A writer expresses himself in words that have been used before because they give his meaning better than he can give it himself, or because they are beautiful or witty, or because he expects them to touch a chord of association in his reader, or because he wishes to show that he is learned or well read. Quotations due to the last motive are invariably ill advised; the discerning reader detects it & is contemptuous; the undiscerning is perhaps impressed, but even then is at the same time repelled, pretentious quotations being the surest road to tedium; the less experienced a writer is, & therefore on the whole the less well-read he is also, the more he is tempted to this error; the experienced knows he had better avoid it; & the well-read, aware that he could quote if he would, is not afraid that readers will think he cannot.
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H. W. Fowler, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage I really should have used this as a response to Mills’ post. Humor, however, has a lot to do with timing. |
