Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand. - Mark Twain

It takes your enemy and your friend, working together, to hurt you to the heart: the one to slander you and the other to get the news to you.

I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English — it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don't let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them — then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.

April 1. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four..