Take a portion of wit, And fashion it fit, Like a needle, with point and with eye: A point that can wound, An eye to look round, And at folly or vice let it fly

One great aim of revision is to cut out. In the exuberance of composition it is natural to throw in - as one does in speaking - a number of small words that add nothing to meaning but keep up the flow and rhythm of thought. In writing, not only does this surplusage not add to meaning, it subtracts from it. Read and revise, reread and revise, keeping reading and revising until your text seems adequate to your thought.

The reason teaching has to go on is that children are not born human; they are made so.

I have always been - I think any student of history almost inevitably is - a cheerful pessimist.

The mind tends to run along the groove of one's intention and overlook the actual expression.

Look for all fancy wordings and get rid of themAvoid all terms and expressions, old or new, that embody affectation.

Simple English is no one’s mother tongue. It has to be worked for.