Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Words, For the Fun of It

My friend here showed up one day tacked on the side of a tree that stands at the foot of the hill along my walking route. I feel like I've got a companion watching over me as I go now. What fun.

And speaking of fun, here are some quotes on the subject of words. Just for the fun of it.

"Words--so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them." --Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Words are but the vague shadows of the volumes we mean. Little audible links, they are, chaining together great inaudible feelings and purposes." --Theodore Dreiser

"Words set things in motion. I've seen them doing it. Words set up atmospheres, electrical fields, charges." --Toni Cade Bambara

"The words! I collected them in all shapes and sizes and hung them like bangles in my mind." --Hortense Calisher

"Words fascinate me. They always have. For me, browsing in a dictionary is like being turned loose in a bank." --Eddie Cantor

"Wrestling with words gave me my moments of greatest meaning." --Richard Wright

Any *words of wisdom* you might you have to share about words?
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6 comments:

  1. I was thinking about words recently as well. Our descriptions, our utterances, and words on paper, give us the world as we know it. I recall that Eskimos have something like 40 words for snow, for example. I'd love to hear all those words, and to appreciate the subtle nuances for what I see only as snow.

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  2. Our words can say so much if we put them in the right order. Words are powerful, aren't they?

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  3. I think I like that Nathaniel Hawthorne quote best! And that tree is adorable :)

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  4. Cathy--40 words for snow? That's fascinating. I'd love to explore those nuances, too. Thanks for sharing such an interesting tidbit :-)

    Rachna, you are so right about the power of words. Like the Bambara quote, words do set things in motion. Both written and spoken,for sure!

    And Jess, I was quite surprised to see my "new friend"--one day he just showed up. I love the whimsical touch...



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  5. When I think of words, I think of the power they have. Such incredible power.

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  6. Yes, words carry great power. It makes me think of the absence of words - that power taken away. Maybe that's why it means so much to say "words fail me." Or "he was speechless."

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