Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it

Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it

The secret of language is the secret of sympathy and its full charm is possible only to the gentle.

The secret of language is the secret of sympathy and its full charm is possible only to the gentle.

The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them

The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them

The accent of one's country dwells in the mind and in the heart
as much as in the language.
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The accent of one's country dwells in the mind and in the heart
as much as in the language.
[Fr., L'accent du pays ou l'on est ne demeure dans l'esprit et
dans le coeur comme dans le langage.]

Fie, fie upon her!
There's language in her eye, her cheek, her lip;
Nay, her foot speaks. read more

Fie, fie upon her!
There's language in her eye, her cheek, her lip;
Nay, her foot speaks. Her wanton spirits look out
At every joint and motive of her body.

How can I tell what I think till I see what I say?

How can I tell what I think till I see what I say?

And who in time knows whither we may vent the treasure of our tongue, to what strange shores this gain read more

And who in time knows whither we may vent the treasure of our tongue, to what strange shores this gain of our best glories shall be sent, 't unknowing Nations with our stores? What worlds in the yet unformed Occident may come refined with the accents that are ours?

For every man there is something in the vocabulary that would stick to him like a second skin. His enemies read more

For every man there is something in the vocabulary that would stick to him like a second skin. His enemies have only to find it.

We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our read more

We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.