26-10-2011, 04:59
(5/6)
Année 1936
Compilation (privée, effectuée par A.H. Smith et un groupe d’étudiants de l’University College de Londres à partir de poèmes de Tolkien et E.V. Gordon) de http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_for_the_Philologists" target=_blank>Songs for the Philologists qui contient le poème « Lit’ and Lang’ » (titre de la table des matières: Two Little Schemes ; titre introduisant le poème : Lit’ and Lang’ ; version modifiée de celle de Leeds; cf. Scull & Hammond, Reader’s Guide, p. 967-968)
[citation]LIT’ AND LANG’
Once there were two little groups,
Once there were two little groups,
Once there were two little groups,
Called Lit’ and Lang’.
Lit’ was lazy till she died,
Lit’ was lazy till she died,
Lit’ was lazy till she died,
Of homophemes.
“I don’t like philology,”
Poor Lit’ said.
Psychotherapeutics failed,
And now she’s dead.
Doctors cut up all the corpse,
Doctors cut up all the corpse,
Doctors cut up all the corpse,
But searched in vain;
They couldn’t find it anywhere,
They couldn’t find it anywhere,
They couldn’t find it anywhere,
They couldn’ find the brain.
Did Lang’ go into mourning-weeds?
I don’t think!
He quickly wiped a tear away
And had another drink.[/citation]
Année 1959
[citation=Shippey, p. 143-144]« By the end of his career, however, Tolkien was in a position to speak even more frankly, and this he did in his “Valedictory Address to the University of Oxford” characteristically he had never got round to an Inaugural delivered alter he had retired on 5th June 1959. By this time he was apparently in rather a bad temper with many of his Oxford faculty colleagues, and he coined a word to describe them: they were ‘misologists,’ the exact opposite of ‘philologists,’ not ‘lovers of the word’ but ‘haters of the word.’ Such people should not be in a university at all, as students or as teachers:
Of course, he says (on this public occasion), he does not mean everyone, just “certain professional persons,” and those “not of the highest rank.” But I am sure they knew who they were. No doubt several of them were present, which accounts for Tolkien’s not very convincing display of tact. »[/citation]
Année 1936
Compilation (privée, effectuée par A.H. Smith et un groupe d’étudiants de l’University College de Londres à partir de poèmes de Tolkien et E.V. Gordon) de http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_for_the_Philologists" target=_blank>Songs for the Philologists qui contient le poème « Lit’ and Lang’ » (titre de la table des matières: Two Little Schemes ; titre introduisant le poème : Lit’ and Lang’ ; version modifiée de celle de Leeds; cf. Scull & Hammond, Reader’s Guide, p. 967-968)
[citation]LIT’ AND LANG’
Once there were two little groups,
Once there were two little groups,
Once there were two little groups,
Called Lit’ and Lang’.
Lit’ was lazy till she died,
Lit’ was lazy till she died,
Lit’ was lazy till she died,
Of homophemes.
“I don’t like philology,”
Poor Lit’ said.
Psychotherapeutics failed,
And now she’s dead.
Doctors cut up all the corpse,
Doctors cut up all the corpse,
Doctors cut up all the corpse,
But searched in vain;
They couldn’t find it anywhere,
They couldn’t find it anywhere,
They couldn’t find it anywhere,
They couldn’ find the brain.
Did Lang’ go into mourning-weeds?
I don’t think!
He quickly wiped a tear away
And had another drink.[/citation]
Année 1959
[citation=Shippey, p. 143-144]« By the end of his career, however, Tolkien was in a position to speak even more frankly, and this he did in his “Valedictory Address to the University of Oxford” characteristically he had never got round to an Inaugural delivered alter he had retired on 5th June 1959. By this time he was apparently in rather a bad temper with many of his Oxford faculty colleagues, and he coined a word to describe them: they were ‘misologists,’ the exact opposite of ‘philologists,’ not ‘lovers of the word’ but ‘haters of the word.’ Such people should not be in a university at all, as students or as teachers:
I do not think that [Philology] should be thrust down throats as a pill, because I think that if such a process seems needed, the sufferers should not be here, at least not studying or teaching English letters. Philology is the foundation of humane letters; ‘misology’ is a disquali¬fying defect, or disease.
It is not, in my experience, a defect or disease found in those whose literary learning, wisdom, and critical acumen place them in the highest rank […] But […] there are other voices […] I must confess that at times in the last thirty odd years I have been aggrieved by them; by those, afflicted in some degree by misology, who have decried what they usually call language [ ... ] Dull¬ness is to be pitied. Or so I hope, being myself dull at many points. But dullness should be confessed with hu¬mility; and I have therefore felt it a grievance that certain professional persons should suppose their dullness and ignorance to be a human norm, the measure of what is good; and anger when they have sought to impose the limitation of their minds upon younger minds, dissuading those with philological curiosity from <144> their bent, encouraging those without this interest to be-lieve that their lack marked them as minds of a superior order.
(Essays, 225-6)
=
Je ne crois pas qu’il faille la [la philologie] faire avaler de force comme une pilule parce que je crois que si un tel procédé semble nécessaire, les patients ne devraient pas se trouver ici, tout du moins pas à étudier ni à enseigner les lettres anglaises. La philologie est le fondement des humanités ; la “misologie” est un défaut ou un mal disqualifiant.
D’après mon expérience, il ne s’agit pas d’un défaut ni d’un mal présent chez ceux dont la culture littéraire, la sagesse et le jugement critique les placent au plus haut rang, […] Mais il y a d’autres voix, […] Je dois avouer qu’au cours des trente dernières années, j’ai parfois été affligé par elles, par ceux qui, atteints d’un certain degré de misologie, ont discrédité ce qu’ils ont coutume d’appeler langue […] La médiocrité est à déplorer, tout du moins je l’espère, étant moi-même médiocre à divers endroits. Mais elle devrait être humblement avouée et j’ai donc ressenti comme une affliction le fait que certains parmi nous prennent leur médiocrité et leur ignorance pour la norme humaine, la mesure de ce qui est bon ; par ailleurs, j’ai aussi éprouvé de la colère lorsqu’ils cherchaient à imposer les limitations de leur esprit à des esprits plus jeunes, en détournant de leur penchant ceux qui ressentaient de la curiosité pour la philologie et en encourageant ceux qui ne s’y intéressaient pas à croire que cette lacune les distinguait comme esprits d’un ordre supérieur.
(MCE, p. 278-279)
Of course, he says (on this public occasion), he does not mean everyone, just “certain professional persons,” and those “not of the highest rank.” But I am sure they knew who they were. No doubt several of them were present, which accounts for Tolkien’s not very convincing display of tact. »[/citation]