Quotes About Words

En littérature, la première impression est la plus forte.

As palavras que te envio são interditas até, meu amor, pelo halo das searas; se alguma regressasse, nem já reconhecia o teu nome nas suas curvas claras.

Reading is a gift, but only if the words are taken into the soul--eaten, chewed, gnawed, received in unhurried delight.

All serious and good writing anticipates precisely this kind of reading-ruminative and leisurely, a dalliance with words in contrast to wolfing down information.

There is no living the life of faith, whether by prophet or person, without some kind of sustaining vision like this. At some deep level we need to be convinced, and in some way or other we need periodic reminders, that no words are mere words. In particular, God's words are not mere words. They are promises that lead to fulfillments. God performs what he announces. God does what he says.

Priest and wise man and prophet alike felt that their professional well-being was threatened by Jeremiah's singularity. Panicked, they plotted his disgrace. Their "law" and "counsel" and "words" were in danger of being exposed as pious frauds by Jeremiah's honest and passionate life.

God reveals himself, that is, in creation and in Christ, in ways we can see and hear and touch and taste, in place and person. Beauty is the term we apply to these hints of transcendence, these perceptions that there is more going on here than we can account for. And that is how we come to identify as apostles of the gospel the men and women and, yes, children, who use words and images and sounds and textures to wake us up to beauty latent and implicit all around us.

Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit-you choose.

Teaching resurrects dead words so they live again.

It's your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words.

Chapter II shows how occurring and implying are more intricate than already specified in any patterns or concepts. What we bodily refer to comes before any specific forms. We are always already in a situation that we can bodily feel, even if we don't know how to characterize it in words.

The more words I have, the more distinct, precise my perceptions become--and such lucidity is a form of joy.

Our language is shaped by the context in which we are communicating: we select the words that fit our function.

illustrates the complex relationship between language and message. Words are intricate enough, but the way they are said adds a while extra dimension to the problem of interpretation.

It is often by our bullshit that we reveal our allegiance. Our words convey a sense of belonging to a particular club. And because it is a subtle form of communication, it is harder to fake that an explicit statement of loyalty.

Think twice before you speak, and then you may be able to say something more insulting than if you spoke right out at once.

Instead of healing the past with words, he and Helen had reached a point where words were suddenly too dangerous to be used.

I like stories, and I really like words. So I like stories that rely on dialogue.

Sometimes people don't know what is behind the words they use. But an innocent little remark at school can affect you later in life.

I have to remember for every kid saying something awful, there's a kid saying something great.

Every time I get ready to chuck it, I remind myself that I can accomplish a lot in that little minute, and they remember what I say.

Leonard Cohen has a way with words and with humor that remind me to lighten up, which I appreciate very much.

Writing scripts is fine because you get through a page quickly. But writing words just reminds me of school. To me a novel would be like writing a 300-page essay.

Most honorable are services rendered to the State; even if they do not go beyond words, they are not to be despised.