--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every syllable that can be struck out is…" description: "\"Every syllable that can be struck out is pure profit, and every page that can be economised is a five-per-cent dividend. Nature rebels against this rul..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/henry-adams-1542_cents_every-syllable-that-can-be-struck-out-is_1472502.jpg" --- # Every syllable that can be struck out is pure profit, and… ![“Every syllable that can be struck out is pure profit, and every page that can be economised is a five-per-cent dividend. Nature rebels against this rule; the flesh is weak, and shrinks from the scissors; I groan in retrospect over the weak.” quote by Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/henry-adams-1542_cents_every-syllable-that-can-be-struck-out-is_1472502.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/henry-adams-1542_cents_every-syllable-that-can-be-struck-out-is_1472502.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/henry-adams-1542_cents_every-syllable-that-can-be-struck-out-is_1472502.jpg) > “Every syllable that can be struck out is pure profit, and every page that can be economised is a five-per-cent dividend. Nature rebels against this rule; the flesh is weak, and shrinks from the scissors; I groan in retrospect over the weak.” [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting to cut costs in language reduces richness; efficiency clashes with human frailty. **In simple terms:** Saving words sacrifices depth; humans are imperfect. Key Takeaway Balance brevity with meaning. Themes efficiency language human limits economy Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - editing - writing - business communication Key Concepts literary criticism philosophy Questions to Reflect On - When does brevity hurt clarity? - How can we honor human imperfection? A Different Perspective Over‑editing can strip essential nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dividends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dividends/) [Profit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit/) [Rebel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebel/) [Retrospect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retrospect/) [Shrinks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shrinks/) ## Related quotes > [“offering you a hundred and eighty dollars, pure profit, and no worries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sachar/offering-you-a-hundred-and-eighty-dollars-pure-profit-and-no-worries/) [Louis Sachar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sachar/) > [If you are an investor who's retired and hopes to live off the income that your portfolio is generating, then we would focus just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-o-shaughnessy/if-you-are-an-investor-who-s-retired-and-hopes-to-live-off-the-income/) [James O'Shaughnessy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-o-shaughnessy/) > [The total dividend income declared in 1995 by the bottom 9.7 million Canadian tax-filers (47% of all those submitting tax returns) was $310 million.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-stanford/the-total-dividend-income-declared-in-1995-by-the-bottom-9-7-million/) [Jim Stanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-stanford/) > [If a man marries his housekeeper or his cook, the national dividend is diminished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-cecil-pigou/if-a-man-marries-his-housekeeper-or-his-cook-the-national-dividend-is/) Arthur Cecil Pigou > [Access to the national dividend is usually to be had only on condition of some productive service previously rendered or of some product previously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-a-schumpeter/access-to-the-national-dividend-is-usually-to-be-had-only-on/) [Joseph A. 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If I give you a thought in return for one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/no-form-of-human-exchange-is-more-profitable-than-the-exchange-of/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [The less money lying idle the greater is the dividend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bagehot/the-less-money-lying-idle-the-greater-is-the-dividend/) [Walter Bagehot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bagehot/) > [The best investment with the least risk and the greatest dividend is giving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-templeton/the-best-investment-with-the-least-risk-and-the-greatest-dividend-is/) [John Templeton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-templeton/) > [Just invest in apps. 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If I open a cupboard and see, say, thirty cans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/where-i-m-from-we-don-t-trust-paper-wealth-is-what-s-here-on-the/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Worry is a dividend paid to disaster before it is due](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/worry-is-a-dividend-paid-to-disaster-before-it-is-due/) [Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/) > [The two things that bring the greatest dividend to pass on is Wisdom + Understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marv-stark/the-two-things-that-bring-the-greatest-dividend-to-pass-on-is-wisdom/) [Marv Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marv-stark/) > [“In an innovative proposal linked to basic income that has attracted interest across the European Union, Philippe van Parijs has suggested that every EU…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/in-an-innovative-proposal-linked-to-basic-income-that-has-attracted/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) ## More by Henry Adams > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“One had heard and read a great deal about death, and even seen a little of it, and knew by heart the thousand commonplaces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/one-had-heard-and-read-a-great-deal-about-death-and-even-seen-a/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/chaos-often-breeds-life-when-order-breeds-habit/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The chief wonder of education is that it does not ruin everybody concerned in it, teachers and taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-chief-wonder-of-education-is-that-it-does-not-ruin-everybody/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The American President resembles the commander of a ship at sea. He must have a helm to grasp, a course to steer, a port…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-american-president-resembles-the-commander-of-a-ship-at-sea-he/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The proof that a philosopher does not know what he is talking about is apt to sadden his followers before it reacts on himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-proof-that-a-philosopher-does-not-know-what-he-is-talking-about/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [No man should be in politics unless he would honestly rather not be there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/no-man-should-be-in-politics-unless-he-would-honestly-rather-not-be/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [In the history of the United States, there is no continuity at all. You can cut through it anywhere and nothing on this side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/in-the-history-of-the-united-states-there-is-no-continuity-at-all-you/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“Washington was no politician as we understand the word," replied Ratcliffe abruptly. "He stood outside of politics. The thing couldn't be done today. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/washington-was-no-politician-as-we-understand-the-word-replied/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Power when wielded by abnormal energy is the most serious of facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/power-when-wielded-by-abnormal-energy-is-the-most-serious-of-facts/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [If I grapple with sin in my own strength, the devil knows he may go to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/if-i-grapple-with-sin-in-my-own-strength-the-devil-knows-he-may-go-to/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [All State education is a sort of dynamo machine for polarizing the popular mind; for turning and holding its lines of force in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/all-state-education-is-a-sort-of-dynamo-machine-for-polarizing-the/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [You may cut off the heads of every rich man now living--of every statesman--every literary, and every scientific authority, without in the least changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/you-may-cut-off-the-heads-of-every-rich-man-now-living-of-every/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [History is the most aristocratic of all literary pursuits, because it obliges the historian to be rich as well as educated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/history-is-the-most-aristocratic-of-all-literary-pursuits-because-it/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The philosopher says--I am, and the church scouts his philosophy. She answers:--No! you are NOT, you have no existence of your own. You were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-philosopher-says-i-am-and-the-church-scouts-his-philosophy-she/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) [Explore all 230 Henry Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) ## More Cents quotes > [Popular culture as a whole is popular, but in today's fragmented market it's a jostle of competing unpopular popular cultures. As the critic Stanley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/popular-culture-as-a-whole-is-popular-but-in-today-s-fragmented/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [Ninety nine per cent of the time, for anyone who wins or makes money, it makes them happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-blessed/ninety-nine-per-cent-of-the-time-for-anyone-who-wins-or-makes-money/) [Brian Blessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-blessed/) > [The Pink Panther wasn't shown to the press for reasons that soon became apparent when I saw it at a public performance. Two people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-french/the-pink-panther-wasn-t-shown-to-the-press-for-reasons-that-soon/) [Philip French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-french/) > [It cost about 75 cents to kill a man in Ceasar's time. The price rose to about $3,000 per man during the Napoleonic wars;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-bone/it-cost-about-75-cents-to-kill-a-man-in-ceasar-s-time-the-price-rose/) Homer Bone > [The Bell curve is a fact of life. The blacks on average score 85 per cent on IQ and it is accurate, nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/the-bell-curve-is-a-fact-of-life-the-blacks-on-average-score-85-per/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [...that in spite of living in a mansion an American is not above wearing a pair of secondhand pants, bought for fifty cents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/that-in-spite-of-living-in-a-mansion-an-american-is-not-above-wearing/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [I have earned every cent. And in all of my years of public life I have never obstructed justice,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/i-have-earned-every-cent-and-in-all-of-my-years-of-public-life-i-have/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [If every country committed to spending 0.05 per cent of GDP on researching non-carbon-emitting energy technologies, that would cost $25 billion a year, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/if-every-country-committed-to-spending-0-05-per-cent-of-gdp-on/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [You could pay a fair market price for a barrel of oil and cut 50 cents a barrel or a dollar barrel off what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bolling/you-could-pay-a-fair-market-price-for-a-barrel-of-oil-and-cut-50/) [Eric Bolling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bolling/) > [In market research I did at Microsoft Corp. in the early 1990s, I estimated that the 'Wall Street Journal' took in about 75 cents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/in-market-research-i-did-at-microsoft-corp-in-the-early-1990s-i/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Shooting is 99 per cent luck and one per cent training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhinav-bindra/shooting-is-99-per-cent-luck-and-one-per-cent-training/) [Abhinav Bindra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhinav-bindra/) > [In 1985, the top five percent of the households - the wealthiest five percent - had net worth of $8 trillion - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stockman/in-1985-the-top-five-percent-of-the-households-the-wealthiest-five/) [David Stockman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stockman/) > [For chat-room tyros who expect to make their first million day-trading by age 27, paging through the Sunday newspaper with a pair of scissors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/for-chat-room-tyros-who-expect-to-make-their-first-million-day/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) Browse all 772 Cents quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every syllable that can be struck out is pure profit, and every page that can be economised is a five-per-cent dividend. 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