Source identified
“Omit needless words.”
Conciseness is treated as removal of words that do no useful work, not as a demand that every sentence be short or stripped of necessary detail.
Source note: The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 13, Project Gutenberg #37134; the surrounding paragraph explicitly says detail need not be eliminated.
Source identified
“Use the active voice.”
The rule favors direct sentence construction when it makes agency clearer, while the surrounding discussion still allows passive voice when context requires it.
Source note: The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 10, Project Gutenberg #37134; Strunk immediately qualifies the rule by noting legitimate uses of passive construction.
Source identified
“Vigorous writing is concise.”
Strunk links force with economy: prose becomes stronger when each word contributes to the sentence rather than merely increasing its length.
Source note: The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 13, Project Gutenberg #37134; this sentence introduces the explanation of “Omit needless words.”
Source identified
“Use definite, specific, concrete language.”
Concrete and specific wording can reduce interpretive work for the reader by replacing vague generalities with language tied to identifiable actions, objects or details.
Source note: The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 12, Project Gutenberg #37134; Strunk follows the heading with examples contrasting vague and concrete phrasing.
Source identified
“The surest way to stop writing about Rome is to stop.”
The deliberately obvious sentence mocks the difficulty of ending an overfull account when a subject offers more material than the writer can organize.
Source note: The Innocents Abroad, end of Twain’s Rome discussion; he abandons the attempt to begin a conventional guide-book chapter after already producing extensive notes.
Source identified
“only THROUGH the style can thought reach the reader's mind.”
Style is treated as the actual route by which thought becomes accessible to readers, not decorative clothing that can be separated from meaning without loss.
Source note: The Principles of Success in Literature, chapter on Style, Project Gutenberg #10420; capitalization of “THROUGH” follows the represented Gutenberg transcription.