Quote #145: on block quotation

Probably not a suitable quote for this blog, but worth reading if one plans on doing any original writing:

It is a good idea to avoid long quotations, especially quotations long enough to require indentation.  Tehe are few such quotations in academic writing that could not better be paraphrased.  Long quotations not only discourage the reader, they often serve as a substitute for thought on the part of the writer.

- Christopher Lasch (1932-1934), Plain Style:  A Guide to Written English (University of Pennsylvania Press:  2002), pg. 65. 

I assure our readers that the quotes posted on this blog serve not as substittues for, but rather encouragements to, rigorous thinking.

Quote #144: Archbishop Oscar Romero on hope

The words of a great martyr for the faith and
for his people who spoke about hope in the 
face of what appears to be insurmountable 
problems:

"Hope is not resignation; it is a commitment 
to continue to struggle even when things seem 
to warrant surrender, when hope flares, it 
allows human beings to overcome monstrous 
difficulties.  It allows people to defy common 
sense and confound strategists.  Hope 
experienced in the extreme, like faith and love, is miraculous."

Servant of God Oscar Romero, martyr, ora pro nobis!