Quote#Art
On the whole, the arguments which it requires the greatest nicety of…
Quote byRichard Whately · 1787–1863
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Elements of Rhetoric (1828), Part I, Ch. III, § 8, p. 166.
English (original)
On the whole, the arguments which it requires the greatest nicety of art to refute effectually … are those which are so very weak and silly that it is difficult to make their absurdity more palpable than it is already.… The task reminds one of the well-known difficult feat of cutting through a cushion with a sword.
— Richard Whately
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