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There Is Something Frightful In Being Required To Enjoy And Appreciate All Masterpieces; To Read With Equal Relish Milton, And Dante, And Calderon, And Goethe, And Homer, And Scott, And Voltaire, And Wordsworth, And Cervantes, And Molière, And Swift.
-Agnes Repplier
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There Is Something Frightful

Agnes Repplier
There Is Something Frightful In Being Required To Enjoy And Appreciate All Masterpieces; To Read With Equal Relish Milton, And Dante, And Calderon, And Goethe, And Homer, And Scott, And Voltaire, And Wordsworth, And Cervantes, And Molière, And Swift.
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Appreciate
Literature
Discrimination
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There Is Something Frightful In Being Required To Enjoy And Appreciate All Masterpieces; To Read With Equal Relish Milton, And Dante, And Calderon, And Goethe, And Homer, And Scott, And Voltaire, And Wordsworth, And Cervantes, And Molière, And Swift.
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Recollection
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Looks
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Grace
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Lines
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Principles
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Dog
Heart
Cat
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Heart
People Fed On Sugared Praises Cannot Be Expected To Feel An Appetite For The Black Broth Of Honest Criticism.
People
Black
Criticism
Abroad It Is Our Habit To Regard All Other Travelers In The Light Of Personal And Unpardonable Grievances. They Are Intruders Into Our Chosen Realms Of Pleasure, They Jar Upon Our Sensibilities, They Lessen Our Meager Share Of Comforts, They Are Everywhere In Our Way, They Are Always An Unnecessary Feature In The Landscape.
Travel
Light
Landscape
The Sanguine Assurance That Men And Nations Can Be Legislated Into Goodness, That Pressure From Without Is Equivalent To A Moral Change Within, Needs A Strong Backing Of Inexperience.
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Men
Law
Books That Children Read But Once Are Of Scant Service To Them; Those That Have Really Helped To Warm Our Imaginations And To Train Our Faculties Are The Few Old Friends We Know So Well That They Have Become A Portion Of Our Thinking Selves.
Children
Book
Thinking
It Is Difficult To Admonish Frenchmen. Their Habit Of Mind Is Unfavorable To Preachment.
Mind
France
Habit
For Indeed All That We Think So New To-day Has Been Acted Over And Over Again, A Shifting Comedy, By The Women Of Every Century.
Thinking
Shifting
Comedy
Guests Are The Delight Of Leisure, And The Solace Of Ennui.
Guests
Leisure
Delight
We Know When We Have Had Enough Of A Friend, And We Know When A Friend Has Had Enough Of Us. The First Truth Is No More Palatable Than The Second.
Friendship
Had Enough
Firsts
What Monstrous Absurdities And Paradoxes Have Resisted Whole Batteries Of Serious Arguments, And Then Crumbled Swiftly Into Dust Before The Ringing Death-knell Of A Laugh!
Laughter
Dust
Laughing
The Worst In Life, We Are Told, Is Compatible With The Best In Art. So Too The Worst In Life Is Compatible With The Best In Humour.
Art
Life Is
Humour
It Has Been Well Said That Tea Is Suggestive Of A Thousand Wants, From Which Spring The Decencies And Luxuries Of Civilization.
Spring
Civilization
Luxury
No Rural Community, No Suburban Community, Can Ever Possess The Distinctive Qualities That City Dwellers Have For Centuries Given To The World.
Cities
Community
Quality
Men Who Believe That, Through Some Exceptional Grace Or Good Fortune, They Have Found God, Feel Little Need Of Culture.
Believe
Men
Grace
People Who Cannot Recognize A Palpable Absurdity Are Very Much In The Way Of Civilization.
Civilization
People
Way
I Do Strive To Think Well Of My Fellow Man, But No Amount Of Striving Can Give Me Confidence In The Wisdom Of A Congressional Vote.
Men
Thinking
Giving
The Tea-hour Is The Hour Of Peace ... Strife Is Lost In The Hissing Of The Kettle - A Tranquilizing Sound, Second Only To The Purring Of A Cat.
Cat
Tea
Sound
We Are Tethered To Our Kind, And May As Well Join Hands In The Struggle.
Peace
Struggle
Ubuntu
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Giving
Foundation
Elude
Cats, Even When Robust, Have Scant Liking For The Boisterous Society Of Children, And Are Apt To Exert Their Utmost Ingenuity To Escape It. Nor Are They Without Adult Sympathy In Their Prejudice.
Children
Cat
Adults
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Life
Men
Self
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Humor
Obscure
Social
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Writing
Men
Generosity
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Music
People
Boredom
A Kitten Is Chiefly Remarkable For Rushing About Like Mad At Nothing Whatever And Generally Stopping Before It Gets There.
Cat
Rushing
Mad
It Is Not What We Learn In Conversation That Enriches Us. It Is The Elation That Comes Of Swift Contact With Tingling Currents Of Thought.
Women
Elation
Currents
There Is No Illusion So Permanent As That Which Enables Us To Look Backward With Complacency; There Is No Mental Process So Deceptive As The Comparing Of Recollections With Realities.
Reality
Complacency
Looks
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Love
Laughing
Said
Love Is A Malady, The Common Symptoms Of Which Are The Same In All Patients.
Love Is
Patient
Common
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Loss
Ill Health
Anxiety
The Pitfall Of The Feminist Is The Belief That The Interests Of Men And Women Can Ever Be Severed; That What Brings Sufferings To The One Can Leave The Other Unscathed.
Men
Feminist
Suffering
Wit Is As Infinite As Love, And A Deal More Lasting In Its Qualities.
Quality
Infinite
Wit
The Cat Dwells Within The Circle Of Her Own Secret Thoughts.
Cat
Circles
Secret
The Man Who Never Tells An Unpalatable Truth 'at The Wrong Time' (the Right Time Has Yet To Be Discovered) Is The Man Whose Success In Life Is Fairly Well Assured.
Men
Political
Life Is
Life Is So Full Of Miseries, Minor And Major; They Press So Close Upon Us At Every Step Of The Way, That It Is Hardly Worthwhile To Call One Another's Attention To Their Presence.
Attention
Way
Steps
If Everybody Floated With The Tide Of Talk, Placidity Would Soon End In Stagnation. It Is The Strong Backward Stroke Which Stirs The Ripples, And Gives Animation And Variety.
Strong
Giving
Tides
The Age Of Credulity Is Every Age The World Has Ever Known. Men Have Always Turned From The Ascertained, Which Is Limited And Discouraging, To The Dubious, Which Is Unlimited And Full Of Hope For Everybody.
Men
Thinking
Age
Erudition, Like A Bloodhound, Is A Charming Thing When Held Firmly In Leash, But It Is Not So Attractive When Turned Loose Upon A Defenseless And Unerudite Public.
Knowledge
Learning
Charming
The Impulse To Travel Is One Of The Hopeful Symptoms Of Life.
Inspirational
Funny
Travel
There Was No Escape From The Letter-writer Who, A Hundred Or A Hundred And Twenty-five Years Ago, Captured A Coveted Correspondent. It Would Have Been As Easy To Shake Off An Octopus Or A Boa-constrictor.
Years
Octopus
Letters
Traveling Is, And Has Always Been, More Popular Than The Traveler.
Travel
Traveler
When The Contemplative Mind Is A French Mind, It Is Content, For The Most Part, To Contemplate France. When The Contemplative Mind Is An English Mind, It Is Liable To Be Seized At Any Moment By An Importunate Desire To Contemplate Morocco Or Labrador.
Travel
Mind
Desire
While Art May Instruct As Well As Please, It Can Nevertheless Be True Art Without Instructing, But Not Without Pleasing.
Art
May
Pleasure
The Necessity Of Knowing A Little About A Great Many Things Is The Most Grievous Burden Of Our Day. It Deprives Us Of Leisure On The One Hand, And Of Scholarship On The Other.
Knowledge
Knowing
Hands
Lovers Of The Town Have Been Content, For The Most Part, To Say They Loved It. They Do Not Brag About Its Uplifting Qualities. They Have None Of The Infernal Smugness Which Makes The Lover Of The Country Insupportable.
Uplifting
Country
Cities
No Man Pursues What He Has At Hand. No Man Recognizes The Need Of Pursuit Until That Which He Desires Has Escaped Him.
Men
Hands
Desire
English Civilization Rests Largely Upon Tea And Cricket, With Mighty Spurts Of Enjoyment On Derby Day, And At Newmarket.
Civilization
Tea
England
Every True American Likes To Think In Terms Of Thousands And Millions. The Word 'million' Is Probably The Most Pleasure-giving Vocable In The Language.
Thinking
Giving
Likes
Every Misused Word Revenges Itself Forever Upon A Writer's Reputation.
Revenge
Forever
Reputation
Letters Form A By-path Of Literature, A Charming, But Occasional, Retreat For People Of Cultivated Leisure.
People
Letters
Leisure
Whereas The Dog Strives To Lessen The Distance Between Himself And Man, Seeks Ever To Be Intelligent And Intelligible, And Translates Into Looks And Actions The Words He Cannot Speak, The Cat Dwells Within The Circle Of Her Own Secret Thoughts.
Dog
Distance
Cat
If History In The Making Be A Fluid Thing, It Swiftly Crystallizes.
History
Fluid
Ifs
There Is A Vast Deal Of Make-believe In The Carefully Nurtured Sentiment For Country Life, And The Barefoot Boy, And The Mountain Girl.
Girl
Country
Believe
We Owe To One Another All The Wit And Good Humour We Can Command; And Nothing So Clears Our Mental Vistas As Sympathetic And Intelligent Conversation.
Intelligent
Conversation
Vistas
A Dead Grief Is Easier To Bear Than A Live Trouble.
Grief
Bears
Trouble
Need Drives Men To Envy As Fullness Drives Them To Selfishness.
Men
Envy
Selfishness
Humor Distorts Nothing, And Only False Gods Are Laughed Off Their Earthly Pedestals.
Funny
Women
Humor
Conversation In Its Happiest Development Is A Link, Equally Exquisite And Adequate, Between Mind And Mind, A System By Which Men Approach One Another With Sympathy And Enjoyment, A Field For The Finest Amenities Of Civilization, For The Keenest And Most Intelligent Display Of Social Activity. It Is Also Our Solace, Our Inspiration, And Our Most Rational Pleasure. It Is A Duty We Owe To One Another; It Is Our Common Debt To Humanity.
Inspiration
Intelligent
Men
The Vanity Of Man Revolts From The Serene Indifference Of The Cat.
Cat
Men
Vanity
People Who Pin Their Faith To A Catchword Never Feel The Necessity Of Understanding Anything.
People
Understanding
Pins
By Providing Cheap And Wholesome Reading For The Young, We Have Partly Succeeded In Driving From The Field That Which Was Positively Bad; Yet Nothing Is Easier Than To Overdo A Reformation, And, Through The Characteristic Indulgence Of American Parents, Children Are Drugged With A Literature Whose Chief Merit Is Its Harmlessness.
Children
Reading
Parent
It Is Not Depravity That Afflicts The Human Race So Much As A General Lack Of Intelligence.
Race
Intelligence
Depravity
Too Much Rigidity On The Part Of Teachers Should Be Followed By A Brisk Spirit Of Insubordination On The Part Of The Taught.
Teacher
Too Much
Taught
Economics And Ethics Have Little In Common.
Littles
Ethics
Common
The Tourist May Complain Of Other Tourists; But He Would Be Lost Without Them. He May Find Them In His Way, Taking Up The Best Seats In The Motors, And The Best Tables In The Hotel Dining-rooms; But He Grows Amazingly Intimate With Them During The Voyage, And Not Infrequently Marries One Of Them When It Is Over.
Travel
Complaining
Would Be
A Man Who Owns A Dog Is, In Every Sense Of The Words, Its Master; The Term Expresses Accurately Their Mutual Relations. But It Is Ridiculous When Applied To The Limited Possession Of A Cat.
Dog
Cat
Men
It Takes Time And Trouble To Persuade Ourselves That The Things We Want To Do Are The Things We Ought To Do.
Choices
Want
Trouble
Resistance, Which Is The Function Of Conservatism, Is Essential To Orderly Advance.
Change
Party
Political
Like Simplicity And Candor, And Other Much-commented Qualities, Enthusiasm Is Charming Until We Meet It Face To Face, And Cannot Escape From Its Charm.
Simplicity
Quality
Enthusiasm
Just As We Are Often Moved To Merriment For No Other Reason Than That The Occasion Calls For Seriousness, So We Are Correspondingly Serious When Invited Too Freely To Be Amused.
Laughter
Serious
Reason
Fair Play Is Less Characteristic Of Groups Than Of Individuals.
Play
Groups
Fairness
There Are Many Ways Of Asking A Favor; But To Assume That You Are Granting The Favor That You Ask Shows Spirit And Invention.
Asking
Favors
Way
People With Theories Of Life Are, Perhaps, The Most Relentless Of Their Kind, For No Time Or Place Is Sacred From Their Devastating Elucidations.
Talking
People
Sacred
Humor Hardens The Heart, At Least To The Point Of Sanity.
Heart
Humor
Sanity
Personally, I Do Not Believe That It Is The Duty Of Any Man Or Woman To Write A Novel. In Nine Cases Out Of Ten, There Would Be Greater Merit In Leaving It Unwritten.
Believe
Writing
Men
The Pessimist Is Seldom An Agitating Individual. His Creed Breeds Indifference To Others, And He Does Not Trouble Himself To Thrust His Views Upon The Unconvinced.
Views
Doe
Indifference
Real Letter-writing ... Is Founded On A Need As Old And As Young As Humanity Itself, The Need That One Human Being Has Of Another.
Real
Writing
Humanity
A Vast Deal Of Ingenuity Is Wasted Every Year In Evoking The Undesirable, In The Careful Construction Of Objects Which Burden Life. Frankenstein Was A Large Rather Than An Isolated Example.
Years
Example
Construction
A Man Who Listens Because He Has Nothing To Say Can Hardly Be A Source Of Inspiration. The Only Listening That Counts Is That Of The Talker Who Alternately Absorbs And Expresses Ideas.
Inspirational
Men
Ideas
Democracy Forever Teases Us With The Contrast Between Its Ideals And Its Realities, Between Its Heroic Possibilities And Its Sorry Achievements.
Sorry
Reality
Achievement
The English Possess Too Many Agreeable Traits To Permit Them To Be As Much Disliked As They Think And Hope They Are.
Thinking
England
Permit
It Is Impossible For A Lover Of Cats To Banish These Alert, Gentle, And Discriminating Friends, Who Give Us Just Enough Of Their Regard And Complaisance To Make Us Hunger For More.
Cat
Giving
Pet
There Is Always A Secret Irritation About A Laugh In Which We Cannot Join
Irritation
Laughing
Secret
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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