Philology Quotes

“When I see imposters like … Swinburne, [and] Fleay, who know as much early English as my dog, & who fancy they can settle Chaucer difficulties as they blow their noses, then I ridicule or kick them. But earnest students I treat with respect, & am only too glad to learn from them.”
― James Turner, Philology: The Forgotten Origins of the Modern Humanities

“No one accused Frederick James Furnivall of averageness, and his career highlights the ups and downs of editorial scholarship. As eccentric as he was energetic, a Christian socialist turned agnostic, Furnivall gained a reputation for hot pink neckties, sculling on the Thames with shopgirls, and hours toiling over manuscripts in the British Museum.”
― James Turner, Philology: The Forgotten Origins of the Modern Humanities

“The language of Homer lay still further off. Imagine a twenty-first-century Texan reading Chaucer.”
― James Turner, Philology: The Forgotten Origins of the Modern Humanities