145 / 298
Vico’s Ring
145
tions of pronouns, particles, nouns, and verbs (§§ 450-453), as
well as on morpholinguistic aspects of vowels, consonants, and
singing (§§ 461-462). The contrast between this material and the
rhetorical
use of languages is not only one of different levels in a
hierarchy of competence, but also of ontological status. In the
case of rhetorical language, its position is that of source or foun-
tainhead of civilization
300
, that is, “origin-ary”, the suffix alluding
to its causative role. On the other hand, in the case of the mor-
phological/lexical parts of language, they are described as results
or effects rather than as causes; instead of being
originary
, they
originated
. And from the standpoint of Vico’s development of his
theory of the “poetic” beginnings of human societies, these
speculations, if they are only taken at their strictly “linguistic”
face value, actually would not appear to be particularly pertinent.
This evident incongruity
301
, and resultant tension, calls for an
explanation, or, at least, further comment. A suggested, and sug-
gestive, explanation can be glimpsed in Vico’s recurrent theme of
“childhood” in “Poetic Logic”. This trope appears both in its lit-
eral as well as metaphorical guises, and by this twofold function-
ing brings the two widely distanced levels of language under one
umbrella. So, concerning child psychology, he speaks of «the
simplicity of children, who are truthful by nature» (§ 408), «that
children […] apprehend and name all the men, women and
things that bear any resemblance or relation to the first [those
they have seen first]» (§ 412), «the nature of children» (§ 413),
«the crying of children» (§ 449), «children expressing nouns and
particles but leaving the verbs to be understood» (§ 453), «chil-
dren […] begin with monosyllables» (§ 454), «children […] pro-
nounce consonants only with the greatest difficulty» (§ 462),
«children learned the Law of the Twelve Tables by singing it»
(§ 469), «children are extraordinarily gifted in imitation»
(§ 498)
302
. Also relevant to the question of the “production” of
language as a system of communication are the statements about
non-verbal means of communication, employed both by young