--- title: "It is only the basest writer who cannot speak of the sea without talk… — John Ruskin Quote #38 | QuotesBy.net" description: "It is only the basest writer who cannot speak of the sea without talking of 'raging waves,' 'remorseless floods,' 'ravenous billows,' etc.; and it is… — a quote by John Ruskin." image: "https://quotesby.net/wp-content/themes/quotesby-editorial/assets/og-default.png" --- > # It is only the basest writer who cannot speak of the sea without talking of 'raging waves,' 'remorseless floods,' 'ravenous billows,' etc.; and it is one of the signs of the highest power in a writer to check all such habits of thought, and to keep his eyes fixed firmly on the pure fact, out of which if any feeling comes to him or his reader, he knows it must be a true one. [John Ruskin](https://quotesby.net/John-Ruskin)\#38 [Nature](https://quotesby.net/John-Ruskin/nature/)[Writing](https://quotesby.net/John-Ruskin/writing/)[Literature](https://quotesby.net/John-Ruskin/literature/)[Style](https://quotesby.net/John-Ruskin/style/)[Fact](https://quotesby.net/topics/fact/) [WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)](https://wa.me/?text=%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20only%20the%20basest%20writer%20who%20cannot%20speak%20of%20the%20sea%20without%20talking%20of%20%27raging%20waves%2C%27%20%27remorseless%20floods%2C%27%20%27ravenous%20billows%2C%27%20etc.%3B%20and%20it%20is%20one%20of%20the%20signs%20of%20the%20highest%20power%20in%20a%20writer%20to%20check%20all%20such%20habits%20of%20thought%2C%20and%20to%20keep%20his%20eyes%20fixed%20firmly%20on%20the%20pure%20fact%2C%20out%20of%20which%20if%20any%20feeling%20comes%20to%20him%20or%20his%20reader%2C%20he%20knows%20it%20must%20be%20a%20true%20one.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20John%20Ruskin%20https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FJohn-Ruskin%2F38%2F)[X (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20only%20the%20basest%20writer%20who%20cannot%20speak%20of%20the%20sea%20without%20talking%20of%20%27raging%20waves%2C%27%20%27remorseless%20floods%2C%27%20%27ravenous%20billows%2C%27%20etc.%3B%20and%20it%20is%20one%20of%20the%20signs%20of%20the%20highest%20power%20in%20a%20writer%20to%20check%20all%20such%20habits%20of%20thought%2C%20and%20to%20keep%20his%20eyes%20fixed%20firmly%20on%20the%20pure%20fact%2C%20out%20of%20which%20if%20any%20feeling%20comes%20to%20him%20or%20his%20reader%2C%20he%20knows%20it%20must%20be%20a%20true%20one.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20John%20Ruskin&url=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FJohn-Ruskin%2F38%2F)[Facebook (opens in a new tab)](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FJohn-Ruskin%2F38%2F) ## About this quote What does it mean?Great writers avoid clichéd metaphors and focus on factual description to evoke true feeling.In plain termsGood writers describe facts clearly instead of using old metaphors.What can you take from it?Focus on facts to create genuine feeling in writing. ### Where it applies - creative writing - criticism ### Putting it to work - rewrite drafts for clarity - avoid clichés ### Questions to consider - How do you describe nature without clichés? - What makes writing powerful? ### Another view Metaphors are sometimes useful for expression. ## More from John Ruskin 1. > And thus, in full, there are four classes: the men who feel nothing, and therefore see truly; the men who feel strongly, think weakly, and see untruly (second … [Permalink to quote \#37](https://quotesby.net/John-Ruskin/37/ "Permalink to quote 37") 2. > The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something, and tell what it saw in a plain way. Hundreds of people can talk for one who can t… [Permalink to quote \#39](https://quotesby.net/John-Ruskin/39/ "Permalink to quote 39") 3. > All violent feelings have the same effect. They produce in us a falseness in all our impressions of external things, which I would generally characterize as th… [Permalink to quote \#36](https://quotesby.net/John-Ruskin/36/ "Permalink to quote 36") ## Related quotes 1. > The face of nature and civilization in this our country is to a certain point a very sufficient literary field. But it will yield its secrets only to a really … [Henry James](https://quotesby.net/Henry-James)[Henry James quote \#3](https://quotesby.net/Henry-James/3/ "Permalink to quote 3") 2. > I want the reader to feel something is astonishing. Not the 'what happens,' but the way everything happens. These long short story fictions do that best, for m… [Alice Munro](https://quotesby.net/Alice-Munro)[Alice Munro quote \#4](https://quotesby.net/Alice-Munro/4/ "Permalink to quote 4") 3. > We have such a mixture now, such a fusion of different genres. [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://quotesby.net/Ryszard-Kapuscinski)[Ryszard Kapuscinski quote \#5](https://quotesby.net/Ryszard-Kapuscinski/5/ "Permalink to quote 5") ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is only the basest writer who cannot speak of the sea without talking of 'raging waves,' 'remorseless floods,' 'ravenous billows,' etc.; and it is one of the signs of the highest power in a writer to check all such habits of thought, and to keep his eyes fixed firmly on the pure fact, out of which if any feeling comes to him or his reader, he knows it must be a true one.", "url": "https://quotesby.net/John-Ruskin/38/", "spokenByCharacter": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Ruskin" } } { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://quotesby.net/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Authors", "item": "https://quotesby.net/authors/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Ruskin", "item": "https://quotesby.net/John-Ruskin" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Quote #38", "item": "https://quotesby.net/John-Ruskin/38/" } ] } ```