---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Liquid, flowing words are the choicest…"
description: "\"Liquid, flowing words are the choicest and the best, if language is regarded as music. But when it is considered as a picture, then there are rough wor..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/joseph-joubert-1017_ifs_liquid-flowing-words-are-the-choicest-an_3211891.png"
---

#  Liquid, flowing words are the choicest and the best, if…

![“Liquid, flowing words are the choicest and the best, if language is regarded as music. But when it is considered as a picture, then there are rough words which are very telling, they make their mark.” quote by Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/joseph-joubert-1017_ifs_liquid-flowing-words-are-the-choicest-an_3211891.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/joseph-joubert-1017_ifs_liquid-flowing-words-are-the-choicest-an_3211891.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/joseph-joubert-1017_ifs_liquid-flowing-words-are-the-choicest-an_3211891.png)

> “Liquid, flowing words are the choicest and the best, if language is regarded as music. But when it is considered as a picture, then there are rough words which are very telling, they make their mark.”

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Language can be musical or visual; each mode shapes perception differently.

**In simple terms:** Words can sound like music or paint pictures.

Key Takeaway

Choose the expressive mode that fits your purpose.

Themes

communication art perception

Mood

inspirational analytical

Type

philosophical creative

When to use this quote

- writing
- public speaking
- teaching
- creative arts

Key Concepts

metaphor aesthetics cognitive framing

Questions to Reflect On

- Which mode best conveys your message?
- How can you blend musicality and imagery?

A Different Perspective

Focusing on one mode may limit richness of expression.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/)

## Related quotes

> [“For every book here she had heard their voices, father's and mother's. And perhaps it didn't matter to them, not always, what they read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/for-every-book-here-she-had-heard-their-voices-father-s-and-mother-s/)

[Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/)

> [“And perhaps it didn't matter to them, not always, what they read aloud; it was the breath of life flowing between them, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/and-perhaps-it-didn-t-matter-to-them-not-always-what-they-read-aloud/)

[Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/)

> [“You should always use your own words when telling a girl that you love her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-harper/you-should-always-use-your-own-words-when-telling-a-girl-that-you/)

[Suzanne Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-harper/)

> [“Still. Four words. And I didn’t realize it until a couple of days ago, when someone wrote in to my blog: Dear Neil, If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/still-four-words-and-i-didn-t-realize-it-until-a-couple-of-days-ago/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [So as you hear these words telling you now of my state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-sabbath/so-as-you-hear-these-words-telling-you-now-of-my-state/)

[Black Sabbath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-sabbath/)

> [“It was that his words, his telling, just did not synchronize with what his hearers believed would (and must) be the scope of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-that-his-words-his-telling-just-did-not-synchronize-with-what/)

[William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/)

> [Professional critics are incapable of distinguishing and appreciating either diamonds in the rough or gold in bars. They are traders, and in literature know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/professional-critics-are-incapable-of-distinguishing-and-appreciating/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [Prominent exploration experts have recently predicted that total world production of liquid oil will peak by about the end of this decade-or a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amory-lovins/prominent-exploration-experts-have-recently-predicted-that-total/)

[Amory Lovins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amory-lovins/)

> [... in a history of spiritual rupture, a social compact built on fantasy and collective secrets, poetry becomes more necessary than ever: it keeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/in-a-history-of-spiritual-rupture-a-social-compact-built-on-fantasy/)

[Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/)

> [Remember, life is always uncertain. Everything dead is certain, life is always uncertain. Everything dead is solid, fixed - its nature cannot be changed;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/remember-life-is-always-uncertain-everything-dead-is-certain-life-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When a liquid boils, the temperature has been raised to such a pitch that the evaporating molecules are sufficient in number and speed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-bragg/when-a-liquid-boils-the-temperature-has-been-raised-to-such-a-pitch/)

[William Henry Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-bragg/)

> [There exists for every liquid a temperature at which no amount of pressure is sufficient to retain it in the liquid form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-andrews/there-exists-for-every-liquid-a-temperature-at-which-no-amount-of/)

Thomas Andrews

> [I like René Descartes' theory about a ball of wax. You can change its form from solid to liquid, but it's still the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmy-rossum/i-like-ren-descartes-theory-about-a-ball-of-wax-you-can-change-its/)

[Emmy Rossum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmy-rossum/)

> [Just as the setting sun turned the clouds to liquid gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ende/just-as-the-setting-sun-turned-the-clouds-to-liquid-gold/)

[Michael Ende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ende/)

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

## More by Joseph Joubert

> [Living requires but little life; doing requires much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/living-requires-but-little-life-doing-requires-much/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [A false mind is false in everything, just as a cross eye always looks askant. But one may err once, nay, a hundred times,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/a-false-mind-is-false-in-everything-just-as-a-cross-eye-always-looks/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [Criticism even should not be without its charms. When quite devoid of all amenities, it is no longer literary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/criticism-even-should-not-be-without-its-charms-when-quite-devoid-of/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [What a man knows only through feeling can be explained only through enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/what-a-man-knows-only-through-feeling-can-be-explained-only-through/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [Imagination is the eye of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/imagination-is-the-eye-of-the-soul/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [One man finds in religion his literature and his science, another finds in it his joy and his duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/one-man-finds-in-religion-his-literature-and-his-science-another/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [Which is more misshapen,--religion without virtue, or virtue without religion?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/which-is-more-misshapen-religion-without-virtue-or-virtue-without/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [How many people become abstract as a way of appearing profound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/how-many-people-become-abstract-as-a-way-of-appearing-profound/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [How many books there are whose reputation is made that would not obtain it were it now to make?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/how-many-books-there-are-whose-reputation-is-made-that-would-not/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [God has commanded Time to console the unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/god-has-commanded-time-to-console-the-unhappy/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [We shall always keep a spare corner in our heads to give passing hospitality to our friends' opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-shall-always-keep-a-spare-corner-in-our-heads-to-give-passing/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [Agriculture engenders good sense, and good sense of an excellent kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/agriculture-engenders-good-sense-and-good-sense-of-an-excellent-kind/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [We may convince others by our arguements, but we can only persuade them by their own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguements-but-we-can-only-persuade/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [To teach is to learn twice. About all some parents accomplish in life is to send a child to Harvard. The purpose of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/to-teach-is-to-learn-twice-about-all-some-parents-accomplish-in-life/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [Grace is in garments, in movements, in manners; beauty in the nude, and in forms. This is true of bodies; but when we speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/grace-is-in-garments-in-movements-in-manners-beauty-in-the-nude-and/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

[Explore all 306 Joseph Joubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

## More Ifs quotes

> [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/)

[Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/)

> [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/)

[Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/)

> [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/)

[Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/)

> [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/)

[Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/)

> [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/)

[L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/)

> [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/)

[Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/)

> [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/)

[Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/)

> [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/)

[Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/)

> [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/)

[Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/)

> [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/)

[Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/)

> [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/)

[William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/)

> [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/)

[Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/)

> [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/)

[Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

Browse all 94,303 Ifs quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Liquid, flowing words are the choicest and the best, if language is regarded as music. But when it is considered as a picture, then there are rough words which are very telling, they make their mark.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Joseph Joubert"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/liquid-flowing-words-are-the-choicest-and-the-best-if-language-is/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ifs"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/liquid-flowing-words-are-the-choicest-and-the-best-if-language-is/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/joseph-joubert-1017_ifs_liquid-flowing-words-are-the-choicest-an_3211891.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/joseph-joubert-1017_ifs_liquid-flowing-words-are-the-choicest-an_3211891.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/joseph-joubert-1017_ifs_liquid-flowing-words-are-the-choicest-an_3211891.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Liquid, flowing words are the choicest and the best, if language is regarded as music. But when it is…” — Joseph Joubert",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Joseph Joubert",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Liquid, flowing words are the choicest...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/liquid-flowing-words-are-the-choicest-and-the-best-if-language-is/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/liquid-flowing-words-are-the-choicest-and-the-best-if-language-is/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
