# Words Are the Daughters of Earth and Things Are the Sons of Heaven by Samuel Johnson > “I am not yet so lost in lexicography, as to forget that words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven. Language is only the instrument of science, and words are but the signs of ideas: I wish, however, that the instrument might be less apt to decay, and that signs might be permanent, like the things which they denote.” > **— Samuel Johnson**, *Preface to A Dictionary of the English Language, 1755* ## Sources and Context - **Primary source:** Samuel Johnson, [Preface to *A Dictionary of the English Language*](https://jacklynch.net/Texts/preface.html) (London, 1755), paragraph 17; transcription edited by Jack Lynch, checked word for word. - **Exact original:** as above. No editorial change. In Johnson's usage *science* means knowledge. - **Context:** Johnson explains why he sought steadiness and uniformity of spelling while acknowledging that language changes. His dictionary was the British standard that Noah Webster set out to replace for Americans. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/War With Empire|War With Empire]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/war with empire/Authorship of the West|Authorship of the West]] - **Article:** [[articles/The New Dictionary of the Machine Regime|The New Dictionary of the Machine Regime]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Authorship of the West|Authorship of the West]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Samuel Johnson|Samuel Johnson]] - [[wiki/An American Dictionary of the English Language|An American Dictionary of the English Language]] - [[wiki/Language|Language]] - [[wiki/Lexical Omission|Lexical Omission]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “I am not yet so lost in lexicography, as to forget that words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven. Language is only the instrument of science, and words are but the signs of ideas: I wish, however, that the instrument might be less apt to decay, and that signs might be permanent, like the things which they denote.” — Samuel Johnson, Preface to A Dictionary of the English Language, 1755 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-samuel-johnson-words-daughters-of-earth ```