I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.
• Provincial Letters: Letter XVI (4 December 1656)
• Such statements have also been attributed to Mark Twain, T.S. Eliot, Cicero, and others besides, but this article at Quote Investigator concludes that Pascal's statement is likely the original source of the phrase.
• Provincial Letters: Letter XVI (4 December 1656)
• Such statements have also been attributed to Mark Twain, T.S. Eliot, Cicero, and others besides, but this article at Quote Investigator concludes that Pascal's statement is likely the original source of the phrase.
“
Je n'ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parce que je n'ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte.
• Literally: I made this one [letter] longer only because I have not had the leisure to make it shorter.
— Blaise Pascal
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Je n'ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parce que je n'ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte.
• Literally: I made this one [letter] longer only because I have not had the leisure to make it shorter." in the context of "I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.
• Provincial Letters: Letter XVI (4 December 1656)
• Such statements have also been attributed to Mark Twain, T.S. Eliot, Cicero, and others besides, but this article at Quote Investigator concludes that Pascal's statement is likely the original source of the phrase." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Blaise Pascal" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
About Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal (19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, logician, physicist and theologian.
About Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal (19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, logician, physicist and theologian.
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