In the 17th century you see the beginnings of that distinction. Bacon talks about it, as does Sidney in the Defense of Poesy. And there are lots of others. The whole notion that Donne was reacting to the truth of the scientific revolution also depends on a perceived difference in the 17th century.
Joanna
Carrol Cox wrote:
> My general sense is that the c oncept of "ART," as used here, did not
> come into existence until th 19th century, nor did the concept of
> Science as used here. So the point somehow misses me.
>
> Carrol
>
> 123hop at comcast.net wrote:
>
>> No, it wasn't that simple. The ideal of purity for normal language was derived from the worship of "stable" (dead) classical languages. And there were those who argued that such purity had the "truth" of a stopped clock.
>>
>> If you're interested in the subject, read Cassirer "The Individual and the Cosmos in Renaissance Philosophy" or try my diss, which is microfiched by U of Minnesota(?)
>>
>> Artists most definitely did not buy the division between the "truth" of science and of art.
>>
>> Joanna
>>
>> -------------- Original message ----------------------
>> From: "Charles Brown" <charlesb at cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>
>>> Joanna:
>>> why it was that in the seventeenth century, people started talking
>>> about there being one truth for science and another for art, a
>>> subsidiary assertion being that normal language was degraded, but that
>>> the language of science (mathematics) was pure....and that therefore,
>>> science was by definition "true."
>>>
>>> ^^^^^
>>> CB: I'm guessing it was the scientist-mathematicians and artists who
>>> started saying that math and art language was "pure" and "true" and
>>> normal language degraded ?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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