Page:Three Thousand Selected Quotations from Brilliant Writers.djvu/6



WHY ARE NOT MORE GEMS FROM OUR GREAT AUTHORS SCATTERED OVER THE COUNTRY? GREAT BOOKS ARE NOT IN EVERY BODY'S REACH; AND THOUGH IT IS BETTER TO KNOW THEM THOROUGHLY THAN TO KNOW THEM ONLY HERE AND THERE, YET IT IS A GOOD WORK TO GIVE A LITTLE TO THOSE WHO HAVE NOT THE TIME NOR MEANS TO GET MORE.

—S. T. COLERIDGE.

IT IS EXCELLENT DISCIPLINE FOR AN AUTHOR TO FEEL THAT HE MUST SAY ALL THAT HE HAS TO SAY IN THE FEWEST POSSIBLE WORDS, OR HIS READER IS SURE TO SKIP THEM; AND IN THE PLAINEST POSSIBLE WORDS, OR HIS READER WILL CERTAINLY MISUNDERSTAND THEM. GENERALLY, ALSO, A DOWNRIGHT FACT MAY BE TOLD IN A PLAIN WAY; AND WE WANT DOWNRIGHT FACTS AT THE PRESENT MORE THAN ANY THING ELSE.

—JOHN RUSKIN.