Horace on Writing style
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“In well-turned phrase.”
“Terseness there wants to make the thought ring clear.”
“We aim at the ideal, and fail. I try To be concise, and end in being obscure.”
“The labour and tediousness of polishing (any work of art, poetry, painting, etc.) as though with a file.”
“Like sick men’s dreams, when shadowy images appear, and nether head nor feet fit their respective forms.”
“ Mine be the whetstone’s lot Which makes steel sharp, though cut itself will not. Although no writer, I may yet impart To writing folk the precepts of their art.”
“Good authors, take a brother bard’s advice: Ponder your subject o’er not once or twice, And oft and oft consider if the weight You hope to lift be, or be not too great. Let but our theme be equal to our powers, Choice language, clear arrangement, both are ours.”
“Oh yes! believe me, you must draw your pen Not once or twice, but o’er and o’er again Through what you’ve written, if you would entice The man that reads you once to read you twice, Not making popular applause your cue, But looking to fit audience, although few.”