Page:Novalis Schriften - Volume 2.djvu/28

★ 18 ★

1 It's actually an odd issue regarding speech and writing: True speech is is mere word play. The ridiculous misconception that can only be wondered at is that people fancy—that they speak on behalf of things. Straight away, the peculiarity about language is that it is only concerned with itself. That is why it is such a wonderful and productive secret—that when one merely speaks only to speak, he straight away utters the most marvelous, original truths. But if he wants to speak of something specific, the whimsy of language will make him say the most laughable and perverse things. This also gives rise to the hatred that many earnest people have for language. They notice its mischievousness, but they do not notice that the endless disdainful chatter is the immeasurable serious side of language. If one could only make people understand that it is with language as it is with mathematical formulas—They constitute a world for themselves—They play only amongst themselves—express nothing but their wondrous nature, and that is why they are so expressive—that is why the peculiar play of relationship between things are reflected in them. Only in their freedom are they parts of nature and only in their free movement does the world soul express itself and makes them into the delicate measure and outline of things. So, it is also the same with language—anyone who has a keen sense of its application, its rhythm, its musical