Print encourages a sense of closure, a sense that what is found in a text has been finalized, has reached a state of completion.
Walter J. OngRead
Without writing, the literate mind would not and could not think as it does, not only when engaged in writing but normally even when it is composing its thoughts in oral form. More than any other single invention writing has transformed human consciousness.
Interpretation
Writing is essential for the development of human thought and consciousness.
This quote emphasizes the profound impact that writing has on the way humans think and communicate. It suggests that writing is not just a tool for expression, but has fundamentally transformed our cognitive processes, allowing us to organize our thoughts and ideas in a way that is not achievable through oral communication alone.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of literacy and education, one might use this quote to highlight the transformative power of writing.
Print encourages a sense of closure, a sense that what is found in a text has been finalized, has reached a state of completion.
Woe to that nation whose literature is disturbed by the intervention of power. Because that is not just a violation against "freedom of print," it is the closing down of the heart of the nation, a slashing to pieces of its memory.
An awful lot of people come to college with this strange idea that there's no longer segregation in America's schools, that our schools are basically equal; neither of these things is true.
If help and salvation are to come they can only come from the children, for the children are the makers of men.
I believe unconditionally in the ability of people to respond when they are told the truth. We need to be taught to study rather than believe, to inquire rather than to affirm.
It has been a privilege to pursue knowledge for its own sake and to see how it might help mankind in more practical ways.
Books and all forms of writing have always been objects of terror to those who seek to suppress the truth.
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