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The chief trouble with the official style is that it spreads far beyond the formal contexts to which it is suited. Most civil servants, having learned to write in this way, cannot throw off the habit.

— Robert Graves The Reader Over Your Shoulder (1943)

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More quotes by Robert Graves

Truth-loving Persians do not dwell upon
The trivial skirmish fought near Marathon.

New beginnings and new shoots
Spring again from hidden roots
Pull or stab or cut or burn,
Love must ever yet return.

Fairies and Fusiliers (1917)

The remarkable thing about Shakespeare is that he is really very good — in spite of all the people who say he is very good.

Children born of fairy stock
Never need for shirt or frock,
Never want for food or fire,
Always get their heart's desire...

Fairies and Fusiliers (1917)

Faults in English prose derive not so much from lack of knowledge, intelligence or art as from lack of thought, patience or goodwill.

The Reader Over Your Shoulder (1943)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Robert Graves (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.