The beauty of a language is, generally judged by its soft or rigid, melodious or harsh, ring. Other aspects, such as the flexibility of derivation, play hardly any role in grading. Were it the case, Russian would certainly be placed on the winner’s stand. It would rank first in plasticity.

Language is present in a piece of work like the sea in a single drop.

Language is the only thing worth knowing even poorly.

Whenever I read statistical reports, I try to imagine my unfortunate contemporary, the Average Person, who, according to these reports, has 0.66 children, 0.032 cars, and 0.046 TVs.

I feel such a difference between a philologist/linguist and a linguaphile as, say, a choreographer and a ballerina.

Knowledge—like a nail—is made load-bearing by being driven in. If it's not driven deep enough, it will break when any weight is put upon it.

Aside from mastery in the fine arts, success in learning anything is the result of genuine interest and amount of energy dedicated to it.