A despot doesn’t fear eloquent writers preaching freedom- he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.
E. B. WHITEI am often mad, but I would hate to be nothing but mad: and I think I would lose what little value I may have as a writer if I were to refuse, as a matter of principle, to accept the warming rays of the sun, and to report them, whenever, and if ever, they
More E. B. White Quotes
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I get up every morning determined to both change the world and to have one hell of a good time. Sometimes, this makes planning the day difficult.
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The whole problem is to establish communication with ones self.
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When an American family becomes separated from its toothbrushes and combs and pajamas for a few hours it considers that it has had quite an adventure.
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Only a person who is congenially self-centered has the effrontery and the stamina to write essays
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Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.
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Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.
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Extreme cold when it first arrives seems to generate cheerfulness and sociability. For a few hours all life’s dubious problems are dropped in favor of the clear and congenial task of keeping alive.
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There is nothing more likely to start disagreement among people or countries than an agreement.
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No one can write decently who is distrustful of the reader’s intelligence or whose attitude is patronizing.
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Nauseous. Nauseated. The first means “sickening to contemplate”; the second means “sick at the stomach.” Do not, therefore, say “I feel nauseous,” unless you are sure you have that effect on others.
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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.
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Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.
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An editor is a person who knows more about writing than writers do but who has escaped the terrible desire to write.
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Understanding humor is like dissecting a live frog. It can be done, but the frog tends to die in the process.
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A poem compresses much in a small space and adds music, thus heightening its meaning.
E. B. WHITE