Fresh air Quote by Eugene Manlove Rhodes
““It is commonly said to my little friend Legion: Read the great writers for style. But I say to him: Read the great dead masters for ideas. Devour them, Fletcherize them, digest, assimilate, make them part of your blood; let the enriched blood visit your brain. The resultant activities will be fairly your own, and the little kinks and convolutions of your brain, which are entirely different from the kinks of any other brain, will furnish you all the style you will ever get. There are no really fresh ideas; just as there is not any fresh air. Air and ideas are refreshed and refreshing, vitalized and vitalizing; but the thoughts have been thought before and the air has been breathed before.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Art of Writing, 1923
Studying past masters provides ideas and techniques that can be internalized to develop one’s own voice.
In simple terms: Learn from great writers to shape your style.
Key Takeaway
Absorb and transform classic ideas.
Themes
creativity
learning
literature
growth
Mood
reflective
inspired
Type
philosophical
educational
When to use this quote
- writing workshops
- academic study
- personal journaling
- creative brainstorming
Key Concepts
intertextuality
cognitive assimilation
artistic development
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you balance influence with innovation?
- What steps ensure your voice remains distinct?
A Different Perspective
Originality may still be limited by reliance on past works.
![“I carry my thoughts about with me for a long time... before writing them down... once I have grasped a theme. I shall not forget it even years later. I change many things, discard others, and try again and again until I am satisfied; then, in my head... [the work] rises, it grows, I hear and see…” quote by Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/aaf/ludwig-van-beethoven-2361_again-and-again_i-carry-my-thoughts-about-with-me-for-a_2581023.jpg)
![“Jowett, in his day, did probably more than any other single man to let some fresh air into the exhausted atmosphere of the [Oxford] common rooms, and to widen the intellectual horizons of the place.” quote by Benjamin Jowett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9c6/benjamin-jowett-20480_air_jowett-in-his-day-did-probably-more-than_26898.jpg)
