I'm trying to gather information about current and historical attitudes towards the study of language as a field of endeavour. I am particularly interested in self-deprecating attitudes that those doing research in linguistics (and allied disciplines such as lexicography) have taken towards their own field, either in earnest or as a reflection/mockery of how they believe that society in general perceives their work.
Perhaps the most notable example I'm aware of is Samuel Johnson, in his own dictionary, wryly defining lexicographer as "a harmless drudge". Have any notable linguists made similar comments that (perhaps jokingly) characterize the field at large as uninteresting, unimportant, overly esoteric, etc.?
