Wall Ribs

Famous quotes containing the words wall and/or ribs:

    We shall renew the battle in the plain
    Tomorrow—red with blood will Xanthus be;
    Hector and Ajax will be there again,
    Helen will come upon the wall to see.
    Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)

    Grammar is a tricky, inconsistent thing. Being the backbone of speech and writing, it should, we think, be eminently logical, make perfect sense, like the human skeleton. But, of course, the skeleton is arbitrary, too. Why twelve pairs of ribs rather than eleven or thirteen? Why thirty-two teeth? It has something to do with evolution and functionalism—but only sometimes, not always. So there are aspects of grammar that make good, logical sense, and others that do not.
    John Simon (b. 1925)