--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From authors whom I read more than once I…" description: "\"From authors whom I read more than once I learn to value the weight of words and to delight in their meter and cadence -- in Gibbon's polyphonic counte..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/lewis-h-lapham-7190_books_from-authors-whom-i-read-more-than-once_1207334.jpg" --- # From authors whom I read more than once I learn to value… ![“From authors whom I read more than once I learn to value the weight of words and to delight in their meter and cadence -- in Gibbon's polyphonic counterpoint and Guedalla's command of the subjunctive, in Mailer's hyperbole and Dillard's similes, in Twain's invectives and burlesques with which he…” quote by Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/lewis-h-lapham-7190_books_from-authors-whom-i-read-more-than-once_1207334.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/lewis-h-lapham-7190_books_from-authors-whom-i-read-more-than-once_1207334.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/lewis-h-lapham-7190_books_from-authors-whom-i-read-more-than-once_1207334.jpg) > “From authors whom I read more than once I learn to value the weight of words and to delight in their meter and cadence -- in Gibbon's polyphonic counterpoint and Guedalla's command of the subjunctive, in Mailer's hyperbole and Dillard's similes, in Twain's invectives and burlesques with which he set the torch of his ferocious wit to the hospitality tents of the world's colossal humbug . . . I know no other way out of what is both the maze of the eternal present and the prison of the self except with a string of words.” [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author values precise, rhythmic language, believing that mastery of style and literary devices offers a way out of existential confusion. **In simple terms:** Good writing provides clarity and escape. Key Takeaway Seek precise, rhythmic expression to navigate complexity. Themes literature style language creativity clarity Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - reading groups - creative projects - personal reflection Key Concepts rhetoric poetics metaphor syntax Questions to Reflect On - How does rhythm affect your understanding? - Can style replace content? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on form may neglect substance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cadence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cadence/) [Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Hospitality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hospitality/) [Hyperbole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hyperbole/) [Mazes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mazes/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Simile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simile/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“From authors whom I read more than once I learn to value the weight of words and to delight in their meter and cadence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/from-authors-whom-i-read-more-than-once-i-learn-to-value-the-weight-2/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [“Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart. Jeremiah 15:16”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/your-words-were-found-and-i-ate-them-your-words-became-a-delight-to/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [“Words were his delight; Hers, a gay gracefulness Of dancing and moving. But when to the place Of deep loving (Starlight at midnight) At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-spencer/words-were-his-delight-hers-a-gay-gracefulness-of-dancing-and-moving/) Theodore Spencer > [I know no other way out of what is both the maze of the eternal present and the prison of the self except with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/i-know-no-other-way-out-of-what-is-both-the-maze-of-the-eternal/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [In the end we shall have had enough of cynicism and skepticism and humbug and we shall want to live more musically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/in-the-end-we-shall-have-had-enough-of-cynicism-and-skepticism-and/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Witchcraft is one of the most baseless, absurd, disgusting and silly of all the humbugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-t-barnum/witchcraft-is-one-of-the-most-baseless-absurd-disgusting-and-silly-of/) [P. T. Barnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-t-barnum/) > [ \[You write out of the\] desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death, etc., etc., etc. It is humbug… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/you-write-out-of-the-desire-to-seem-clever-to-be-talked-about-to-be/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“We must have humbug, we all like humbug, we couldn't get on without humbug.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/we-must-have-humbug-we-all-like-humbug-we-couldn-t-get-on-without/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [It boils down to this: we should have done with humbug, and let war be war, and not a game ... If there were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/it-boils-down-to-this-we-should-have-done-with-humbug-and-let-war-be/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Sensitive, humbug. Everybody thinks I'm sensitive. Wait until they hear my new album.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-king/sensitive-humbug-everybody-thinks-i-m-sensitive-wait-until-they-hear/) [Carole King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-king/) > [Christmas a humbug, uncle!" said Scrooge's nephew. "You don't mean that, I am sure?" "I do," said Scrooge. "Merry Christmas! What right have you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/christmas-a-humbug-uncle-said-scrooge-s-nephew-you-don-t-mean-that-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The humorist has a good eye for the humbug; he does not always recognize the saint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-humorist-has-a-good-eye-for-the-humbug-he-does-not-always/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The man is a humbug — a vulgar, shallow, self-satisfied mind, absolutely inaccessible to the complexities and delicacies of the real world. He has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-man-is-a-humbug-a-vulgar-shallow-self-satisfied-mind-absolutely/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [How can you see something that isn't there?" yawned the Humbug, who wasn't fully awake yet. "Sometimes, it's much simpler than seeing things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/how-can-you-see-something-that-isn-t-there-yawned-the-humbug-who-wasn/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [The more intelligent and cultured a man is, the more subtly he can humbug himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-more-intelligent-and-cultured-a-man-is-the-more-subtly-he-can/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) ## More by Lewis H. Lapham > [The figure of the enthusiast who has just discovered jogging or a new way to fix tofu can be said to stand or, more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/the-figure-of-the-enthusiast-who-has-just-discovered-jogging-or-a-new/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/a-society-that-presumes-a-norm-of-violence-and-celebrates-aggression/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [The future turns out to be something that you make instead of find. It isn't waiting for your arrival, either with an arrest warrant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/the-future-turns-out-to-be-something-that-you-make-instead-of-find-it/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [The genius of capitalism consists precisely in its lack of morality. Unless he is rich enough to hire his own choir, a capitalist is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/the-genius-of-capitalism-consists-precisely-in-its-lack-of-morality/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [If you wear a suit, you can talk to anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/if-you-wear-a-suit-you-can-talk-to-anybody/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [We might make a public moan in the newspapers about the decay of conscience, but in private conversation, no matter what crimes a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/we-might-make-a-public-moan-in-the-newspapers-about-the-decay-of/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [ \[For American consumer society\], the country's reserves of ignorance constitute a natural resource as precious as the Mississippi River or the long-lost herds of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/for-american-consumer-society-the-country-s-reserves-of-ignorance/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [A certain kind of rich man afflicted with the symptoms of moral dandyism sooner or later comes to the conclusion that it isn't enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/a-certain-kind-of-rich-man-afflicted-with-the-symptoms-of-moral/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [His administration apparently means to define itself as a television program instead of a government...I don't know if it can please both its sponsors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/his-administration-apparently-means-to-define-itself-as-a-television/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [In the garden of tabloid delight, there is always a clean towel and another song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/in-the-garden-of-tabloid-delight-there-is-always-a-clean-towel-and/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [To the United States the Third World often takes the form of a black woman who has been made pregnant in a moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/to-the-united-states-the-third-world-often-takes-the-form-of-a-black/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [About the presence of death and dying I don't remember the society in the 1950s being so skittish as it has since become. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/about-the-presence-of-death-and-dying-i-don-t-remember-the-society-in/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [Nobody suffers the pain of birth or the anguish of loving a child in order for presidents to make wars, for governments to feed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/nobody-suffers-the-pain-of-birth-or-the-anguish-of-loving-a-child-in/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [The leading cause of death is birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/the-leading-cause-of-death-is-birth/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [Power broken into a thousand pieces can be hidden and disowned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/power-broken-into-a-thousand-pieces-can-be-hidden-and-disowned/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) [Explore all 93 Lewis H. Lapham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [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/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "From authors whom I read more than once I learn to value the weight of words and to delight in their meter and cadence -- in Gibbon's polyphonic counterpoint and Guedalla's command of the subjunctive, in Mailer's hyperbole and Dillard's similes, in Twain's invectives and burlesques with which he set the torch of his ferocious wit to the hospitality tents of the world's colossal humbug . . . 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