Quote by Samuel Johnson
The most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together; nature and art are ransacked for illustrations, comparisons, and allusions; their learning instructs, and their subtlety surprises; but the reader commonly thinks his improvement dearly bought and, though he sometimes admires, is seldom pleased.
Summary
This quote criticizes the use of excessive violence in connecting diverse ideas. It suggests that writers tend to exhaust both natural and artistic references to support their arguments, imposing a burden on the reader. While the intellectual depth and cleverness may impress, it argues that readers often find the effort of understanding and appreciating the text to be excessive and not pleasurable. This serves as a critique of unnecessarily complicated and convoluted writing styles that may deter and exhaust readers.
Topics
Reading
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