Language is memory and metaphor.

Language is memory and metaphor.

It's no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase "As pretty as an airport" appear

It's no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase "As pretty as an airport" appear

Quotation... A writer expresses himself in words that have been used before because they give his meaning better than he read more

Quotation... A writer expresses himself in words that have been used before because they give his meaning better than he can give it himself, or because they are beautiful or witty, or because he expects them to touch a cord of association in his reader, or because he wishes to show that he is learned and well read. Quotations due to the last motive are invariably ill-advised; the discerning reader detects it and is contemptuous; the undiscerning is perhaps impressed, but even then is at the same time repelled, pretentious quotations being the surest road to tedium.

The English language is rather like a monster accordion, stretchable at the whim of the editor, compressible ad lib.

The English language is rather like a monster accordion, stretchable at the whim of the editor, compressible ad lib.

If the Romans had been obliged to learn Latin, they would never have found the time to conquer the world.

If the Romans had been obliged to learn Latin, they would never have found the time to conquer the world.

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them all.

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them all.

Language is a mixture of statement and evocation.

Language is a mixture of statement and evocation.

Change your language and you change your thoughts.

Change your language and you change your thoughts.

That is the point of quotations. One can use another's words to be insulting.

That is the point of quotations. One can use another's words to be insulting.