Thanks to words, we have been able to rise above the brutes; and thanks to words, we have often sunk read more

Thanks to words, we have been able to rise above the brutes; and thanks to words, we have often sunk to the level of the demons.

Language is a city to the building of which every human being
brought a stone.
- read more

Language is a city to the building of which every human being
brought a stone.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson,

Look wise; say nothing and grunt. Speech was given to conceal thought.

Look wise; say nothing and grunt. Speech was given to conceal thought.

Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.

Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.

And don't confound the language of the nation
With long-tailed words in osity and ation.

And don't confound the language of the nation
With long-tailed words in osity and ation.

Great Britain and the United States are nations separated by a
common language.

Great Britain and the United States are nations separated by a
common language.

The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it.

The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it.

Language is a mixture of statement and evocation.

Language is a mixture of statement and evocation.

Grammar, which knows how to lord it over kings, and with high
hands makes them obey its laws.
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Grammar, which knows how to lord it over kings, and with high
hands makes them obey its laws.
[Fr., La grammaire, qui sait regenter jusqu'aux rois,
Et les fait, la main haute, obeir a ses lois.]