[Ads-l] Update Quote Origin: That man wrote a long book because he did not have the leisure to write a short one

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The statement in the subject line belongs to a family of sayings about
concision. The earliest instance was widely believed to be a remark
from Blaise Pascal in 1657.

Pascal received credit on the Quote Investigator website, on
Wikiquote, in The New Yale Book of Quotations, and in other
references.
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/04/28/shorter-letter/

A new earlier instance came to my attention thanks to Nigel Rees and
Peter Cogman. French author Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac specified an
anonymous attribution in 1652:

[ref] 1652, Socrate Chrestien (The Christian Socrates) by Jean-Louis
Guez de Balzac, REMARQUES SUR DES SERMONS, ET SUR DES TRAITEZ DE
CONTROVERSE, IMPRIMEZ A LION L'AN M.DC.XXIII,  (Remarks on Sermons and
on Controversial Treatises, Printed at Lyon in the Year 1623),
DISCOURS DIXIESME (Tenth Discourse), Start Page 122, Quote Page 127,
Chez Augustin Courbé au Palais a la Palme, a Paris. (Google Books Full
View) link [/ref]

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Socrate_chrestien/bX87AAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=FAIT+UN+%22GRAND+LIVRE+PARCE%22&pg=PA127&printsec=frontcover

[Begin excerpt]
Si nous — nous conseillions aueque le Temps, il reduiroit nos excés à
la mediocrité, outre les autres bons offices qu'il nous rendroit. CET
HOMME, disoit-on à Paris, lors que i'y estois, A FAIT UN GRAND LIVRE
PARCE QU'IL N'A PAS EU LE LOISIR D'EN FAIRE UN PETIT.
[End excerpt]

[Begin English translation]
If we took counsel with Time, it would temper our excesses to
moderation, in addition to the other good services it would render us.
"THAT MAN," people used to say in Paris when I was there, "WROTE A
LONG BOOK BECAUSE HE DID NOT HAVE THE LEISURE TO WRITE A SHORT ONE."
[End English translation]

Feedback welcome
Garson

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