--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Be brief, that the mind may catch thy…" description: "\"Be brief, that the mind may catch thy precepts, and the more easily retain them.\" — Horace" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/horace-172_may_be-brief-that-the-mind-may-catch-thy-pre_1821251.jpg" --- # Be brief, that the mind may catch thy precepts, and the… ![“Be brief, that the mind may catch thy precepts, and the more easily retain them.” quote by Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/horace-172_may_be-brief-that-the-mind-may-catch-thy-pre_1821251.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/horace-172_may_be-brief-that-the-mind-may-catch-thy-pre_1821251.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/horace-172_may_be-brief-that-the-mind-may-catch-thy-pre_1821251.jpg) > “Be brief, that the mind may catch thy precepts, and the more easily retain them.” [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Brevity aids memory; short, clear statements are easier to retain. **In simple terms:** Short statements are easier to remember. Key Takeaway Keep messages concise for better recall. Themes communication education memory writing clarity Mood thoughtful instructive Type literary educational When to use this quote - classroom instruction - public speaking - marketing copy - writing practice Key Concepts cognitive load mnemonics effective teaching concise prose Questions to Reflect On - What ideas need more depth? - When is brevity harmful? A Different Perspective Over‑simplification may omit nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brief Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brief-mind-2195282/) [Easily Retain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easily-retain-2195284/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Precepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precepts/) [Precepts Easily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precepts-easily-2195281/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Thy Precepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thy-precepts-2195283/) ## Related quotes > [Contradictory precepts that have guided me for as long as I can remember: 1: I will live forever. 2: I will die tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/contradictory-precepts-that-have-guided-me-for-as-long-as-i-can/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [You must use the hook of precepts to quickly remove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/you-must-use-the-hook-of-precepts-to-quickly-remove-it/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [We live in an age that hath more need of good example than precepts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/we-live-in-an-age-that-hath-more-need-of-good-example-than-precepts/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [In both its precepts and penalty, the law of God in its most exacting requirements was fulfilled by Jesus. And He did this in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bridges/in-both-its-precepts-and-penalty-the-law-of-god-in-its-most-exacting/) [Jerry Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bridges/) > [Place before your eyes two Precepts, and two only. One is, Preach the Gospel; and the other is--Put down enthusiasm!The Church of England in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/place-before-your-eyes-two-precepts-and-two-only-one-is-preach-the/) [Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/) > [“To write out the precepts again, we contend with them, and keep them; we build our humanity, and keep our humanity alive... Thay has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-hong-kingston/to-write-out-the-precepts-again-we-contend-with-them-and-keep-them-we/) [Maxine Hong Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-hong-kingston/) > [The atmosphere of the home is prolonged in the school, where the students soon discover thatin order to achieve some satisfaction they must adapt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-atmosphere-of-the-home-is-prolonged-in-the-school-where-the/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [He, who steadily observes those moral precepts in which all religions concur, will never be questioned at the gates of heaven as to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/he-who-steadily-observes-those-moral-precepts-in-which-all-religions/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I have always believed that national character... depends more on the female part of society than is generally imagined. Precepts from the lips of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marshall/i-have-always-believed-that-national-character-depends-more-on-the/) [John Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall/) > [“For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, aprecept upon precept, here a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints/for-behold-thus-saith-the-lord-god-i-will-give-unto-the-children-of/) [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints/) > [“I would like to ofer some exercises that can help us use the Five Precepts to cultivate and strengthen mindfulness. It is best to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/i-would-like-to-ofer-some-exercises-that-can-help-us-use-the-five/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [One thing, however, I must premise, that without the assistance of natural capacity, rules and precepts are of no efficacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/one-thing-however-i-must-premise-that-without-the-assistance-of/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [ “the precepts of an absolutely perfect life, since they are the same in each Testament, have pointed out \[to us\] the same God, who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-fathers/the-precepts-of-an-absolutely-perfect-life-since-they-are-the-same-in/) [The Church Fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-church-fathers/) > [“I will meditate on Your precepts and think about Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. Psalm 119:15–16”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/i-will-meditate-on-your-precepts-and-think-about-your-ways-i-will/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [Every cure of obesity must begin with these three essential precepts:discretion in eating, moderation in sleeping, and exercise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-anthelme-brillat-savarin/every-cure-of-obesity-must-begin-with-these-three-essential-precepts/) [Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-anthelme-brillat-savarin/) ## More by Horace > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [No verse can give pleasure for long, nor last, that is written by drinkers of water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/no-verse-can-give-pleasure-for-long-nor-last-that-is-written-by/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Fate with impartial hand turns out the doom of high and low; her capacious urn is constantly shaking the names of all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/fate-with-impartial-hand-turns-out-the-doom-of-high-and-low-her/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [A word, once sent abroad, flies irrevocably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/a-word-once-sent-abroad-flies-irrevocably/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Natales grate numeras? (Do you count your birthdays with gratitude?)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/natales-grate-numeras-do-you-count-your-birthdays-with-gratitude/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ In a moment comes either death or joyful victory. \[Lat., Horae Momento cita mors venit aut victoria laeta.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/in-a-moment-comes-either-death-or-joyful-victory-lat-horae-momento/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - It is a sweet and becoming thing to die for ones country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/dulce-et-decorum-est-pro-patria-mori-it-is-a-sweet-and-becoming-thing/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ Neither men, nor gods, nor booksellers' shelves permit ordinary poets to exist. \[Lat., Mediocribus esse poetis Non homines, non di, non concessere columnae.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/neither-men-nor-gods-nor-booksellers-shelves-permit-ordinary-poets-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Don't yield to that alluring witch, laziness, or else be prepared to surrender all that you have won in your better moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/don-t-yield-to-that-alluring-witch-laziness-or-else-be-prepared-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Avoid inquisitive persons, for they are sure to be gossips, their ears are open to hear, but they will not keep what is entrusted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/avoid-inquisitive-persons-for-they-are-sure-to-be-gossips-their-ears/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“You may drive out Nature with a pitchfork, yet she still will hurry back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/you-may-drive-out-nature-with-a-pitchfork-yet-she-still-will-hurry/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [There is a proper measure in all things, certain limits beyond which and short of which right is not to be found. Who so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/there-is-a-proper-measure-in-all-things-certain-limits-beyond-which/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Never despair while under the guidance and auspices of Teucer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/never-despair-while-under-the-guidance-and-auspices-of-teucer/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Alas, Postumus, the fleeting years slip by, nor will piety give any stay to wrinkles and pressing old age and untamable death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/alas-postumus-the-fleeting-years-slip-by-nor-will-piety-give-any-stay/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) [Explore all 1,000 Horace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## More May quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/so-many-things-beat-upon-us-in-a-lifetime-that-simply-enduring-may/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [the appetite for thinking must be regulated, as all sensible people know, for it may stifle one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-appetite-for-thinking-must-be-regulated-as-all-sensible-people/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Then come to realize that you're making mountains out of molehills. Realize how petty you've become. Sure, it may feel like you can't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/then-come-to-realize-that-you-re-making-mountains-out-of-molehills/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) > [She smiled, if he could see that, and waited for him to ask the real question. But he was silent. He wanted her to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-shinn/she-smiled-if-he-could-see-that-and-waited-for-him-to-ask-the-real/) [Sharon Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-shinn/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. 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Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-b-joshua/) [Browse all 33,019 May quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Be brief, that the mind may catch thy precepts, and the more easily retain them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Horace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/be-brief-that-the-mind-may-catch-thy-precepts-and-the-more-easily/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "May" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/be-brief-that-the-mind-may-catch-thy-precepts-and-the-more-easily/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/horace-172_may_be-brief-that-the-mind-may-catch-thy-pre_1821251.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/horace-172_may_be-brief-that-the-mind-may-catch-thy-pre_1821251.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/horace-172_may_be-brief-that-the-mind-may-catch-thy-pre_1821251.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Be brief, that the mind may catch thy precepts, and the more easily retain them.” — Horace", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Horace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Be brief, that the mind may...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/be-brief-that-the-mind-may-catch-thy-precepts-and-the-more-easily/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/be-brief-that-the-mind-may-catch-thy-precepts-and-the-more-easily/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```