--- title: "23 Ifs Quotes By E. B. White" description: "23 Ifs quotes by E. B. White. Plus more from E. B. White and more Ifs sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/e-b-white-1448_bits_if-a-man-is-to-be-obsessed-by-something_1066860.png" --- > [If a man is to be obsessed by something, I suppose a boat is as good as anything, perhaps a bit better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/if-a-man-is-to-be-obsessed-by-something-i-suppose-a-boat-is-as-good/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/e-b-white-1448_bits_if-a-man-is-to-be-obsessed-by-something_1066860.png) > [By comparison with other less hectic days, the city is unconfortable and inconvenient; but New Yorkers tempramentally do not crave comfort and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/by-comparison-with-other-less-hectic-days-the-city-is-unconfortable/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e3/e-b-white-1448_cities_by-comparison-with-other-less-hectic-day_1224922.png) > [There is no trick to it. If you like to write and want to write, you write, no matter where you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/there-is-no-trick-to-it-if-you-like-to-write-and-want-to-write-you/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/e-b-white-1448_heed_there-is-no-trick-to-it-if-you-like-to-w_322609.png) > [I seldom went to bed before two or three o'clock in the morning, on the theory that if anything of interest were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/i-seldom-went-to-bed-before-two-or-three-o-clock-in-the-morning-on/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/e-b-white-1448_bed_i-seldom-went-to-bed-before-two-or-three_177585.png) > [Diplomacy is the lowest form of politeness because it misquotes the greatest number of people. A nation, like an individual, if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/diplomacy-is-the-lowest-form-of-politeness-because-it-misquotes-the/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/e-b-white-1448_courtesy_diplomacy-is-the-lowest-form-of-politene_2080077.png) > [People are, if anything, more touchy about being thought silly than they are about being thought unjust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/people-are-if-anything-more-touchy-about-being-thought-silly-than/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/e-b-white-1448_ifs_people-are-if-anything-more-touchy-about_3204941.png) > [I have always felt that the first duty of a writer was to ascend - to make flights, carrying others along if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/i-have-always-felt-that-the-first-duty-of-a-writer-was-to-ascend-to/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/e-b-white-1448_certain_i-have-always-felt-that-the-first-duty-o_1203131.png) > [A candidate could easily commit political suicide if he were to come up with an unconventional thought during a presidential tour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/a-candidate-could-easily-commit-political-suicide-if-he-were-to-come/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c5/e-b-white-1448_candidates_a-candidate-could-easily-commit-politica_1749343.png) > [I am often mad, but I would hate to be nothing but mad: and I think I would lose what little value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/i-am-often-mad-but-i-would-hate-to-be-nothing-but-mad-and-i-think-i/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/e-b-white-1448_accepting_i-am-often-mad-but-i-would-hate-to-be-no_303926.png) > [Every morning I awake torn between a desire to save the world and an inclination to savor it. This makes it hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/every-morning-i-awake-torn-between-a-desire-to-save-the-world-and-an/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd7/e-b-white-1448_awake_every-morning-i-awake-torn-between-a-des_171898.jpg) > [If sometimes there seems to be a sort of sameness of sound in The New Yorker, it probably can be traced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/if-sometimes-there-seems-to-be-a-sort-of-sameness-of-sound-in-the-new/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/e-b-white-1448_conventions_if-sometimes-there-seems-to-be-a-sort-of_3163687.png) > [The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. Because I have the greatest respect for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-main-thing-i-try-to-do-is-write-as-clearly-as-i-can-because-i/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/e-b-white-1448_books_the-main-thing-i-try-to-do-is-write-as-c_1719134.jpg) > [New York blends the gift of privacy with the excitement of participation; and better than most dense communities it succeeds in insulating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/new-york-blends-the-gift-of-privacy-with-the-excitement-of/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/e-b-white-1448_community_new-york-blends-the-gift-of-privacy-with_68484.png) > [Most people think of peace as a state of Nothing Bad Happening, or Nothing Much Happening. Yet if peace is to overtake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/most-people-think-of-peace-as-a-state-of-nothing-bad-happening-or/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cab/e-b-white-1448_happenings_most-people-think-of-peace-as-a-state-of_2627538.jpg) > [In a sense the world dies every time a writer dies, because, if he is any good, he has been a wet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/in-a-sense-the-world-dies-every-time-a-writer-dies-because-if-he-is/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/387/e-b-white-1448_clusters_in-a-sense-the-world-dies-every-time-a-w_253107.jpg) > [Television hangs on the questionable theory that whatever happens anywhere should be sensed everywhere. If everyone is going to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/television-hangs-on-the-questionable-theory-that-whatever-happens/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/e-b-white-1448_able_television-hangs-on-the-questionable-the_352003.jpg) > [A library is many things. It's a place to go, to get in out of the rain. It's a place to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/a-library-is-many-things-it-s-a-place-to-go-to-get-in-out-of-the-rain/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd7/e-b-white-1448_book_a-library-is-many-things-it-s-a-place-to_316747.jpg) > [Being the owner of Dachshunds, to me a book on dog discipline becomes a volume of inspired humor. Every sentence is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/being-the-owner-of-dachshunds-to-me-a-book-on-dog-discipline-becomes/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dee/e-b-white-1448_addresses_being-the-owner-of-dachshunds-to-me-a-bo_3126103.jpg) > [The Supreme Court said nothing about silliness, but I suspect it may play more of a role than one might suppose. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-supreme-court-said-nothing-about-silliness-but-i-suspect-it-may/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/e-b-white-1448_chains_the-supreme-court-said-nothing-about-sil_2309073.jpg) > [There is simply a better chance of doing well if the writer holds a steady course, enters the stream of English quietly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/there-is-simply-a-better-chance-of-doing-well-if-the-writer-holds-a/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/e-b-white-1448_chance_there-is-simply-a-better-chance-of-doing_1850736.png) > [It seemed to me that I should have a desk, even though I had no real need for a desk. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/it-seemed-to-me-that-i-should-have-a-desk-even-though-i-had-no-real/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d6/e-b-white-1448_desk_it-seemed-to-me-that-i-should-have-a-des_542092.jpg) > [Security, for me, took a tumble not when I read that there were Communists in Hollywood but when I read your editorial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/security-for-me-took-a-tumble-not-when-i-read-that-there-were/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/e-b-white-1448_communist_security-for-me-took-a-tumble-not-when-i_2345123.png) > [It's hard to know when to respond to the seductiveness of the world and when to respond to its challenge. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/it-s-hard-to-know-when-to-respond-to-the-seductiveness-of-the-world/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca9/e-b-white-1448_arise_it-s-hard-to-know-when-to-respond-to-the_1474562.png) ## Other authors on Ifs ## More by E. B. White > [Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/writing-is-an-act-of-faith-not-a-trick-of-grammar/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [“To hear, in the short space of one week, a Scottish terrier booed by an audience and President Roosevelt criticized by Charles Lindbergh was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/to-hear-in-the-short-space-of-one-week-a-scottish-terrier-booed-by-an/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [The sea answers all questions, and always in the same way; for when you read in the papers the interminable discussions and the bickering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-sea-answers-all-questions-and-always-in-the-same-way-for-when-you/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [New York blends the gift of privacy with the excitement of participation; and better than most dense communities it succeeds in insulating the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/new-york-blends-the-gift-of-privacy-with-the-excitement-of/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [The terror of the atom age is not the violence of the new power but the speed of man's adjustment to it, the speed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-terror-of-the-atom-age-is-not-the-violence-of-the-new-power-but/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [When my wife's Aunt Caroline was in her nineties, she lived with us, and she once remarked: 'Remembrance is sufficient of the beauty we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/when-my-wife-s-aunt-caroline-was-in-her-nineties-she-lived-with-us/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/sailors-have-an-expression-about-the-weather-they-say-the-weather-is/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/anyone-who-writes-down-to-children-is-simply-wasting-his-time-you/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [A writer should concern himself with whatever absorbs his fancy, stirs his heart, and unlimbers his typewriter. ... A writer has the duty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/a-writer-should-concern-himself-with-whatever-absorbs-his-fancy-stirs/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Every morning I awake torn between a desire to save the world and an inclination to savor it. This makes it hard to plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/every-morning-i-awake-torn-between-a-desire-to-save-the-world-and-an/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [I seldom went to bed before two or three o'clock in the morning, on the theory that if anything of interest were to happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/i-seldom-went-to-bed-before-two-or-three-o-clock-in-the-morning-on/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Necessity first mothered invention. Now invention has little ones of her own, and they look just like grandma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/necessity-first-mothered-invention-now-invention-has-little-ones-of/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [The bonus is really one of the great give-aways in business enterprise. It is the annual salve applied to the conscience of the rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-bonus-is-really-one-of-the-great-give-aways-in-business/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [There's no limit to how complicated things can get, on account of one thing always leading to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/there-s-no-limit-to-how-complicated-things-can-get-on-account-of-one/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [The critic leaves at curtain fall To find, in starting to review it, He scarcely saw the play at all For starting to review…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-critic-leaves-at-curtain-fall-to-find-in-starting-to-review-it-he/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/e-b-white/#itemlist", "name": "23 Ifs Quotes By E. B. 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A nation, like an individual, if it has anything to say, should simply say it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. B. White" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/diplomacy-is-the-lowest-form-of-politeness-because-it-misquotes-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/e-b-white-1448_courtesy_diplomacy-is-the-lowest-form-of-politene_2080077.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/e-b-white-1448_courtesy_diplomacy-is-the-lowest-form-of-politene_2080077.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/e-b-white-1448_courtesy_diplomacy-is-the-lowest-form-of-politene_2080077.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Diplomacy is the lowest form of politeness because it misquotes the greatest number of people. A nation…” — E. B. 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