Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 22:01:43 +0200
From: Henk van Tuijl <Henk.van.Tuijl-AT-net.HCC.nl>
Subject: Re: Language?


Greg Borgerson wrote:
What's the German etymology of poetry?

_Dichten_ is from Latin _dictare_ and later Ohd. _tihton_ or _dihton_. A
certain Otfrid seems to have been the first one to use it in the sense
of "writing down what one has thought over before". It is not a very
inspiring etymology, at first sight. 
If Michael Eldred could take the time and look it up in his Grimm, there
would certainly be much more to say about Otfrid cum suis. Somewhere
there may even be a reference to oracles.
Heidegger defines poetizing also as measuring. In poetizing comes to the
fore what all measuring in essence is. Poetizing is the appropriation of
taking measure. In the strictest sense of the word it is taking the
measure of the width and breadth of man's being.
If one follows in Otfrid's and Heidegger's footsteps, poetizing would be
the writing down of the measures one has taken before of the width and
breadth of man's being. However, the question remains how all this fits
in with the building of man's dwelling place, the house of Being - since
poetizing is also building?

Kindest regards,
Henk



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