Eustace Budgell Quotes

I am never as clear about any matter as when I have finished writing about it.

The faster the word sticks to the thought, the more beautiful is the effect.

A word devoid of thought is a dead thing, and a thought unembodied in words remains a shadow.

It is amazing how much a thought expands and refines by being put into speech: I should think it could hardly know itself.

Words were like objects, making the idea more solid -- less a poisonous gas and more a ... cube of crystallized thought.

In silence, we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves; ideas come to birth and acquire depth; we understand with greater clarity what it is we want to say and what we expect from others; and we choose how to express ourselves.

We think in language. The quality of our thoughts and ideas can only be as good as the quality of our language.

you don't know what you think unless you say it.

For my own part, I have never had a thought which I could not set down in words, with even more distinctness than that with which I conceived it.

If writing has taught me anything, it's that you don't actually understand anything until you can express it in words.

I wish I could write. I get these ideas but I never seem to be able to put them in words.

Fuzzy thinking is, after all, just one step above not thinking at all. But to take the ideas of serious transformational thinkers and philosophers and throw the "new age" label at them is also abhorrent.

Everything that can be thought at all can be thought clearly. Everything that can be said can be said clearly. Ludwig Wittgenstein

I have drawn from the well of language many a thought which I do not have and which I could not put into words.

When you have well thought out your subject, words will come spontaneously.

... the proper self-knowledge and self-love of every created thing is ipso facto a participation in the knowledge and love of God. The entire universe moves by desire for the Highest Good simply because every part of it loves what God loves - namely, its own being.

An essential part of seeing clearly is finding the willingness to look closely and to go beyond our own ideas.

If I were thinking straight, I'd take you home right now.

Active minds that think and study, like swift brooks are seldom muddy.

A calm mind is good for our physical health, but it also enables us to see things more realistically.

All that we do outwardly is but the expression and completion of our inward thought. To work effectively, we must think clearly; to act nobly, we must think nobly.

There is no point in having sharp images when you've fuzzy ideas.

Learning to cultivate an awareness of the known and unknown within one's being often leads to a healthier and more realistic sense of self.

Neither can embellishments of language be found without arrangement and expression of thoughts, nor can thoughts be made to shine without the light of language.

The only way someone can be of help to you is in challenging your ideas. If you're ready to listen and if you're ready to be challenged, there's one thing that you can do, but no one can help you. What is this most important thing of all? It's called self-observation.