor is acute.
Cogent, forcible.
The boy gave a cogent blow, and the door dew open.
Aperture, opening.
Mrs. A. will have her millinery aperture next week.
These are the errors of untrained children; but the laughable mistakes of intelligent foreigners, when they attempt to use words according to their meaning, is conclusive proof of the proposition that —
The only way by which the use of a word can be taught is to give a sentence in which the word is correctly used.
- A.C. Webb (A Manual of Etymology)
since words are symbols, tools that point to meaning but don’t contain meaning in & of themselves, we need to contextualize our words in a sentence in order to properly understand them.
the trivium
grammar —> logic —> rhetoric
metaphysics —> epistemology —> ethics
philosophy —> epistemology —> application
knowledge of first principles & first causes —> knowledge of how the first principles & first causes work & interact —> knowledge of how to apply first principles & first causes
knowing words —> understanding words & knowing how words are used to convey information —> understanding how to use words to convey emotion & create sentences of meaning
order is extremely relevant.
reality creation
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
- Hebrews 4:12
your words are empowering you & accelerating your rate of growth/capacity to love
or
your words are keeping you stuck, stagnant & depressed (& you don’t even know it..)
stop telling yourself “i can’t” or “i’m not good enough.” maybe you feel that way, and that’s ok—feel them fully—just don’t stop there. admit that you feel that “i can’t” right now, then pray & ask God to help you get to the point where “i can”.
don’t stop at beliefs of lack & feelings of unworthiness. address them—don’t fucking gaslight yourself you goofy—release them, & ask God to heal you, guide you & empower you. claim your abundance.
words reflect beliefs. and when when we change our beliefs, we change our world.
words don’t just reflect beliefs though, words also reinforce beliefs. the words we tell ourselves are the words we experience in reality.
understanding the words you say to others & to yourself is the prerequisite to changing your life.
with love
- Jaden
when you’re ready to take your healing, creative & intimate journeys to the next level, come join our community masters of alchemy for lifetime access to in-depth teachings & courses as well as direct access to me with our group calls & bonus 1-1 calls.
p.s. enjoy these flickies from my walk yesterday
