The wisdom of Thomas Jefferson
It’s a good story, at least…
“The most valuable of all talents is that of
never using two words
when one will do.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
3rd President of the United States
He was a Republican when it was rather democratic to be a Republican.
The historical record doesn’t really suggest that Jefferson was as tight-lipped as this maxim implies.
Perhaps it would be more meaningful for ordinary folks like us if he had said something like “don’t use 38 words when a few of them, well-chosen, will do the job.”
Furthermore, let’s keep in mind the contemplative observation by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) that praiseworthy prose and poetry—and in general, talking—has a lot to do with using “the best words.”
‘nuff said.
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Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
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