I am like a man so busy in letting rooms in one end of his house, that he can't stop to put out the fire that is burning the other.
Abraham LincolnRead
I have great respect for the semicolon; it is a mighty handy little fellow.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The semicolon is a powerful punctuation mark that demonstrates the importance of clarity and connection in writing.
In this quote, Abraham Lincoln highlights the significance of the semicolon as a punctuation mark that serves to connect closely related ideas while maintaining a grammatical pause. It symbolizes the notion that some concepts are best expressed together, yet they retain their individuality, showcasing the complexity and richness of language.
Themes
SemicolonPunctuationLanguageWritingClarity
In practice
Example use cases
During a writing workshop, I used a quote by Lincoln to emphasize the importance of punctuation.
More from Abraham Lincoln
All quotes βSir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.
Abraham LincolnRead
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
Abraham LincolnRead
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
Abraham LincolnRead
For it has been said, all that a man hath will he give for his life; and while all contribute of their substance the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country's cause. The highest merit, then is due to the soldier.
Abraham LincolnRead
And having thus chosen our course, without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear, and with manly hearts.
Abraham LincolnRead
Similar quotes
Make yourself honey and the flies will devour you.
Miguel De CervantesRead
I need silence, and to be alone and to go out, and to save one hour to consider what has happened to my world, what death has done to my world.
Virginia WoolfRead
It is only because you take your mind to be yourself, and make it dwell on what you are not, that you lose your sense of well-being.
Deepak ChopraRead
Distinguish between real needs and artificial wants and control the latter.
Mahatma GandhiRead
Out of every hundred new ideas ninety-nine or more will probably be inferior to the traditional responses which they propose to replace. No one man, however brilliant or well-informed, can come in one lifetime to such fullness of understanding as to safely judge and dismiss the customs or institutions of his society, for those are the wisdom of generations after centuries of experiment in the laboratory of history.
Thomas SowellRead
I learned from my mom and dad, who didn't have a formal education but had doctorates of love. They told me that if you gave 110 percent all the time, a lot of beautiful things will happen. I may not always be right, but no one can ever accuse me of not having a genuine love and passion for whatever I do.
Dick VitaleRead