Vatican Saying 26
From Epicurus Wiki
<<Prev | Vatican Sayings | Next>>
Translation
Analysis
This Saying is a singular laud of brevity; the transparent implication is that, if both a lengthy speech and a brief one are just as effective, clearly the brief one is superior in efficiency.
This statement may be in defense of the aphoristic method of teaching that Epicurus employed so effectively, i.e. the encapsulation of various tenets of Epicureanism in the Principal Doctrines and Vatican Sayings. Whereas Epicurus also wrote extremely lengthy and detailed treatises on various topics, he obviously cared greatly for the efficacy of these short, highly concentrated morsels that he distributed among his students for eventual commitment to memory.
