“Of course, it may be that the arts of writing and photography are antithetical. The hope and aim of a word-handler is that he maycommunicate a thought or an impression to his reader without the reader's realizing that he has been dragged through a series of hazardous or grotesque syntactical situations. In photography the goal seems to be to prove beyond a doubt that the cameraman, in his great moment of creation, was either hanging by his heels from the rafters or was wedged under the floor with his lens in a knothole.” WritingMayHas BeensArtMomentsSeemsCoursesGoalRealizingSituationDoubtCreationReaderProvePhotographyAimSeriesImpressionHeelsLensesGrotesqueGreat MomentsCameramanArt Of WritingRafters Author:E. B. White
“The Supreme Court said nothing about silliness, but I suspect it may play more of a role than one might suppose. People are, if anything, more touchy about being thought silly than they are about being thought unjust... Probably the first slave ship, with Negroes lying in chains on its decks, seemed commonsensical to the owners who operated it and to the planters who patronized it. But such a vessel would not be in the realm of common sense today. The only sense that is common, in the long run, is the sense of change.” PeopleIfsFirstsMayLongSaidPlayMightRunningTodayLyingCommonRolesCourtSlaveSillySupremeCommon SenseShipsChainsRealmsOwnersSuspectsLong RunsUnjustSupreme CourtVesselDeckSillinessTouchyPlantersSlave Ships Author:E. B. White
“Liberals are like dogs: The liberal holds that he is true to the republic when he is true to himself. (It may not be as cozy an attitude as it sounds.) He greets with enthusiasm the fact of the journey, as a dog greets a man's invitation to take a walk. And he acts in the dog's way too, swinging wide, racing ahead, doubling back, covering many miles of territory that the man never traverses, all in the spirit of inquiry and the zest for truth. He leaves a crazy trail, but he ranges far beyond the genteel old party he walks with and he is usually in a better position to discover a skunk.” MenWayMayFactsSpiritSoundWalksPartyAttitudeJourneyCrazyDogPositionHe ManWideMilesEnthusiasmRangeRepublicTerritoryRacingInquiryTrailsInvitationsCoveringCozyZestTraverse Author:E. B. White
“There is no satisfactory explanation of style, no infallible guide to good writing, no assurance that a person who thinks clearly will be able to write clearly, no key that unlocks the door, no inflexible rules by which the young writer may steer his course. He will often find himself steering by stars that are disturbingly in motion.” ThinkingWritingMayPersonsAbleYoungCoursesStarsDoorsStyleKeysGuidesExplanationAssuranceSteersGood WritingInfallibleSteeringYoung Writers Book:the elements of style Source: the elements of style
“A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered. 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.” PeopleFeelsMayBookInspiringCompanyAliveComfortEncouragementLibraryUnhappyHidingStaying AliveGood PlacePlaces To GoBewilderedGood CompanyLibrary BooksLibraries And LibrariansUndecidedHappy TimesSad TimesGood Food Good Company Author:E. B. White
“I 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” IfsThinkingMayLittlesWarMatterValuesHateLosesAcceptingPrinciplesSunMadRefuseReportsRays Author:E. B. White
“As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left us in a bad time.” MenMayLongTimeHopeLeftWomenSceneSpreadCompassionateBad TimesDesolateContagionUpright Man Book:In the Words of E.B. White: Quotations from America's Most Companionable of Writers Source: In the Words of E.B. White: Quotations from America's Most Companionable of Writers
“A despot doesn't fear eloquent writers preaching freedom- he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.” MayPoetJokesCracksPreachingEloquentDespots Author:E. B. White
“A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there in a book, you may have your question answered” FeelsMayBookLibraryGood PlacePlaces To GoBewilderedLibrary BooksLibraries And LibrariansUndecidedGood Food Good Company Author:E. B. White
“Television hangs on the questionable theory that whatever happens anywhere should be sensed everywhere. If everyone is going to be able to see everything, in the long run all sights may lose whatever rarity value they once possessed, and it may well turn out that people, being able to see and hear practically everything, will be specially interested in almost nothing.” PeopleIfsShouldWellsMayLongHappensRunningAbleValuesTurnsLosesTelevisionTheorySightPossessedLong RunsWhatever HappensQuestionableRarity Author:E. B. White
“In the nature of things, a person engaged in the flimsy business of expressing himself on paper is dependent on the large general privilege of being heard. Any intimation that this privilege may be revoked throws a writer into panic.” WritingMayPersonsHeardPaperPrivilegeEngagedDependentPanic Author:E. B. White
