quotes

In public discussions, . . . it is a common practice for one of the disputants to dismiss his opponent's argument by saying that it is merely a matter of semantics . . . . This approach is open to two objections. The first is the use of the word 'merely.' When disputants are arguing with words -- and no other method of argument is in general use -- the meanings that they attach to the words they use are of fundamental importance, not something to be dismissed. The second objection is that the comment should be followed, as it rarely is, by an examination of what semantic problems are involved and how they affect the argument.

It is easy enough to say that a person should live in such a way as to avoid the perfect infinitive after the past conditional, but it is another matter to do it.

He who is risen
Hath cast no shadow today
No prolonged winter!

There are three main sources of colour in language, and all of them involve words: vividness, activeness and pleasantness. The first makes the picture clear, the second makes it lively, and the third makes it easy to look at.

Clear thought easily finds words to fit it.

With some awe we have to remind ourselves that writers like Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton had no access to what we would call dictionaries. Spelling did not much worry them, as it worries a modern author who runs to his dictionary to check on difficult words like 'hemorrhage' (my personal blind spot). Milton spelled in his own creative manner, preferring 'mee' to 'me' when he wished to be emphatic; Shakespeare went the free and easy Elizabethan way, leaving his own name to be juggled with in a variety of orthographical fantasies; with Chaucer the encoding of speech sounds was logical and required no checking.

Trouble and rancour are essential if the book is to be worth reading, or buying. Political diarists base entire careers on that principle: a discreet diarist is as viable as a chaste whore.

The eternal qualities of good speech and writing are lucidity, euphony and sincerity. Seldom are these qualities acquired as a kind of second nature. For the most part they are achieved only by intense intellectual discipline. Only by long practice can a man express himself clearly, attractively and sincerely.

Officialese is governed by four essential rules. First, use as many words as possible. Second, if a longer word (e.g., "utilize") and a shorter word (e.g., "use") are both available, choose the longer. Third, use circumlocutions whenever possible. Fourth, use cumbersome connectives when possible ("as to," "with regard to," "in connection with," "in the event of," etc.).

When you hear anyone say "I'm no good at English," what he or she really means is . . . "I'm no good at thinking straight, I can't talk sense."