Words being arbitrary must owe their power to association, and have the influence, and that only, which custom has given them. Language is the dress of thought.

More information about this quote

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Original Citation

Johnson, Samuel. "Cowley." Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets. London, c. 1779.

Current Citation

Johnson, Samuel. "Cowley." The Lives of the Poets: A Selection, edited by Roger Lonsdale. Oxford University Press, 2009.