TIME and truth are friends, though there are many moments hostile to truth.
Joseph JoubertRead
The paper is patient, but the reader is not.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing requires patience from the author, but readers may not have the same patience.
This quote by Joseph Joubert suggests that while a piece of writing can be endlessly revised and adapted to improve it, the reader often approaches it with a limited amount of patience. This highlights the importance of engaging the reader quickly and effectively, as their time and attention are finite, in contrast to the vast potential for refinement that exists in the written word itself.
Themes
WritingPatienceReaderEngagementCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a writing workshop to emphasize the need for concise and engaging writing.
More from Joseph Joubert
All quotes →A work is perfectly finished only when nothing can be added to it and nothing taken away.
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We live in an age in which superfluous ideas abound and essential ideas are lacking.
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Words, like glasses, obscure everything they do not make clear. Before using a fine word, make a place for it.
Joseph JoubertRead
Before using a fine word, make a place for it.
Joseph JoubertRead
Professional critics are incapable of distinguishing and appreciating either diamonds in the rough or gold in bars. They are traders, and in literature know only the coins that are current. Their critical lab has scales and weights, but neither crucible or touchstone.
Joseph JoubertRead
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