To achieve style, begin by affecting none.
E. B. WHITEI arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.
More E. B. White Quotes
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People are, if anything, more touchy about being thought silly than they are about being thought unjust.
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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.
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I believe in dreams. People should have faith in the songs poets sing.
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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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“What are they, and where are you?” screamed Wilbur. “Please, please, tell me where you are. And what are salutations?” “Salutations are greetings,” said the voice. “When I say ‘salutations,’ it’s just my fancy way of saying hello or good morning.
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Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people– people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.
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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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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.
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A candidate could easily commit political suicide if he were to come up with an unconventional thought during a presidential tour.
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There is nothing more likely to start disagreement among people or countries than an agreement.
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In a man’s middle years there is scarcely a part of the body he would hesitate to turn over to the proper authorities.
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A really companionable and indispensable dog is an accident of nature. You can’t get it by breeding for it, and you can’t buy it with money. It just happens along.
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I am always humbled by the infite ingenuity of the Lord, who can make a red barn cast a blue shadow.
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Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.
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I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.
E. B. WHITE