Schopenhauer, Arthur -- Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 2, ch. 23 “On Authorship and Style [Über Schriftstellerei und Stil],” § 283 (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890)]

Dave — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:57:43 +0000

But, as we have seen, many people try to conceal their poverty of thought under a flood of verbiage.

[Aber freilich suchen viele Schriftsteller gerade unter dem Wortüberfluß ihre Gedankenarmuth zu verbergen.]

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German philosopher
Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 2, ch. 23 “On Authorship and Style [Über Schriftstellerei und Stil],” § 283 (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890)]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translation:

But, truly, many authors try to hide their poverty of thought under a superfluity of words.
[tr. Dircks (1897)]

Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. -- Cat’s Cradle, ch. 76 [Castle] (1963)

Dave — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 16:15:36 +0000

People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order, so they’ll have good voice boxes in case there’s ever anything really meaningful to say.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922–2007) American novelist, journalist
Cat’s Cradle, ch. 76 [Castle] (1963)
(Source)

WIST Quotations

Schopenhauer, Arthur -- Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 2, ch. 23 “On Authorship and Style [Über Schriftstellerei und Stil],” § 283 (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890)]

Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. -- Cat’s Cradle, ch. 76 [Castle] (1963)