William F. Buckley Jr.
American writer and editor
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
This will permit me to warn of the ambiguities of language, citing the priest who wrote to the bishop pleading his appearance at the reopening of the church after the roof was repaired. The bishop grumpily agrees, but only if the pastor fails to enlist the services of someone less distinguished. At deadline time, the pastor telephones and apologizes for summoning the bishop, pleading that he tried and tried but could find no other person less distinguished than the bishop.
—William F. Buckley Jr., American writer and editor, Slate Magazine, March 26, 2001
Posted on December 4, 2003 at 6:32 AM
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
The few Latin phrases I am comfortable with I tend to use without apology. For instance, for some reason I find it handier even in idiomatic exchanges to say "per impossibile" over against, say, "assuming that the impossible were actually to take place." Nor is the usefulness of per impossibile sui generis — if you see the kind of situation one is capable of falling into.
—William F. Buckley Jr., American writer and editor, Introduction to Amo, Amas, Amat and More, by Eugene Ehrlich, 1985
Posted on September 16, 1998 at 10:02 PM
|
