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The document is about the third edition of 'What is this thing called Philosophy of Language?' by Gary Kemp, which serves as an introduction to key concepts and historical developments in the philosophy of language. It covers foundational figures and theories, including Frege, Wittgenstein, and Quine, and discusses contemporary issues such as pragmatics and contextualism. The revised edition includes new chapters and study aids, making it suitable for students and educators in the field.

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65 views45 pages

What is this thing called Philosophy of Language? 3rd Edition Gary Kemp instant download

The document is about the third edition of 'What is this thing called Philosophy of Language?' by Gary Kemp, which serves as an introduction to key concepts and historical developments in the philosophy of language. It covers foundational figures and theories, including Frege, Wittgenstein, and Quine, and discusses contemporary issues such as pragmatics and contextualism. The revised edition includes new chapters and study aids, making it suitable for students and educators in the field.

Uploaded by

tobycoseru
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Praise for previous
editions

• ‘This book is an outstanding pedagogical tool, which will be useful to anyone look‑
ing to gain a foothold in the subject. The second edition, which features new chap‑
ters on key figures, prominent topics, and recent developments in the field, is a
substantial and welcome development of the excellent first edition.’
— Brett Sherman, University of South Carolina, USA

‘Will become the standard textbook for survey courses in the philosophy of language.’
— Ernest Lepore, Rutgers University, USA

‘To my mind this is the best introductory textbook for undergraduates looking to
get a feel for the subject, without getting bogged down in advanced technical details.
Gary Kemp covers all the traditional topics in the field and presents them in an
accessible, engaging, and always rigorous style. Appended to each chapter are useful
historical notes, a summary, a few questions, and some bibliographical recommenda‑
tions for further research – a complete set of study aids that ought to be welcomed
by students and teachers alike.’
— Stefano Predelli, University of Nottingham, UK

‘An easy, step by step journey through the classic themes of twentieth‑century phi‑
losophy of language.’
— François Recanati, Institut Jean Nicod, France

‘Kemp has written a genuine introduction to the philosophy of language with begin‑
ning students in mind. Focusing on the issue of the meaning of natural language, he
begins with a naive and, for students, very natural view of linguistic meaning. He then
motivates and explains the distinctions, problems, solutions and development of the
philosophy of language with the patience and understanding of a master teacher.’
— Michael Losonsky, Colorado State University, USA
What is this thing
called Philosophy
of Language?
• Philosophy of language explores some of the most abstract yet most fundamental
questions in philosophy. The ideas of some of the subject’s great founding figures,
such as Gottlob Frege, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Bertrand Russell, as well as of
more recent figures such as Saul Kripke and Hilary Putnam, are central to a great
many philosophical debates to this day and are widely studied. In this clear and
carefully structured introduction to the subject Gary Kemp explains the following
key topics:

• the basic nature of philosophy of language, its concepts and its historical
development
• Frege’s theory of sense and reference; Russell’s theory of definite descriptions
• Wittgenstein’s Tractatus, Ayer, and the Logical Positivists
• recent perspectives including Kripke, Kaplan, Putnam, Chomsky, Quine and
Davidson; arguments concerning translation, necessity, indexicals, rigid designa‑
tion and natural kinds
• the pragmatics of language, including speech‑acts, presupposition and conversa‑
tional implicature
• puzzles surrounding the propositional attitudes (sentences which ascribe beliefs
to people)
• the challenges presented by the later Wittgenstein
• contemporary directions, including contextualism, fictional objects and the phe‑
nomenon of slurs.

The third edition has been thoroughly revised throughout and includes a new chap‑
ter on Noam Chomsky’s theory of Universal Grammar. In addition, the concluding
chapter on modern directions in philosophy of language has been expanded to two
chapters, which now cover crucial emergent areas of study such as slurs, conceptual
engineering and experimental philosophy.
Chapter summaries, annotated further reading and a glossary make What is this
thing called Philosophy of Language? an indispensable introduction to those teaching
philosophy of language and will be particularly useful for students coming to the
subject for the first time.

Gary Kemp is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Glasgow, UK. He


has authored or edited various books and articles in the philosophy of l­anguage,
­including Quine versus Davidson: Truth, Reference and Meaning and Quine’s ­Philosophy:
An Introduction.
What is this thing called?

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What‑is‑this‑thing‑called/book‑series/WITTC
GARY KEMP

What is this
thing called
Philosophy of
Language?
THIRD EDITION
• Cover image: © Getty Images
Third edition published 2024
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2024 Gary Kemp
The right of Gary Kemp to be identified as authors of this work has
been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge, 2013
Second edition published by Routledge, 2017
British Library Cataloguing‑in‑Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kemp, Gary, 1960 October 15- author.
Title: What is this thing called philosophy of language? / Gary Kemp.
Description: Third edition. | Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY :
Routledge, 2024. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023037814 (print) | LCCN 2023037815 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032426556 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781032426549 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003363668 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Language and languages—Philosophy.
Classification: LCC P107 .K458 2024 (print) | LCC P107 (ebook) |
DDC 121/.68—dc23/eng/20231201
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023037814
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023037815
ISBN: 978‑1‑032‑42655‑6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978‑1‑032‑42654‑9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978‑1‑003‑36366‑8 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003363668
Typeset in Berling
by codeMantra
CONTENTS

List of figures and tables xiv


Preface to the third edition xv

Introduction1
• WHAT’S AHEAD 3
• EIGHT PREPARATORY NOTES 5
• COGNITIVE MEANING AND EXPRESSIVE MEANING 7
• MEANING AND FORCE 8
• CONTEXT‑DEPENDENCE 9
• THE ROLES OF PROPOSITIONS 11
• COMPOSITIONALITY, STRUCTURE AND UNDERSTANDING 12

1 Naïve semantics and the language of logic 15


• NAÏVE THEORY: SINGULAR TERMS, PREDICATES AND REFERENCE 15
• TRUTH AND MEANING FOR ATOMIC SENTENCES 21
• LOGICAL SYNTAX AND LOGICAL OPERATORS 23
• GENERALISING AT THE LEVEL OF SINGULAR TERMS AND PREDICATES 26
HISTORICAL NOTES 26
CHAPTER SUMMARY 27
STUDY QUESTIONS 27
PRIMARY READING 28
NOTES28

2 Fregean semantics 29
• TWO PROBLEMS FOR NAÏVE SEMANTICS 29
• THE SENSE‑REFERENCE DISTINCTION 32
• THE DISTINCTION EXTENDED 33
• COMPOSITIONALITY AGAIN; THE REFERENCE OF A SENTENCE 34
• APPLYING THE THEORY 36
• SUBSTITUTIVITY AND EXTENSIONALITY 38
• THE ANALYSIS OF PROPOSITIONAL ATTITUDES 39
• THE OBJECTIVITY OF SENSE 41
• PREDICATE REFERENCE AND THE CONCEPT HORSE PROBLEM 43
• FURTHER DISCUSSION: THE CONTEXT PRINCIPLE 45
HISTORICAL NOTES 46
x   ●contents

CHAPTER SUMMARY 47
STUDY QUESTIONS 49
PRIMARY READING 50
SECONDARY READING 50
NOTES51

3 Russellian semantics 52
• THE TASK FOR RUSSELL 52
• THE THEORY OF DEFINITE DESCRIPTIONS 54
• APPLYING THE THEORY OF DESCRIPTIONS 57
• NAMES AS DISGUISED DEFINITE DESCRIPTIONS 60
• KNOWLEDGE BY ACQUAINTANCE AND KNOWLEDGE BY DESCRIPTION 61
HISTORICAL NOTES 65
CHAPTER SUMMARY 65
STUDY QUESTIONS 66
PRIMARY READING 67
SECONDARY READING 67
NOTES67

4 Russell’s theory of judgement, the early Wittgenstein and logical


positivism68
• PROPOSITIONS, FACTS AND RUSSELL’S THEORY OF JUDGEMENT 69
• THE TRACTATUS LOGICO‑PHILOSOPHICUS72
• VERIFICATIONISM I: AYER 77
• VERIFICATIONISM II: CARNAP’S LOGICAL EMPIRICISM 82
• THE VIENNA CIRCLE AND THE PROTOCOL DEBATE 85
HISTORICAL NOTES 88
CHAPTER SUMMARY 89
STUDY QUESTIONS 91
PRIMARY READING 92
SECONDARY READING 92
NOTES92

5 The late Wittgenstein 93


• LANGUAGE GAMES 93
• FAMILY RESEMBLANCE, TOOLS AND CITIES 96
• TO FOLLOW A RULE I 98
• TO FOLLOW A RULE II 99
• PRIVATE LANGUAGE 101
HISTORICAL NOTES 102
CHAPTER SUMMARY 103
STUDY QUESTIONS 103
PRIMARY READING 104
SECONDARY READING 104

6 Quine’s philosophy of language 105


• QUINE’S NATURALISM 105
• THE FIELD LINGUIST 107
• INDETERMINACY 109
contents ●    xi

• MEANING AND ANALYTIC TRUTH 111


• THE ARGUMENT OF ‘TWO DOGMAS OF EMPIRICISM’ 112
• REGIMENTATION; ANALYSIS VERSUS REPLACEMENT 114
• FURTHER DISCUSSION: ONTOLOGICAL RELATIVITY, AND INSCRUTABILITY
AND INDETERMINACY DISTINGUISHED 116
• THE PLACE OF NATURALISM 118
HISTORICAL NOTES 119
CHAPTER SUMMARY 119
STUDY QUESTIONS 120
PRIMARY READING 121
SECONDARY READING 121
NOTE121

7 Kripke on naming and necessity 122


• NECESSITY, POSSIBILITY AND POSSIBLE WORLDS: A PRIMER 122
• THE DESCRIPTIVIST PARADIGM 124
• KRIPKE’S OBJECTIONS TO THE DESCRIPTION THEORY OF PROPER NAMES 125
• RIGID DESIGNATION 127
• FIXING THE REFERENCE I: CAUSAL CHAINS 129
• FIXING THE REFERENCE II: DESCRIPTIONS 130
• LINGERING ISSUES FROM RUSSELL AND FREGE 132
• FURTHER DISCUSSION: INTENSIONAL SEMANTICS 132
HISTORICAL NOTES 134
CHAPTER SUMMARY 135
STUDY QUESTIONS 136
PRIMARY READING 137
SECONDARY READING 137
NOTES137

8 Context‑dependence, indexicality and natural kinds 139


• INDEXICALS AND DEMONSTRATIVES 139
• PUTNAM ON NATURAL KIND TERMS AND ESSENCE 141
• IS MEANING IN THE HEAD? 143
• THE ACTUAL WORLD AS A CONTEXT 144
• TWO‑DIMENSIONALISM: CONTEXT OF UTTERANCE VERSUS
CIRCUMSTANCE OF EVALUATION 146
• FURTHER DISCUSSION: RIGID DESIGNATION AGAIN 148
• THE INDISPENSABILITY OF INDEXICALS 150
• INDEXICALS AND FREGEAN SENSE 151
HISTORICAL NOTES 152
CHAPTER SUMMARY 153
STUDY QUESTIONS 154
PRIMARY READING 155
SECONDARY READING 155
NOTES156

9 Pragmatics 157
• MOOD AND FORCE REVISITED 157
• SPEECH‑ACT THEORY 158
• IMPLICATURE 162
xii   ●contents

• SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE CONCEPT OF IMPLICATURE 164


• PRESUPPOSITION; STRAWSON’S AND DONNELLAN’S OBJECTIONS TO
RUSSELL’S THEORY OF DESCRIPTIONS 166
• METAPHOR 168
HISTORICAL NOTES 170
CHAPTER SUMMARY 171
STUDY QUESTIONS 173
PRIMARY READING 173
SECONDARY READING 173
NOTES173

10 Davidson’s philosophy of language 175


• METHODOLOGY 176
• THE GENERAL FORM OF A THEORY OF MEANING 176
• DAVIDSON’S WAY: T‑SENTENCES 178
• AN EXAMPLE OF A THEORY OF MEANING 180
• FURTHER DISCUSSION: QUANTIFIERS AND VARIABLES 182
• THE EMPIRICAL CONFIRMATION OF A THEORY OF MEANING: RADICAL
INTERPRETATION183
• THE PRINCIPLE OF CHARITY AND THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF BELIEF AND
MEANING185
• FURTHER DISCUSSION: EVENT SEMANTICS AND INDIRECT SPEECH 187
HISTORICAL NOTES 189
CHAPTER SUMMARY 190
STUDY QUESTIONS 191
PRIMARY READING 192
SECONDARY READING 192
NOTES192

11 The propositional attitudes 193


• EXTENSIONALITY REVISITED 193
• REFERENTIAL OPACITY AND FREGE ON THE ATTITUDES 194
• FURTHER DISCUSSION: MULTIPLE HYPER‑INTENSIONAL EMBEDDING 197
• DE RE AND DE DICTO NECESSITY 198
• DE RE AND DE DICTO BELIEF 199
• RALPH’S PREDICAMENT 200
• BELIEF ATTRIBUTIONS AND EXPLICIT INDEXICALS; BELIEF DE SE203
• AN IMPLICIT INDEXICAL ELEMENT 204
• DIRECT REFERENCE, THE ATTITUDES AND THE SEMANTIC DE RE206
HISTORICAL NOTES 208
CHAPTER SUMMARY 209
STUDY QUESTIONS 210
PRIMARY READING 211
SECONDARY READING 211
NOTES211
contents ●    xiii

12 Chomsky’s science of language and Universal Grammar 212


• PLATO’S PROBLEM AND BIOLOGY 214
• INTERNAL LANGUAGE AND EXTERNAL LANGUAGE 216
• ELEMENTARY PHRASE STRUCTURE GRAMMAR 217
• TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR; TRACE THEORY 219
• THE TOTAL LANGUAGE FACULTY 221
• KNOWLEDGE, RULES, PRINCIPLES AND PARAMETERS 223
• MEANING, REFERENCE AND CONCEPTS 224
• LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION, BEHAVIOURISM; PERFORMANCE VS
COMPETENCE226
• A RECENT DEVELOPMENT, AND THE POSSIBLE ORIGINS OF LANGUAGE 228
HISTORICAL NOTES 229
CHAPTER SUMMARY 230
STUDY QUESTIONS 232
PRIMARY READING 233
SECONDARY READING 233
NOTE233

13 Modern directions I 234


• ASSERTION 234
• CONTEXT‑RELATIVITY 237
• FICTIONAL OBJECTS 242
• INFERENTIALISM 245
CHAPTER SUMMARY 246
STUDY QUESTIONS 248
PRIMARY READING 248
SECONDARY READING 249
NOTE250

14 Modern directions II 251


• SLURS AND PEJORATIVES 251
• CONCEPTUAL ENGINEERING 259
• X‑PHI (EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY) 268
CHAPTER SUMMARY 271
STUDY QUESTIONS 273
FURTHER READING (PRIMARY AND SECONDARY) 274
NOTES275

Glossary277
Bibliography299
Index307

figures and tables

FIGURES
1.1 The proposition expressed by ‘Mars orbits the sun’ 22
2.1 Sense and reference 32
2.2 The relation of sense to reference 33
2.3 Fregean semantics for one‑place atomic sentences 35
4.1 Acquaintance 71
4.2 Judgement 72
10.1 The two factors responsible for holding a sentence true 186
12.1 ‘Some person took the last one’ 218
12.2 ‘Sally is from San Francisco’ 218
12.3 ‘The tall girl won the race’ (I) 219
12.4 ‘The tall girl won the race’ (II) 219
12.5 The Basic Structure of Universal Grammar (UG) 221

TABLES
4.1 Truth‑table for ‘not’, ‘or’ and ‘and’ 75
8.1 Two‑dimensional diagram for ‘water= H2O’148
9.1 Mood and force 158
9.2 Force distinctions within a speech act 160
11.1 The sense and reference of a term as used in three contexts 198
13.1 Truth‑table for ‘and’ 245
13.2 Inference‑rules for ‘and’ 245
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Histoire du
chien de Brisquet / The Story of Brisquet's Dog
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Histoire du chien de Brisquet / The Story of Brisquet's Dog

Author: Charles Nodier

Translator: Michael Wooff

Release date: September 22, 2017 [eBook #55605]

Language: English, French

Credits: Produced by Michael Wooff

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTOIRE DU


CHIEN DE BRISQUET / THE STORY OF BRISQUET'S DOG ***
Produced by Michael Wooff

[Transcriber's note:

The French-language etext below is followed by an English


translation.

The source edition is at


http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5612458x. ]

Histoire du chien de Brisquet

Charles Nodier (1780-1844)

En notre forêt de Lions, vers le hameau de la Goupillière, tout près


d'un grand puits-fontaine qui appartient à la chapelle Saint Mathurin,
il y avait un bonhomme, bûcheron de son état, qui s'appelait
Brisquet, ou autrement le fendeur à la bonne hache, et qui vivait
pauvrement du produit de ses fagots, avec sa femme qui s'appelait
Brisquette.
Le bon Dieu leur avait donné deux jolis petits enfants,
un garçon de sept ans qui était brun, et qui s'appelait
Biscotin, et une blondine de six ans qui s'appelait
Biscotine.

Outre cela, ils avaient un chien bâtard à poil frisé, noir par tout le
corps, si ce n'est au museau qu'il avait couleur de feu; et c'était bien
le meilleur chien du pays, pour son attachement à ses maîtres.

On l'appelait la Bichonne, parce que c'était peut-être une chienne.

Vous vous souvenez du temps où il vint tant de loups dans la forêt


de Lions. C'était dans l'année des grandes neiges, que les pauvres
gens eurent si grand-peine à vivre. Ce fut une terrible désolation
dans le pays.

Brisquet, qui allait toujours à sa besogne, et qui ne craignait pas


les loups à cause de sa bonne hache, dit un matin à Brisquette:
«Femme, je vous prie de ne laisser courir ni Biscotin ni Biscotine,
tant que M. le grand-louvetier ne sera pas venu. Il y aurait du
danger pour eux. Ils ont assez de quoi marcher entre la butte et
l'étang, depuis que j'ai planté des piquets le long de l'étang pour les
préserver d'accident. Je vous prie aussi, Brisquette, de ne pas laisser
sortir la Bichonne, qui ne demande qu'à trotter.»

Brisquet disait tous les matins la même chose à Brisquette. Un soir


il n'arrivait pas à l'heure ordinaire. Brisquette venait sur le pas de la
porte, rentrait, ressortait, et disait en se croisant les mains: «Mon
Dieu, qu'il est attardé!»

Et puis elle sortit encore, en criant: «Eh! Brisquet!»


Et la Bichonne lui sautait jusqu'aux épaules, comme pour lui dire:
—N'irai-je pas?

«Paix! lui dit Brisquette.—Écoute, Biscotine, va jusque devers la


butte pour savoir si ton père ne revient pas.—Et toi, Biscotin, suis le
chemin au long de l'étang, en prenant bien garde s'il n'y a pas de
piquets qui manquent.—Et crie fort: Brisquet! Brisquet! Paix, la
Bichonne!»

Les enfants allèrent, allèrent, et quand ils se furent rejoints à


l'endroit où le sentier de l'étang vient couper celui de la butte:

«Mordienne, dit Biscotin, je retrouverai notre pauvre père, ou les


loups m'y mangeront.»

«Pardienne, dit Biscotine, ils m'y mangeront bien aussi.»

Pendant ce temps-là, Brisquet était revenu par le grand chemin de


Puchay, en passant à la Croix aux Anes sur l'abbaye de Mortemer,
parce qu'il avait une hottée de cotrets à fournir chez Jean Paquier.

«As-tu vu nos enfants?» lui dit Brisquette.

«Nos enfants?» dit Brisquet. «Nos enfants? Mon Dieu! sont-ils


sortis?»

«Je les ai envoyés à ta rencontre jusqu'à la butte et à l'étang,


mais tu as pris par un autre chemin.»

Brisquet ne posa pas sa bonne hache. Il se mit à courir du côté de


la butte.

«Si tu menais la Bichonne?» lui cria Brisquette.


La Bichonne était déjà très loin.

Elle était si loin que Brisquet la perdit bientôt de vue. Et il avait


beau crier: «Biscotin! Biscotine!» on ne lui répondait pas.

Alors il se prit à pleurer, parce qu'il s'imagina que ses enfants


étaient perdus.

Après avoir couru longtemps, longtemps, il lui sembla reconnaître


la voix de la Bichonne. Il marcha droit dans le fourré, à l'endroit où il
l'avait entendue, et il y entra, sa bonne hache levée.

La Bichonne était arrivée là, au moment où Biscotin et Biscotine


allaient être dévorés par un gros loup. Elle s'était jetée devant en
aboyant, pour que ses abois avertissent Brisquet. Brisquet, d'un
coup de sa bonne hache, renversa le loup raide mort, mais il était
trop tard pour la Bichonne. Elle ne vivait déjà plus.

Brisquet, Biscotin et Biscotine rejoignirent Brisquette. C'était une


grande joie, et cependant tout le monde pleura. Il n'y avait pas un
regard qui ne cherchât la Bichonne.

Brisquet enterra la Bichonne au fond de son petit courtil sous une


grosse pierre sur laquelle le maître d'école écrivit en latin:

C'EST ICI QU'EST LA BICHONNE, LE PAUVRE CHIEN DE BRISQUET.

Et c'est depuis ce temps-là qu'on dit en commun proverbe:


Malheureux comme le chien à Brisquet, qui n'alla qu'une fois au bois,
et que le loup mangea.
————————————————————————————————
———

The Story of Brisquet's Dog

Charles Nodier (1780-1844)

In our forest of Lions, going towards the hamlet of La Goupillière,


very close to a great well-spring belonging to the chapel of Saint
Mathurin, there was a man, a wood cutter by trade, called Brisquet,
or the good man with an axe, who lived frugally from the sale of his
firewood with his wife, who was called Brisquette.

God had given them two fine young children, a boy of seven who
was dark and called Biscotin and a blonde girl of six who was called
Biscotine.

In addition to this they had a mongrel dog with curly hair, black all
over its body with the exception of its nose, which was fire-red, and
it was the best dog in those parts because of its devotion to its
owners.

They called it Bichonne because it might have been a bitch.

Do you remember the time when all those wolves came to the
forest of Lions? That was the year when it snowed a lot, when poor
people had such a struggle just to stay alive. The region was totally
desolate.

Brisquet, who always went to work, and who did not fear the
wolves owing to his sharp axe, said one morning to Brisquette:
"Woman, do not let either Biscotin or Biscotine go out until the
Wolffinder General has been. It's too dangerous for them out there.
It's enough if they can walk from the mound to the pond now that
I've put up a fence around the pond to stop them falling in. I'd also
like to ask you, Brisquette, not to let the dog out. All she wants to do
is go for walks."

Brisquet said the same thing to Brisquette every morning. One


evening he did not arrive home at his usual time. Brisquette came to
the threshold, went back in, came back out and said as she clasped
her hands together: "My God, how late he is!"

And then she went out again shouting: "Eh! Brisquet!"

And Bichonne jumped up at her to shoulder height as if to say:


"Shall I go?"

"Down!" said Brisquette. "Listen, Biscotine, go up to the mound to


see if your father is on his way home. And you, Biscotin, follow the
path along the pond and take good care if part of the fence is
missing. And shout out loud: Brisquet! Brisquet! Get down,
Bichonne!"

The children went their separate ways and when they had met up
at the place where the road to the pond crosses that to the mound
they spoke:

"Damn it," said Biscotin, "I'll find our poor father or the wolves can
make a meal of me."

"Damn me too," said Biscotine. "They can eat me too while they're
at it."
While all this was going on, Brisquet had come home via the main
road to Puchay by way of the Asses' Cross and Mortemer Abbey as
he had a bundle of thinly chopped firewood to deliver to Jean
Paquier.

"Have you seen our children?" said Brisquette.

"Our children?" said Brisquet. "Our children? My God! Have they


gone out?"

"I sent them as far as the mound and the pond to meet you, but
you came by a different route."

Brisquet did not put down his sharp axe. He started to run in the
direction of the mound.

"Why don't you take Bichonne with you?" Brisquette shouted after
him.

But Bichonne was already way ahead of him.

She was so far ahead that Brisquet soon lost sight of her. And it
did him no good to shout: "Biscotin! Biscotine!" There was no
answer.

He started to cry then, for he imagined that his children were a


lost cause.

After running for a long long time, it seemed to him that he could
hear Bichonne barking. He walked straight towards the thicket, to
the place whee he had heard her and went in with his sharp axe
raised.
Bichonne had got there just as Biscotin and Biscotine were about
to be devoured by a large wolf. She had thrown herself forward
barking so that her barks could alert Brisquet.

Brisquet with a single blow of his sharp axe struck the wolf stone
dead, but it was too late for him to save Bichonne. She was dead
already.

Brisquet, Biscotin and Biscotine joined Brisquette. There was great


rejoicing, yet they all wept tears. They all looked to see if Bichonne
was there and she wasn't.

Brisquet buried Bichonne at the bottom of his little garden under a


big stone on which the schoolmaster wrote in Latin:

HERE LIES BICHONNE, BRISQUET'S POOR DOG.

And from that time on the following proverb came into common
usage: To be wretched like Brisquet's dog that only went once to the
wood and was eaten by the wolf.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTOIRE DU
CHIEN DE BRISQUET / THE STORY OF BRISQUET'S DOG ***

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