--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why need I volumes, if one word suffice?" description: "\"Why need I volumes, if one word suffice?\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_one-word_why-need-i-volumes-if-one-word-suffice-2_2730670.png" --- # Why need I volumes, if one word suffice? ![“Why need I volumes, if one word suffice?” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_one-word_why-need-i-volumes-if-one-word-suffice-2_2730670.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_one-word_why-need-i-volumes-if-one-word-suffice-2_2730670.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_one-word_why-need-i-volumes-if-one-word-suffice-2_2730670.png) > “Why need I volumes, if one word suffice?” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emphasizes that a single, well‑chosen word can convey the same meaning as many volumes, highlighting the power of precision in language. **In simple terms:** One precise word can replace many pages. Key Takeaway Choose words carefully. Themes communication precision efficiency Mood thoughtful concise Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - writing - editing - public speaking - teaching - marketing Key Concepts Linguistics minimalism Questions to Reflect On - How can you convey depth with brevity? - When is brevity insufficient? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Suffice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffice/) ## Related quotes > [Acting doesn't suffice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-taylor/acting-doesn-t-suffice/) [Rod Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-taylor/) > [Suffice it to say, every actor works differently. Laurence Olivier would put on his costume and when the wardrobe was right, he was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mann/suffice-it-to-say-every-actor-works-differently-laurence-olivier/) [Michael Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mann/) > [The problem with literature, with writing, is that it works sometimes in terms of correction of social ills. Other times, it just does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/the-problem-with-literature-with-writing-is-that-it-works-sometimes-2/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Sense can support herself handsomely in most countries on some eighteen pence a day; but for fantasy, planets and solar systems, will not suffice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/sense-can-support-herself-handsomely-in-most-countries-on-some/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [World will suffice for me in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cassatt/world-will-suffice-for-me-in-the-future/) [Mary Cassatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cassatt/) > [Don't use a big word where a diminutive one will suffice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nateman/don-t-use-a-big-word-where-a-diminutive-one-will-suffice/) [Nateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nateman/) > [Amongst good men two men suffice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/amongst-good-men-two-men-suffice/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [I grew up in Washington, D.C. Suffice to say, it was not a garden spot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-banks/i-grew-up-in-washington-d-c-suffice-to-say-it-was-not-a-garden-spot/) [Jonathan Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-banks/) > [When it comes to underwear, there's nothing worse than a visible panty line. Sometimes it seems like nobody knows that seamless underwear exists. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-goreski/when-it-comes-to-underwear-there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-visible-panty/) [Brad Goreski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-goreski/) > [Suffice it to say, I'm not poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/suffice-it-to-say-i-m-not-poor/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [“The promise of power wasn't enough, he thought. So now she tempts me with knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ryan/the-promise-of-power-wasn-t-enough-he-thought-so-now-she-tempts-me/) [Anthony Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ryan/) > [“Sometimes you must go too far to see what would suffice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-ross/sometimes-you-must-go-too-far-to-see-what-would-suffice/) [Rodney Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-ross/) > [“President Trumps election speaks volumes about the blatant failures of the Obama administration.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/president-trumps-election-speaks-volumes-about-the-blatant-failures/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“The library made me feel safe, as if every question had an answer and there was nothing to be afraid of, as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-williams/the-library-made-me-feel-safe-as-if-every-question-had-an-answer-and/) [Dee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-williams/) > [Speechlessness can speak in such volumes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aly-johnson/speechlessness-can-speak-in-such-volumes/) [Aly Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aly-johnson/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More One word quotes > [I love Derrick Brown for the surprise of one word waking up next to another. One moment tender, funny or romantic, the next, visceral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-love-derrick-brown-for-the-surprise-of-one-word-waking-up-next-to/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [My father was a minister for 50 years with Pentecostal Church of God in Christ. We prayed about everything, every day, then he always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/my-father-was-a-minister-for-50-years-with-pentecostal-church-of-god/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [No one has ever laughed at a pun who did not see in the one word a twofold meaning. To materialists this world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/no-one-has-ever-laughed-at-a-pun-who-did-not-see-in-the-one-word-a/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Writing is like bricklaying; you put down one word after another. Sometimes the wall goes up straight and true and sometimes it doesn't and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/writing-is-like-bricklaying-you-put-down-one-word-after-another/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-harnick/a-fiddler-on-the-roof-sounds-crazy-no-but-here-in-our-little-village/) [Sheldon Harnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-harnick/) > [If I had to describe my work in one word, that word would be time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/if-i-had-to-describe-my-work-in-one-word-that-word-would-be-time/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [There is no such thing as a "self-made" man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-matthew-adams/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-self-made-man-we-are-made-up-of-thousands/) [George Matthew Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-matthew-adams/) > [A lot of your mental energy goes to figuring out where does one word end and the next begin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/a-lot-of-your-mental-energy-goes-to-figuring-out-where-does-one-word/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [It has always seemed to me that a being coming from another world, with a message of infinite importance to mankind, should at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/it-has-always-seemed-to-me-that-a-being-coming-from-another-world/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [You can sum up the game of baseball in one word: 'You never know.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-andujar/you-can-sum-up-the-game-of-baseball-in-one-word-you-never-know/) [Joaquin Andujar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-andujar/) > [This is love-not what we say to each other but what we not say. Sometime it just one look exchange. Sometime one word. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/this-is-love-not-what-we-say-to-each-other-but-what-we-not-say/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [One word of God can do more than ten thousand words of men to relieve a distressed soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flavel/one-word-of-god-can-do-more-than-ten-thousand-words-of-men-to-relieve/) [John Flavel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flavel/) > [As I get older, the book projects are - liberating is one word, but they really are me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/as-i-get-older-the-book-projects-are-liberating-is-one-word-but-they/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [All the elements of good writing depend on the writer's skill in choosing one word instead of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/all-the-elements-of-good-writing-depend-on-the-writer-s-skill-in/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [What's the matter with the world? Why, there ain't nothing but one word wrong with everyone of us, and that's selfishness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/what-s-the-matter-with-the-world-why-there-ain-t-nothing-but-one-word/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) Browse all 327 One word quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Why need I volumes, if one word suffice?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/why-need-i-volumes-if-one-word-suffice/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "One word" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/why-need-i-volumes-if-one-word-suffice/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_one-word_why-need-i-volumes-if-one-word-suffice-2_2730670.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_one-word_why-need-i-volumes-if-one-word-suffice-2_2730670.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_one-word_why-need-i-volumes-if-one-word-suffice-2_2730670.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Why need I volumes, if one word suffice?” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "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": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Why need I volumes, if one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/why-need-i-volumes-if-one-word-suffice/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/why-need-i-volumes-if-one-word-suffice/#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 } } ] } ```