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When reading a quote or aphorism don’t hesitate to substitute a familiar word for an odd, pretentious or archaic word, or to drop or simplify a sentence, or to break one long sentence into two short ones. In general whenever it seems appropriate, paraphrase what you read to make the quote more colloquial, or to fit your own way of speaking, or even to suit your own sense of style. Here are three examples:

This is the greatest paradox: the emotions cannot be trusted, yet it is they that tell us the greatest truths.

Don Herold

[The word “greatest” is used twice in the same sentence. That’s bad style. It is easily corrected as follows:]

This is the greatest paradox: the emotions cannot be trusted, yet it is they that tell us the most important truths.

That unchecked indulgence in the more obvious types of pleasure is unsatisfying, is the unanimous teaching of those who have had the leisure and opportunity to try them in all ages. It is the more unfortunate that it is a truth which nobody believes to be true until he has discovered it for himself. . . . You cannot take the kingdom of pleasure, any more than you can take the kingdom of beauty, by storm.

C. E. M. Joad

[Here is a more colloquial version of the above:]

Unchecked indulgence in the more obvious types of pleasure is unsatisfying. That’s the unanimous teaching of those who have had the leisure and opportunity to try them in all ages. Unfortunately, it’s a truth which nobody believes to be true until he has discovered it for himself. . . . You cannot take the kingdom of pleasure, any more than you can take the kingdom of beauty, by storm.

There are very voluptuous appetites and enjoyments in mere abstractions—like mathematics, logic, or chess. But these mere pleasures of the mind are like mere pleasures of the body. That is, they are mere pleasures, though they may be gigantic pleasures; they can never by a mere increase of themselves amount to happiness.

G. K. Chesterton

[In this case we will substitute “tremendous” and “enormous” for “voluptuous” and “gigantic,” as well as making other modest changes:]

There are tremendous appetites and enjoyments in mere abstractions—like mathematics, logic, or chess. But these mere pleasures of the mind are like mere pleasures of the body. That is to say, they are only pleasures. And even though they may be enormous pleasures, they can never by a mere increase of themselves amount to happiness.

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