On Mon, 24 Sep 2001, Gene Preudhomme wrote:
> Does anyone know of a reliable source for the author of the following
> quote:
> "My apologies for this letter being so long. Had I more time,
> it would have been shorter."
> I have seen it attributed to Cicero, Oscar Wilde and George Bernard
> Shaw. Additionally, please let me know whether I have quoted stated
> correctly.
This is a thought that has been expressed by more than one person. The
best known version is the following:
Je n'ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parce que je n'ai pas eu le loisir
de la faire plus courte. (I have made this [letter] longer than usual,
only because I have not had the time to make it shorter.)
Blaise Pascal, Lettres Provinciales (1657) no. 16
Fred Shapiro
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Fred R. Shapiro Editor
Associate Librarian for Public Services YALE DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
and Lecturer in Legal Research Yale University Press,
Yale Law School forthcoming
e-mail: fred.shapiro@yale.edu http://quotationdictionary.com
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