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Online Retail Sales Sustained Its Double-Digit Growth Rate To Reach $175 Billion In 2007

jhonwilliamsd — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:25:33 +0000

Online retail sales sustained its double-digit growth rate year-over-year, though sales from offline stores are declined indicating that customers are more comfortable with the online shopping than offline stores. According to a survey by Forrester Research Inc, online retail sales in 2007 reached $175 billion, a 21% increase over $144.6 billion in 2006.

Online retail sales sustains double-digit growth rate
Online sales have seen a slight decline in the growth rate, but sustained its double digit growth rate in 2007. The sales have increased to $175 billion in 2007 to that of $144.6 billion in 2006, but the growth rate has dropped to 21% in the year 2007 compared to that of 29% in the previous year.

Number of online consumers increased over the years
Buying products online has become a regular experience for U.S Internet users. According to e-marketer, the number of U.S consumers who have purchased online is more than doubled from 22% in June 2000 to 49% in September 2007. This shows that the online retailers have attracted the US consumers to buy products online and also the consumers purchasing online increased as they are more comfortable purchasing online rather than offline stores.

Top 500 online retailers dominated sales in 2007
According to the Internet Retailer, America’s 500 largest online retailers account for 61% of all e-commerce sales in 2007. Their combined sales grew to $101.7 billion in 2007, an increase of 21.6% from online sales of $83.6 billion in the previous year. In 2007 top 100 online retailers account for $87.7 billion of e-commerce sales, an increase of 22.5% from $71.6 billion in 2006. The top online retailers have dominated the retail sales in the America in the past two years which shows that the online retail market is gradually getting concentrated with the top players.

Online retailers investing on acquiring & retaining customers
According to a study conducted by Forrester Research, online retailers allocate 53% of their marketing budgets to online customer acquisition and about 21% for the customer retention. According to the survey, retailers say that search engine marketing is the most effective method of acquiring customers. And addressing customers security concerns make online retail even more regular and retain the customers.

Online retailers beat offline stores in customer satisfaction
Customers are more satisfied and had comfortable shopping online than offline stores. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) 100 point scale, e-commerce’s overall score measured 80. Online retail scored 83 in 2007, up 2.5% from last year’s index. Offline retail score 74.4 on the scale. As per ACSI, customer satisfaction with online retail sales surpassed offline retail by 11.6% in 2007.

Though there is a slight decline in the growth rate, the online retail sales are continuously growing over the years as online shopping is becoming more popular among the customers.

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Marvist Consulting is an internet marketing research firm providing professional seo, pay per click management and web analytic services to help companies to increase online sales and improve their profitability. Marvist Consulting also provides custom internet market research Services (Professional and affordable) to find, analyze and summarize published information by our expert researchers to help you find information for decision making.

Don’t let good grammar spoil good writing

phil.yaffe@yahoo.com — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 05:53:04 +0000

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by Philip Yaffe

If saying that good grammar can spoil good writing sounds like heresy, it was meant to.

When I search the Web for writing tips, all too often the first bit of advice that comes back is “Be sure to use good grammar”. But that’s putting the cart before the horse. It’s like telling a carpenter which hammer to use to drive in a particular type of nail. Very useful advice. However, this is a detail. It is valid only if the carpenter knows why he is putting the nail there and what will follow.

There is a second reason why this bit of advice is misplaced. One person’s idea of good grammar is not necessarily another’s.

The English language is not blessed (or cursed) with the equivalent of the Académie Française, a more or less official body in France that regulates the French language. Differences about correct grammar are sometimes hotly argued within the Académie, but outside their decisions are accepted as law.

English grammarians also are continually arguing with each other. There is of course broad agreement on many things. However, when there isn’t, you can pretty much do as you like.

Over my 40-year career as a writer, I have purposely chosen to “violate” some aspects of English grammar that many people consider to be inviolable. Why? Because I believe their rigorous application often impedes emphasis and/or understanding.

I would like to share some of these with you. You may never have thought about them before, so here is your opportunity. Once you have reflected on the matters, you may accept or reject them as the mood takes you.

Although a native of Southern California, I have been living in Brussels, Belgium, for the past 34 years. In Europe, British English is generally preferred to American English, so I am quite accustomed to seeing the language used somewhat differently from what I knew before I came here.

Past vs. Present Tense

One of my particular pet peeves is something I hear daily on the BBC, the prestigious British Broadcasting Corporation. This is not a condemnation of British vs. American English. It’s just that I became aware of the practice while listening to the BBC. Americans do pretty much the same thing.

What am I talking about? The annoying, even ludicrous stricture that if a sentence starts in the past tense, it must remain in the past tense.

For example: The United Nations this morning reported that malaria “was” still a worldwide health menace. To me, it makes much more sense to say: The United Nations this morning disclosed that malaria “is” still a worldwide health menace.

Or what about this: The President asserted that the economy “was” going to remain strong at least until 2011. Again, it makes much more sense to say: The President asserted that the economy “is” going to remain strong at least until 2010.

This practice is relatively harmless; nevertheless, I cringe at it. Clearly, the speaker didn’t mean to suggest that the situation was likely to change almost the instant he had uttered his statement. He was projecting into the future. So while he may have said it five minutes ago (past tense), it seems ludicrous to paraphrase his statement in the past tense, which only diminishes its force.

If you believe that casting the beginning of a sentence in the past tense, then the rest in the present or future tense is bad grammar, you are in poor company. When the logic of the situation calls for it, many good writers and speakers ignore the “rule”. The above examples were in fact taken from two the world’s leading international daily newspapers.

Capitalizing Bullet Points

The purpose of bullet points is to make thoughts and information stand out. So why go against the current by not capitalizing the first letter of each point? For example:

Our system helps people:

– write better;

– write faster;

– write persuasively;

– reduce errors;

– reduce formatting problems.

Our system helps people:

– Write better

– Write faster

– Write persuasively

– Reduce errors

– Reduce formatting problems

You will notice that in addition to capitalizing each bullet point, example B also eliminates the semi-colons and the period. What logic is there for putting in commas semi-colons, and periods? The fact that the next line is a new bullet point, i.e. clearly a new thought, makes such punctuation unnecessary, and even distracting.

Of course, it can be contended that each bullet point is a continuation of the main sentence, so starting with a capital would be incorrect. Likewise, each bullet point is the end of a thought, so punctuation is necessary. Valid arguments, for a grammarian. However, for a writer whatever weakens the power of bullet points negates the reason for using them in the first place. Failure to capitalize and inserting punctuation both tend to weaken bullets points, and therefore should be avoided

Names and Titles

My final grammatical pet peeve may not be grammatical at all. It has to do with how people are introduced in a document. I am not certain there is any “rule” governing this; it is more a matter of choice.

The president of the International Federation of Tuba Players, John Jones, has just celebrated his 18^th year of service

John Jones, president of the International Federation of Tuba Players, has just celebrated his 18^th year of service

Both A and B are legitimate ways of introducing John Johns. Some good writers choose the one, some choose the other. I would like to argue that in most cases, B is probably preferable because it is more “natural”. After all, at a party you wouldn’t say to someone, “I would like to introduce you to the president of the International Federation of Tuba Players, John Jones.” Preferably you would say, “I would like to introduce you to John Jones, president of the International Federation of Tuba Players.”

Paragraphing

This article is full of a heresy that many grammarians would be happy to chastise me for — and have.

You may have noticed that many of the paragraphs are quite short, even only one sentence. I am certain that you didn’t learn paragraphing like this in school and would have been marked down if you had tried it.

Some people who use “ungrammatically” short paragraphs claim that they help maintain reader interest, because readers dislike large blocks of text. This is true. However, there is an even better reason for using them. Short paragraphs help to dramatize certain key idea, thereby enhancing clarity.

This first paragraph of this section is a case in point.

The sentence starting “This article is full of a heresy that . . .” could easily have been combined with the next sentence starting “You may have noticed that many of the paragraphs are quite short . . .” to form a single paragraph. This is probably what most grammarians would do and insist that others do, as well. However, some of the emphasis of that first sentence would have been lost, to the detriment of clarity.

If you have doubts about using such unorthodox paragraphing, look any leading newspapers and magazine for reassurance. Short, dramatic paragraphing is one of the things that make these popular publications so easy and enjoyable to read.

Philip Yaffe is a former reporter/feature writer with The Wall Street Journal and a marketing communication consultant. He currently teaches a course in good writing and good speaking in Brussels, Belgium. His recently published book In the “I” of the Storm: the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like a Professional is available from Story Publishers in Ghent, Belgium (storypublishers.be) and Amazon (amazon.com).

For further information, contact:

Philip Yaffe
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 660 0405
phil.yaffe@yahoo.com, phil.yaffe@gmail.com

Ask an Accounting Expert

webesales — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:34:05 +0000

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Professional Internet Marketing and PPC

kiranvoleti — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:57:14 +0000

Keeping in view the growing SEO (search engine optimization),PPC market around the world Dotndot.com, the Hyderabad based Indian advertising firm has launched its special website for SEO called toputop.com

To begin with Dotndot.com has done SEO and was able to secure Google page rank 5 with a very short span of time. To focus more on SEO and to serve its customers well through SEO specialization, dotndot.com has opened a separate website called Toputop.com.

About Toputop:

Toputop.com is an SEO Company that offers quality Search Engine Optimization & SEO related Services at very much reasonable fee. Our professionals ensure guaranteed results with the company being placed in the top 10 search engine rankings of Google, Yahoo, and MSN.

With our professional approach and best web marketing techniques we prove what we say. Our services include

1. On page Optimization which includes giving proper Meta tags, making the website user friendly.

2. Off page Optimization.Offpage Optimization is the website submission to search engines & directories, performing advanced promotional activities and building link popularity for website by launching a Link Exchange program.

In Toputop, we are providing following services

1. Search engine optimization

2. Search Engine Marketing

3. Internet marketing

4. Link exchange

5. Lead generation

6. Online advertising

7. Web Analytics

8. Email Marketing

9. Blog Marketing

10. Viral Marketing

11. Video Marketing

12. Press Releases

13. Podcasting

With the launch of www.toputop.com , www.dotndot.com will extend its business in online marketing for clients all around the world with more zeal and enthusiasm and we can give maximum benefits of SEO to our customers.

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The Number Of Internet Users Worldwide Reached To 1407 Million As On March 2008

jhonwilliamsd — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:12:53 +0000

The increasing number of Internet users every year signifies the growing awareness of Internet usage among the people across the world. According to Internet World Statistics, every year there is approximately one percent growth in the number of Internet users. This increase in the number of Internet users enables the nations to have better information transfer and to impart quality education in remote areas.

China surpasses USA in the number of Internet users
It is interesting to see that China has highest number of Internet users occupying the first slot in the list of countries with 220 million Internet users overtaking USA which has 216 million. China’s economic boom is considered as the main cause for such a spurt in the number of Internet users. It is also observed that penetration rate in USA is 69.7% much higher than China’s 12.3%. This shows china is still not in a position to include majority of its population in the Internet users club.

Norway has highest penetration rate
Norway is the only country with 88% of Internet penetration rate, successful in reaching out maximum number of people, followed by Netherlands and Iceland with 87.8 % and 85.4% respectively as per International Telecommunication Union survey, September 2007. United States with its world’s highest broadband subscriber base, occupied ninth place in this penetration rate list. Ireland with 50.1% and Czech Republic with 50% occupied last two slots of top 43 nations with highest penetration rate. Even though China has highest number of Internet users, it is not able to find place in this list.

Increasing Internet usage in Africa
Despite continuous poverty, illiteracy and hunger, growth rate of Internet users in Africa is on high. According to International World Statistics the number of Internet users increased by 625% during 2000-2007. This is the highest figure than any other region that is recorded in span of seven years. Australia with 141.90% and North America with mere 114.70% growth in Internet usage were at the last two positions in Internet usage growth list during 2000-2007.

Still Internet is not accessible to 79 percent of the world population
Whatever may be the trends that the world is experiencing in the usage of Internet, it is a fact that only 21 percent of the world population is using Internet. I.e. the number of Internet users across the world accounts for only 1407 million as on March, 2008, as per Internet World Statistics. This figure is much lesser when compared to 6700 million of total world population. Still for 5293 million people Internet is not accessible.

The rapid growth in the number of Internet users in the world signifies how the respective countries are progressing in the field of information technology. This growth is providing platform to international firms to leverage their strengths and capitalize on the growing Internet market. This also facilitates nations to promote knowledge based economy to their people.
Marvist Consulting is an internet marketing research firm providing professional seo, pay per click management and web analytic services to help companies to increase online sales and improve their profitability. Marvist Consulting also provides custom internet market research Services (Professional and affordable) to find, analyze and summarize published information by our expert researchers to help you find information for decision making.

Don’t Write Short Texts. Write Concise Ones

phil.yaffe@yahoo.com — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:19:03 +0000

by Philip Yaffe

“Don’t write short texts. Write concise ones.”

If you are puzzled by this admonition, it is probably because you have been led to believe that “short” and “concise” are synonyms. They aren’t.

My dictionary shows two definitions for “concise”:

1. Brief and to the point

2. Short and clear.

If “short” is already part of the definition of concise, they cannot be synonyms. There must be a difference. So what is it, and how does it affect your writing?

Over my 40 years as a professional writer, I have developed my own definition of “concise”, which makes the difference explicit. Moreover, it is functional. It not only tells you what you are seeking to do, but also how to go about doing it.

Before examining this functional definition, let’s agree on what we are trying to achieve by being concise.

It is commonly claimed that people today have shorter spans than in the past, so text must also be shorter. I am unaware of any scientific evidence that supports this contention. However, I am aware of considerable historical and psychological evidence that disputes it.

People pay attention to texts that catch and hold their interest. Once that interest wanes, they stop reading. It’s as simple as that. Whatever effect radio, television, films, the Web, etc. may have had on average attention span, individual attention span is governed by self-interest. This has always been true, and remains so.

The objective, therefore, is not to constrain a text to fit some artificial limit, but to be certain that everything it says has purpose and meaning for the reader. This is what makes a text concise, whatever its length.

So back to the functional definition. For a text to be truly concise, it must be:

1. As long as necessary

2. As short as possible

As with the dictionary, “short” is only part of the definition — the second part. Before you set about making your text “as short as possible”, you must first make it “as long as necessary”. In practical terms, this means that before you do anything else, you must first determine the key ideas you want your text to convey. Then identify all the supporting information needed to make them clear and credible.

Whatever minimum text length is required to adequately cover this vital information, this is how long it must be. It makes no sense to look at your text and then start cutting out important information because it seems to be “too long”.

Now, what is meant by “as short as possible”?

Keep in mind that nothing in a text is neutral. Anything beyond the minimum length required to be “as long as necessary” will not simply add a few unnecessary words. Ultimately, it will affect reader comprehension.

Unconsciously, the reader will continually be asking himself why those additional words are there; however, since they are unnecessary, he will never get an answer. The more often these unconscious questions are raised, the more often there will be no answer. The reader will become less and less confident that he understands what he is reading. When he concludes that he doesn’t understand it (or considers it boring, which is the same thing in disguise), he will stop reading. And your effort will have been wasted

Remember: The length of a text and how well the reader understands it are intimately linked. The purpose of writing “as short as possible” is not to avoid too many words (whatever that means) — but to ensure clarity.

I have yet to see any list of writing tips that explicitly states this fundamental principle. So let’s state it again. Conciseness means saying everything that needs to be said in as few words as possible in order to ensure clarity.

Now that you understand the true purpose of all the various writing tips and suggestions on offer, you are more likely to value them and apply them the rigor they deserve. However, don’t be overly concerned about applying them when writing your first draft. Every well-written text must go through at least two distinct drafts.

A. First Draft

This should be dedicated to inputting all the key ideas and supporting information required to make the text “as long as necessary”. Write this first draft with minimal concern about style, grammar, conciseness, etc. Concentrate on content.

B. Second Draft

This should be dedicated to applying all the writing tips you know to make the text “as short as possible” to ensure that all the key ideas and supporting information are presented clearly and persuasively.

In short: Write fast, edit slow.

Here are a few examples that show the significance difference that understanding and applying these tips can truly make. This is only a sampling. After reading these examples, go back the various lists to look for other writing tips, which you will read and appreciate more acutely than ever.

Bullet Points and Numbered Lists

Bullet points and numbered lists are excellent ways of shortening a text while making it easier to understand. You may have noticed that I have used this technique several times in this article.

Use bullet points or numbered lists to highlight and explain general statements. Bullet points or numbers that relate to nothing have no value.

These are the four factors that led us to this decision:

– Economic conditions are . . . .

– Technical developments have. . . .

– Government policy will. . . .

– Social conditions are . . . .

Displaying Data

Display data directly next to their reference. Data displayed “respectively” requires the reader to stop and confirm the correct order. This can cause confusion.

Poor

The CAC, DAX and AEX all fell during past three months: -1.76%, -0.98% and -2.26% respectively

Better

The three indices that fell during the past three months were: CAC (-1.76%), DAX (-0.98%), and AEX (-2.26%)

The word “respectively” almost always causes confusion. Delete it from your vocabulary!

Shifting Terminology

If you wish to use more than one term to mean the same thing, be certain that you clearly inform your readers.

Poor

Atopic dermatitis is a common disease of infants aged 0-2 years. About half of all infants with infantile eczema will develop asthma before their fourth birthday.

Better

Atopic dermatitis (infantile eczema) is a common disease of infants aged 0-2 years. About half of all infants with infantile eczema will develop asthma before their fourth birthday.

Active vs. Passive Voice

Generally prefer the active voice because it gives a clearer picture of what is being described and is usually shorter. However, don’t be afraid to use the passive voice when need. After all, if there were no real need for the passive voice in the language, it wouldn’t exist.

Active voice: Management approved the new product

Passive voice: The new product was approved by Management

Placement for Emphasis

Words at the beginning and at the end of a sentence have stronger emphasis than those in the middle. Therefore, put important information in these key locations to aid reader understanding.

Poor

Astronomers hunting for evidence of life outside of our solar system announced the discovery of a new class of planets yesterday.

Better

Yesterday, astronomers hunting for evidence of life outside of our solar system announced discovery of a new class of planets.

Best

Astronomers hunting for evidence of life outside of our solar system yesterday announced the discovery of a new class of planets.

Poor

The national leaders met to discuss new trade relations between their two countries in the Royal Palace.

Better

In the Royal Palace, the national leaders met to discuss new trade relations between their two countries.

Best

The national leaders met In the Royal Palace to discuss new trade relations between their two countries.

For further information, contact:

Philip Yaffe
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 660 0405
phil.yaffe@yahoo.com, phil.yaffe@gmail.com

Nominate a Lawyer for the 2008 Rainmaker of the Year Awards

lbodine — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:42:42 +0000

Marketers and consultants across the nation are invited to nominate lawyers for the Rainmaker of the Year Awards, sponsored by the editors of Originate! - the monthly business development newsletter, and judged by LSSO - the Legal Sales and Service Organization.

“We want to recognize the lawyers who have geared up to bring in business and applied themselves to make it happen. And we want our readers to learn from those who have been particularly successful this past year,” said Editor-In-Chief Barry Schneider,

Winners will receive a handsome award, be publicized in a nationally-distributed press release and be interviewed for articles to be published in Originate! and on the LSSO website.

The newsletter is now soliciting entries for the Rainmaker Awards from lawyers, firms, marketing specialists, recruiters and consultants, in six categories:

1. Associate

2. Small firm lawyer (30 or fewer lawyers)

3. Partner – transactions

4. Partner – litigator

5. Woman Lawyer

6. Diverse Lawyer

Law firm marketers and marketing consultants are encouraged to submit an entry on behalf of a top rainmaker they know in one of these categories, and self-nominations are also welcome. There is no entry fee this year. The deadline for submissions is Monday, July 21, 2008. Entry forms are available online at www.pbdi.org/originate.

A panel of independent judges with expertise in legal business development has been assembled by the Legal Sales and Service Organization (LSSO):

Martha Fay “Marty” Africa, Managing Director of Major Lindsay & Africa consultants
Gabe Miller Esq., General Counsel of The Law Offices of James Sokolove
Catherine MacDonagh, Esq., President of LSSO.

The judges will determine the best of the best among the submitted entries.

“With sales and marketing now so critical to the careers of individual lawyers and the vitality of law firms, we know how important it is for the best to be recognized and share what they do,” said Beth Cuzzone, a co-founder of LSSO, who is the Director of Business Development for Goulston & Storrs in Boston.

More information on the contest, as well as the entry form, can be found at www.pbdi.org/originate

ABOUT ORIGINATE! — Originate! is an independent online business development newsletter for lawyers is found at www.pbdi.org/originate. The paid subscription newsletter offers practical advice to lawyers: how to get new clients and generate more revenue. Originate! has assembled firm leaders, rainmakers and consultants to publish case studies of successful lawyers, specific techniques to boost marketing results, how-to’s, and market insights. First published in 2007, the co-editors of Originate! include Barry Schneider of Dallas, TX, Larry Bodine, Esq., of Glen Ellyn, IL, and Michael G. Cummings of St. Charles, IL.

ABOUT LSSO – The Legal Sales and Service Organization, based in Boston and found at www.legalsales.org, is the legal profession’s only organization exclusively focused on sales, service excellence and process issues in law firms and legal departments. Founded in 2003, LSSO delivers the education and resources that lawyers need to improve their sales and client service skills with a searchable library, exclusive research, tools and information for members only, LSSO’s RainDance Conference, LSSO’s Process Improvement Certification Programs and the Thomas H. Lee Award for Service Excellence. Catherine Alman MacDonagh, Esq. is the association’s Co-Founder & President.

For further information please contact Originate! co-editor Larry Bodine at 630.942.0977.

Web Based Point Of Sale

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Pithy Prose: The Wit & Wisdom of People Named ‘H’

phil.yaffe@yahoo.com — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:25:09 +0000

by Philip Yaffe

Part 7 of an occasional series

I am a collector of quotations. I have been ever since I learned how to write, I mean professionally, not in primary school.

I am particularly fond of what I like to call “pithy prose”. These short quotations can cover an unlimited variety of subjects: love, religion, politics, human nature, etc. What unites them is their ability to say more in one or two sentences than could be expressed in a thousand-word treatise. It’s like being able to pour a liter of liquid into a half-liter bottle.

They are superb examples of Mark Twain’s famous dictum, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

In principle, all writers and public speakers are capable of producing pithy prose, but clearly some are better at it than others.

Any collection of pithy prose must necessarily be biased in terms of what it includes and excludes. I make no apologies for my selections, only for the hundreds of other meritorious quotations I had to leave out.

No one will agree with all these quotations; this was not their intention. You may even find some of them repugnant or outrageous. This was their intention.

We seldom learn anything of value from what we already agree with. Only those ideas that grate on our nerves can open our minds. As with oysters, irritation can produce pearls. So if anything you are about to read annoys or shocks you, try to think clearly and dispassionately about what it is saying. You will either be confirmed in your current belief or shaken into re-examining it.

Either way, you win!

This article is part of an occasional series. In each article, I will be offering more amusing, educating, and exasperating quotations to your judgment. But just to be certain that we agree on what we are talking about, here it is in a nutshell.

Pithy Prose: A quotation where at first you may not be quite certain what it means. But when you become certain, you become equally certain that it couldn’t have been said better any other way. In short, big ideas in small packages.

If you have a better definition of pithy prose, please contact me. I would love to hear it.

Who Are These People Named “H”?

Some people, such as Oscar Wilde and Mark Twain, are pithy prose factories. During their careers they produced hundreds of quotations well worth remembering. Others produced only a handful, but these too are well worth preserving.

This article is dedicated to the wit & wisdom of people with surnames beginning with the letter “H”. If you don’t recognize some of these people, it doesn’t matter. The source of timeless wit and wisdom is not important, only what it said.

If you really want to know who some of these people are, look it up on the Web. That’s why it was invented.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

A pure hand needs no glove to cover it.

Accuracy is the twin brother of honesty; inaccuracy, of dishonesty.

Easy reading is damn hard writing.

Every individual has a place to fill in the world and is important in some respect whether he chooses to be so or not.

Life is made up of marble and mud.

Moonlight is sculpture.

Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind.

You can get assent to almost any proposition so long as you are not going to do anything about it.

Rutherford B. Hayes

One of the tests of the civilization of people is the treatment of its criminals.

Unjust attacks on public men do them more good than unmerited praise.

Virtue is defined to be mediocrity, of which either extreme is vice.

Ben Hecht

A man nearly always loves for other reasons than he thinks. A lover is apt to be as full of secrets from himself as is the object of his love from him.

In moderating, not satisfying desires, lies peace.

Prejudice is a raft onto which the shipwrecked mind clambers and paddles to safety.

Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of a clock.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Amid the pressure of great events, a general principle gives no help.

Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights.

Mere goodness can achieve little against the power of nature.

The learner always begins by finding fault, but the scholar sees the positive merit in everything.

Heinrich Heine

Atheism is the last word of theism.

He only profits from praise who values criticism.

I fell asleep reading a dull book and dreamed I kept on reading, so I awoke from sheer boredom.

Matrimony; the high sea for which no compass has yet been invented.

Sleep is good, death is better; but of course, the best thing would to have never been born at all.

The men of action are, after all, only the unconscious instruments of the men of thought.

There are more fools in the world than there are people.

Robert A. Heinlein

A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill.

Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat.

Bing right too soon is socially unacceptable.

II never learned from a man who agreed with me.

It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.

Never insult anyone by accident.

No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.

One man’s theology is another man’s belly laugh.

The difference between science and the fuzzy subjects is that science requires reasoning while those other subjects merely require scholarship.

Theology is never any help; it is searching in a dark cellar at midnight for a black cat that isn’t there. Theologians can persuade themselves of anything.

Yield to temptation. It may not pass your way again.

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don’t ever count on having both at once.

Lillian Hellman

Belief is a moral act for which the believer is to be held responsible.

Cynicism is an unpleasant way of saying the truth.

God forgives those who invent what they need.

I like people who refuse to speak until they are ready to speak.

Lonely people, in talking to each other, can make each other lonelier.

Nothing you write, if you hope to be good, will ever come out as you first hoped.

People change and forget to tell each other.

Ernest Hemingway

All my life I’ve looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.

All things truly wicked start from innocence.

For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.

Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

Never confuse movement with action.

Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.

Napoleon Hill

A goal is a dream with a deadline.

If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.

More gold has been mined from the thoughts of men than has been taken from the earth.

Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.

Nature cannot be tricked or cheated. She will give up to you the object of your struggles only after you have paid her price.

Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel.

The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail.

There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge.

Julia Ward Howe

I am confirmed in my division of human energies. Ambitious people climb, but faithful people build.

I never could be good when I was not happy.

Theology in general seems to me a substitution of human ingenuity for divine wisdom.

Beneath all differences of doctrine or discipline there exists a fundamental agreement as to the simple, absolute essentials in religion.

William Dean Howells

Some people can stay longer in an hour than others can in a week.

The book which you read from a sense of duty, or because for any reason you must, does not commonly make friends with you.

The secret of the man who is universally interesting is that he is universally interested.

Wisdom and goodness are twin-born, one heart must hold both sisters, never seen apart.

Previously in this Series

Part 1: Pithy Prose: The Wit & Wisdom of Mark Twain

Part 2: Pithy Prose: The Wit & Wisdom of Oscar Wilde

Part 3: Pithy Prose: The Wit & Wisdom of People Named “W”

Part 4: Pithy Prose: The Wit & Wisdom of Anatole France

Part 5: Pithy Prose: The Wit & Wisdom of Ambrose Bierc

Part 6: Pithy Prose: The Wit & Wisdom of Friedrich Nietzsche

For further information, contact:

Philip Yaffe
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 660 0405
phil.yaffe@yahoo.com, phil.yaffe@gmail.com