<!-- bryant-content-generator:start --> # An independently published quotation must contain... > An independently published quotation must contain a complete intellectual object within its own boundaries. It {A good quotation {does not merely decorate an argument; it contains one in miniature}.}, which is why it is quotable. A durable quotation names or recovers its subject, establishes a meaningful relationship, and arrives somewhere. It can be beautiful, severe, consoling, funny, or astonishing, but its force must belong to an idea rather than to decoration alone. **Source:** [[projects/The Argument in Miniature - How I Write Quotations, Paragraphs, and Reusable Prose|The Argument in Miniature: How I Write Quotations, Paragraphs, and Reusable Prose]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “An independently published quotation must contain a complete intellectual object within its own boundaries. It does not merely decorate an argument; it contains one in miniature, which is why it is quotable. A durable quotation names or recovers its subject, establishes a meaningful relationship, and arrives somewhere. It can be beautiful, severe, consoling, funny, or astonishing, but its force must belong to an idea rather than to decoration alone.” — Bryant McGill https://bryantmcgill.com/passages/passages-independently-published-quotation-rather-decoration-alone ``` <!-- bryant-content-generator:end -->