I Would Have Written A Shorter Letter

I was planning to end a letter with the following remark.

If i had more time i would have written a shorter letter marcus tullius cicero philosopher and statesman. If i had more time i would have written a shorter letter is an infamously misattributed quote that highlights the importance of brevity and editing in writing. This is chiefly because i am never satisfied until i have said as much as possible in a few words and writing briefly takes far more time than writing at length. You know that i write slowly.

The quote is familiar and we all know it but it has been attributed at various times to a disparate number of famous individuals across the globe. If i had more time i would have written a shorter letter. If i had more time i would have written you a. If i had more time i would have written a shorter letter.

Origin the earliest recorded use of the quote if i had more time i would have written a shorter letter comes from french mathematician and philosopher blaise pascal s work lettres provinciales in 1657.