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Be obscure clearly! Be wild of tongue in a way we can understand.

E. B. White

Books hold most of the secrets of the world, most of the thoughts that men and women have had. And when you are reading a book, you and the author are alone together-just the two of you.
E. B. WHITE

Book Men Most Secret Women World
Use the smallest word that does the job.
E. B. WHITE

Job Smallest Use Word
We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry.
E. B. WHITE

Even Give Grape Laundry Long Only Pick Run Sort Us
The rat had no morals, no conscience, no scruples, no consideration, no decency, no milk of rodent kindness, no compunctions, no higher feeling, no friendliness, no anything
E. B. WHITE

Compunction Conscience Consideration Decency Kindness Milk Moral Rat Rodent Scruples
To achieve style, begin by affecting none.
E. B. WHITE

Archive Being Effect None Style
The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.
E. B. WHITE

Clear Clearly Deal Good Main Make Reqrite Thing Write
In a free country it is the duty of writers to pay no attention to duty.
E. B. WHITE

Attention Country Duty Writer
I have one share in corporate Earth, and I am nervous about the management.
E. B. WHITE

Corporate Earth Management Nervous
When I get sick of what men do, I have only to walk a few steps in another direction to see what spiders do. Or what the weather does. This sustains me very well indeed.
E. B. WHITE

Another Direction Do Get Men Only Sick Spider Step Walk
There is hardly a waiting room in the east that has not served as my cockpit, whether I was waiting to board a train or to see a dentist. And I am usually still trimming sheets when the train starts or drill begins to whine.
E. B. WHITE

Begin Cockpit Start Train Trim Usually Wait
I am always humbled by the infite ingenuity of the Lord, who can make a red barn cast a blue shadow.
E. B. WHITE

Always Blue Cast Humble Infinite Ingenuity Lord Make Shadow
Loneliness is a strange gift.
E. B. WHITE

Gift Loneliness Strange
Democracy is itself, a religious faith. For some it comes close to being the only formal religion they have.
E. B. WHITE

Being Close Come Democracy Formal Itself Religion Some
Children are game for anything. I throw them hard words, and they backhand them over the net. They love words that give them a hard time, provided they are in a context that absorbs their attention.
E. B. WHITE

Anything Background Children Game Hand Net Over Them Throw Word
There is nothing harder to estimate than a writer’s time, nothing harder to keep track of. There are moments—moments of sustained creation—when his time is fairly valuable; and there are hours and hours when a writer’s time isn’t worth the paper he is not writing anything on.
E. B. WHITE

Estimate Harder Keep Nothing Of Time Track
Nationalism has two fatal charms for its devotees: It presupposes local self-sufficiency, which is a pleasant and desirable condition, and it suggests, very subtly, a certain personal superiority by reason of one’s belonging to a place which is definable and familiar, as against a place that is strange, remote.
E. B. WHITE

Charm Condition Desirable Devotees Fatal Local Nationalism Prepossess Self Sufficiency Two

Be obscure clearly! Be wild of tongue in a way we can understand.

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Be obscure clearly! Be wild of tongue in a way we can understand.

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Popular Authors

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