writing (n.) is the best improver of eloquence, yet many orators wrote nothing, fearing a written specimen would shrink a fame already made.

Marcus Tullius Cicero on Writing

Reward Repetition

Turn Effort Into Identity

writing

bird

dad joke

Socrates

literacy

one-liner

cartographer

trivia

deconstruction

grammar

ology (the study of)

handwriting

pick-up line

academic writing

writer's block

dissertation writing

dissertation

graduate school

imposter syndrome

academia

manuscript

editing

fertilizer

Microsoft Word

academics

procrastination

deadline

publishing

break

Writing means revealing oneself to excess.

It is the duty of the writer to describe.

is the best improver of eloquence, yet many orators wrote nothing, fearing a written specimen would shrink a fame already made.

Recast in definition form from: “Others did not choose the trouble of improving themselves; to which nothing more contributes than frequent writing; and as to perpetuating the fame of their Eloquence, they thought it unnecessary; supposing that their eminence in that respect was sufficiently established already, and that it would be rather diminished than increased by submitting any written specimen of it to the arbitrary …”

is the best modeller and teacher of oratory: what is meditated beats what is improvised, and steady writing beats meditation itself.

Recast in definition form from: “Writing is said to be the best and most excellent modeller and teacher of oratory; and not without reason; for if what is meditated and considered easily surpasses sudden and extemporary speech, a constant and diligent habit of writing will surely be of more effect than meditation and consideration itself”

was the refuge of solitude: since the state's overthrow Cicero wrote more in a short time than in many years while it stood.

Recast in definition form from: “am directing all my study and care to this labor of writing, and thus in the short time that has elapsed since the overthrow of the state, I have written more than in many years while it stood”

carries a speech the way oars carry a boat: when the written matter runs out, the speech keeps its motion and glides on in the same strain.

Recast in definition form from: “… written, will flow on in a similar strain. [153] As, when a boat has once been impelled forward, though the rowers suspend their efforts, the vessel herself still keeps her motion and course during the intermission of the impulse and force of the oars; so, in a continued stream of oratory, when written matter fails, the rest of the speech …”

can cure what it describes: composing a book on old age wiped away all of age's disagreeables and even made it luxurious and delightful.

Recast in definition form from: “To myself, indeed, the composition of this book has been so delightful, that it has not only wiped away all the disagreeables of old age, but has even made it luxurious and delightful too.”

done badly is an unpardonable abuse of letters and leisure: its authors read their books to one another, and no one else takes them up but those who want the same licence for carelessness.

Recast in definition form from: “for any one to publish thoughts which he can neither arrange skilfully nor illustrate so as to entertain his reader, is an unpardonable abuse of letters and retirement: they, therefore, read their books to one another, and no one ever takes them up but those who wish to have the same license for careless writing allowed to themselves.”

Definitions HQ