Obviously, without contextual qualification, it`s impossible to know exactly what she meant.
I was just wondering where the quote came from.
Anyway, thank you all for your input. 
Take care
Vic
I don’t actually expect anyone to see my reply 16 years after the original post, but what the heck. I get what she meant. Words you write, or someone else for that matter, should move you in wonderful ways. It should carry a part of you to somewhere new, even if that’s just a page at your fingertips. 
I’ve always read it less as a statement about every sequence of words and more as a challenge to writers. If words are our medium, why settle for arranging them in a way that merely functions when they can also delight, through rhythm, sound, surprise, or clarity? Meaning matters, but Stein seems to be asking why language itself shouldn’t also be a source of pleasure.
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I think Stein was suggesting that language doesn’t always have to justify itself by delivering a clear message. Sometimes the rhythm, sound, and flow of words can be enjoyable in their own right, much like music. Her own writing often prioritized the experience of reading over conventional meaning, so the “pleasure” comes from engaging with the words themselves, not just decoding them. Whether readers enjoy that approach is, of course, another question.
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