--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a laborious madness and an…" description: "\"“It is a laborious madness and an impoverishing one, the madness of composing vast books - setting out in five hundred pages an idea that can be perfec..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/jorge-luis-borges-275_better-way_it-is-a-laborious-madness-and-an-impover_840149.jpg" --- # It is a laborious madness and an impoverishing one, the… ![“It is a laborious madness and an impoverishing one, the madness of composing vast books - setting out in five hundred pages an idea that can be perfectly related orally in five minutes. The better way to go about it is to pretend that those books already exist, and offer a summary, a commentary on…” quote by Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/jorge-luis-borges-275_better-way_it-is-a-laborious-madness-and-an-impover_840149.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/jorge-luis-borges-275_better-way_it-is-a-laborious-madness-and-an-impover_840149.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/jorge-luis-borges-275_better-way_it-is-a-laborious-madness-and-an-impover_840149.jpg) > ““It is a laborious madness and an impoverishing one, the madness of composing vast books - setting out in five hundred pages an idea that can be perfectly related orally in five minutes. The better way to go about it is to pretend that those books already exist, and offer a summary, a commentary on them." (From the Introduction of 1941's The Garden of Forking Paths)”” [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing excessively long works for simple ideas wastes effort; summarizing captures essence efficiently. **In simple terms:** Long books can be unnecessary; summaries work better. Key Takeaway Prefer concise summaries over exhaustive texts. Themes efficiency communication brevity Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - academic writing - teaching - publishing - presentations - media production Key Concepts literary criticism information theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what detail to keep? - When is brevity harmful? A Different Perspective Complex ideas may lose nuance when overly condensed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-way/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Laborious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laborious/) ## Related quotes > [Thought is not a gift to man but a laborious, precarious and volatile acquisition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/thought-is-not-a-gift-to-man-but-a-laborious-precarious-and-volatile/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [I always read the translator's draft all the way through - a very laborious business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-always-read-the-translator-s-draft-all-the-way-through-a-very/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [At first blush I am tempted to conclude that a satisfactory hobby must be in large degree useless, inefficient, laborious, or irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/at-first-blush-i-am-tempted-to-conclude-that-a-satisfactory-hobby/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [I'm not saying I didn't have a great 2008. I just made it a chore. I made it look laborious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-hoff/i-m-not-saying-i-didn-t-have-a-great-2008-i-just-made-it-a-chore-i/) [Katie Hoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-hoff/) > [Pleasure is by much the most laborious trade I know, especially for those who have not a vocation to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/pleasure-is-by-much-the-most-laborious-trade-i-know-especially-for/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-bandura/learning-would-be-exceedingly-laborious-not-to-mention-hazardous-if-2/) [Albert Bandura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-bandura/) > [A quotation is a handy thing to have about, saving one the trouble of thinking for oneself, always a laborious business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-milne/a-quotation-is-a-handy-thing-to-have-about-saving-one-the-trouble-of/) [A. A. Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-milne/) > [Go before the people with your example, and be laborious in their affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/go-before-the-people-with-your-example-and-be-laborious-in-their/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [How long did it take me to delimit this art? Twenty years! ... It was a laborious process, but a methodical and rational one;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-sorolla/how-long-did-it-take-me-to-delimit-this-art-twenty-years-it-was-a/) [Joaquin Sorolla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-sorolla/) > [Let's face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/let-s-face-it-our-lives-are-miserable-laborious-and-short/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Solving crimes is as difficult and laborious as committing them, with the difference that the lunch breaks are paid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sascha-arango/solving-crimes-is-as-difficult-and-laborious-as-committing-them-with/) Sascha Arango > [No man ever was glorious, who was not laborious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/no-man-ever-was-glorious-who-was-not-laborious/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [This much is true: When we created the euro, it wasn't possible to create a political union along with it. People weren't ready for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-schauble/this-much-is-true-when-we-created-the-euro-it-wasn-t-possible-to/) [Wolfgang Schauble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-schauble/) > [Hat-making is laborious and time-consuming. It's a very tactile medium, and you can develop the skills, but it's one of those things: you either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-treacy/hat-making-is-laborious-and-time-consuming-it-s-a-very-tactile-medium/) [Philip Treacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-treacy/) > [A writer should not so much write as embroider on paper; the work should be painstaking, laborious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/a-writer-should-not-so-much-write-as-embroider-on-paper-the-work/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) ## More by Jorge Luis Borges > [“No hables a menos que puedas mejorar el silencio.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/no-hables-a-menos-que-puedas-mejorar-el-silencio/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The execution was set for the 29th of March, at nine in the morning. This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Like all writers, he measured the achievements of others by what they had accomplished, asking of them that they measure him by what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/like-all-writers-he-measured-the-achievements-of-others-by-what-they/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [How can we manage to illuminate the pathos of our lives?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/how-can-we-manage-to-illuminate-the-pathos-of-our-lives/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Loneliness does not worry me; life is difficult enough, putting up with yourself and with your own habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/loneliness-does-not-worry-me-life-is-difficult-enough-putting-up-with/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The fact is that all writers create their precursors. Their work modifies our conception of the past, just as it is bound to modify…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-fact-is-that-all-writers-create-their-precursors-their-work/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I don't think we're capable of knowledge, but I like to keep an open mind. So if you ask me whether I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-don-t-think-we-re-capable-of-knowledge-but-i-like-to-keep-an-open/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The web of time - the strands of which approach one another, bifurcate, intersect, or ignore each other through the centuries - embraces "every"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-web-of-time-the-strands-of-which-approach-one-another-bifurcate/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“My memory, sir, is like a garbage disposal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/my-memory-sir-is-like-a-garbage-disposal/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [When I write, I do it urged by an intimate necessity. I don't have in mind an exclusive public, or a public of multitudes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/when-i-write-i-do-it-urged-by-an-intimate-necessity-i-don-t-have-in/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The mind was dreaming. The world was its dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-mind-was-dreaming-the-world-was-its-dream/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I foresee that man will resign himself each day to new abominations, and soon that only bandits and soldiers will be left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-foresee-that-man-will-resign-himself-each-day-to-new-abominations/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“If I could live again - I will travel light, If I could live again - I'll try to work bare feet at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/if-i-could-live-again-i-will-travel-light-if-i-could-live-again-i-ll/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Every man should be capable of all ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/every-man-should-be-capable-of-all-ideas/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Writing is only a guided dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/writing-is-only-a-guided-dream/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) [Explore all 558 Jorge Luis Borges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) ## More Better way quotes > [We're also fairly stubborn, I think, fairly independent. We have our share of difficulties with our federal government, although I've tried to as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-miller/we-re-also-fairly-stubborn-i-think-fairly-independent-we-have-our/) [Dan Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-miller/) > [You know, I'm blessed. 'Blessed' is a better way of saying 'rich.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/you-know-i-m-blessed-blessed-is-a-better-way-of-saying-rich/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [I believe there should be a better way to start each day...instead of waking up every morning...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-believe-there-should-be-a-better-way-to-start-each-day-instead-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [WE NEED TO TALK. Why do we fear these four little words? Why do they arouse the same physical protective responses that occur in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santanu-mishra/we-need-to-talk-why-do-we-fear-these-four-little-words-why-do-they/) [Santanu Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santanu-mishra/) > [If you really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-you-really-know-how-to-live-what-better-way-to-start-the-day-than/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [“Frequently, when I suggest to people that they detach from a person or problem, they recoil in horror. “Oh, no!” they say. “I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/frequently-when-i-suggest-to-people-that-they-detach-from-a-person-or/) [Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/) > [“I was reminded ... the way that wood crumbles into dissolution.’ ‘The release of energy. Perhaps a better way of seeing it.’ ‘Such release…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/i-was-reminded-the-way-that-wood-crumbles-into-dissolution-the/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [I explain at the parties that I believe knitting is a transformative and intriguing act that can change the life and brain of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/i-explain-at-the-parties-that-i-believe-knitting-is-a-transformative/) [Stephanie Pearl-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/) > [“No better way to avoid making a decision than burying yourself in a big fat book.” (p. 105).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bard/no-better-way-to-avoid-making-a-decision-than-burying-yourself-in-a/) [Elizabeth Bard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bard/) > [Failure does not mean that God has left you, but it does mean that God has a better way and idea for you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prodigy/failure-does-not-mean-that-god-has-left-you-but-it-does-mean-that-god/) [Prodigy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prodigy/) > [The answer lies in preventing these failures, not in looking for better ways to fix the people who are failing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/the-answer-lies-in-preventing-these-failures-not-in-looking-for/) [William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/) > [There never was a tonic that would cure more social ailments than a healthy, happy home. There never was a greater source of social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-l-evans/there-never-was-a-tonic-that-would-cure-more-social-ailments-than-a/) [Richard L. Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-l-evans/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It was only after I had been out of the art school that I actually copied a small Seurat, and I copied it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/it-was-only-after-i-had-been-out-of-the-art-school-that-i-actually/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [There is no better way of elevating the novel than by making it into a construct which contains ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-mann/there-is-no-better-way-of-elevating-the-novel-than-by-making-it-into/) Heinrich Mann [Browse all 882 Better way quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-way/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is a laborious madness and an impoverishing one, the madness of composing vast books - setting out in five hundred pages an idea that can be perfectly related orally in five minutes. The better way to go about it is to pretend that those books already exist, and offer a summary, a commentary on them.\" (From the Introduction of 1941's The Garden of Forking Paths)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jorge Luis Borges" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/it-is-a-laborious-madness-and-an-impoverishing-one-the-madness-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Better way" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/it-is-a-laborious-madness-and-an-impoverishing-one-the-madness-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/jorge-luis-borges-275_better-way_it-is-a-laborious-madness-and-an-impover_840149.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/jorge-luis-borges-275_better-way_it-is-a-laborious-madness-and-an-impover_840149.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/jorge-luis-borges-275_better-way_it-is-a-laborious-madness-and-an-impover_840149.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is a laborious madness and an impoverishing one, the madness of composing vast books - setting out in…” — Jorge Luis Borges", "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": "Jorge Luis Borges", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It is a laborious madness and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/it-is-a-laborious-madness-and-an-impoverishing-one-the-madness-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/it-is-a-laborious-madness-and-an-impoverishing-one-the-madness-of/#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 } } ] } ```