--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you would be pungent, be brief; for it…" description: "\"If you would be pungent, be brief; for it is with words as with sunbeams - the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.\" — Robert Southey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/robert-southey-4115_brief_if-you-would-be-pungent-be-brief-for-it_1061351.png" --- # If you would be pungent, be brief; for it is with words as… ![“If you would be pungent, be brief; for it is with words as with sunbeams - the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.” quote by Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/robert-southey-4115_brief_if-you-would-be-pungent-be-brief-for-it_1061351.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/robert-southey-4115_brief_if-you-would-be-pungent-be-brief-for-it_1061351.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/robert-southey-4115_brief_if-you-would-be-pungent-be-brief-for-it_1061351.png) > “If you would be pungent, be brief; for it is with words as with sunbeams - the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.” [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Brevity intensifies impact; concise words, like focused sunlight, have greater power. **In simple terms:** Short words hit harder. Key Takeaway Speak concisely for stronger effect. Themes communication writing efficiency Mood thoughtful inspirational Type literary advice When to use this quote - public speaking - advertising - poetry - teaching Key Concepts rhetoric conciseness Questions to Reflect On - When does brevity become vague? - How to balance clarity and brevity? A Different Perspective Over‑compression can obscure meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brief/) [Brief Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brief-words-719925/) [Burn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burn/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [Pungent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pungent-151395/) [Pungent Brief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pungent-brief-719923/) [Sunbeams Condensed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunbeams-condensed-719922/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Words Sunbeams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-sunbeams-719924/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) ## Related quotes > [If you be pungent, be brief; for it is with words as with sunbeams - the more they are condensed the deeper they burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/if-you-be-pungent-be-brief-for-it-is-with-words-as-with-sunbeams-the/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [If you would be pungent, be brief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/if-you-would-be-pungent-be-brief/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [It is with words as with sunbeams-the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/it-is-with-words-as-with-sunbeams-the-more-they-are-condensed-the/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [Often have brief words laid men low and then raise them up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/often-have-brief-words-laid-men-low-and-then-raise-them-up/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [There is a long tradition of pungent living in the South. It was wonderful to have that imprinted on me so early in life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissy-spacek/there-is-a-long-tradition-of-pungent-living-in-the-south-it-was/) [Sissy Spacek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sissy-spacek/) > [“I likened her to the slender PSYCHÉ and judged that the perfection of her face ennobled everything unclean around her: The dusty hems of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/i-likened-her-to-the-slender-psych-and-judged-that-the-perfection-of/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [“the pungent spill a neat tiny hill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-driscoll/the-pungent-spill-a-neat-tiny-hill/) [Teresa Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-driscoll/) > [“Some people when they see cheese, chocolate or cake they don't think of calories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/some-people-when-they-see-cheese-chocolate-or-cake-they-don-t-think/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Hunger gives flavour to the food.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/hunger-gives-flavour-to-the-food/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“All worries are less with wine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/all-worries-are-less-with-wine/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I can be working on a collection and a film at the same time. It can take a lot out of me, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-chalayan/i-can-be-working-on-a-collection-and-a-film-at-the-same-time-it-can/) [Hussein Chalayan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-chalayan/) > [The interval allowed was only five minutes, at the end of which I resumed the lecture; but so refreshing was the effects of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-combe/the-interval-allowed-was-only-five-minutes-at-the-end-of-which-i/) [George Combe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-combe/) > [I think a fictional invention grows according to its own development, not the author's. Characters in fiction are not simply as alive as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/i-think-a-fictional-invention-grows-according-to-its-own-development/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [People don't want drama 365 days a year. I'm a sense of relief; it's my job to take your mind off what's bad for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hart/people-don-t-want-drama-365-days-a-year-i-m-a-sense-of-relief-it-s-my/) [Kevin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hart/) > [More than simply capturing brief moments in time, MixBit helps people bring stories to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-hurley/more-than-simply-capturing-brief-moments-in-time-mixbit-helps-people/) [Chad Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-hurley/) ## More by Robert Southey > [Some voluntary castaways there will always be, whom no fostering kindness and no parental care can preserve from self-destruction; but if any are lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/some-voluntary-castaways-there-will-always-be-whom-no-fostering/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [It has been more wittily than charitably said that hell is paved with good intentions; they have their place in heaven also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/it-has-been-more-wittily-than-charitably-said-that-hell-is-paved-with/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [Order is the sanity of the mind, the health of the body, the peace of the city, the security of the state. As the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/order-is-the-sanity-of-the-mind-the-health-of-the-body-the-peace-of/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [Whatever strengthens our local attachments is favorable both to individual and national character, our home, our birthplace, our native land. Think for a while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/whatever-strengthens-our-local-attachments-is-favorable-both-to/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [I have told you of the Spaniard who always put on his spectacles when about to eat cherries, that they might look bigger and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/i-have-told-you-of-the-spaniard-who-always-put-on-his-spectacles-when/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [My days among the dead are passed; Around me I behold, Where'er these casual eyes are cast, The mighty minds of old; My never-failing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/my-days-among-the-dead-are-passed-around-me-i-behold-where-er-these/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [Love is indestructible. It's holy flame forever burneth; from Heaven it came, to Heaven returneth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/love-is-indestructible-it-s-holy-flame-forever-burneth-from-heaven-it/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [Live as long as you may, the first twenty years are the longest half of your life. They appear so while they are passing;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/live-as-long-as-you-may-the-first-twenty-years-are-the-longest-half/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [Take away love, and not physical nature only, but the heart of the moral world, would be palsied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/take-away-love-and-not-physical-nature-only-but-the-heart-of-the/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [Where Washington hath left His awful memory A light for after times!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/where-washington-hath-left-his-awful-memory-a-light-for-after-times/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [The loss of a friend is like that of a limb; time may heal the anguish of the wound, but the loss cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/the-loss-of-a-friend-is-like-that-of-a-limb-time-may-heal-the-anguish/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [Three things a wise man will not trust, The wind, the sunshine of an April day, And woman's plighted faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/three-things-a-wise-man-will-not-trust-the-wind-the-sunshine-of-an/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [She comes majestic with her swelling sails, The gallant Ship: along her watery way, Homeward she drives before the favouring gales; Now flirting at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/she-comes-majestic-with-her-swelling-sails-the-gallant-ship-along-her/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [A wise judge, by the craft of the law, was never seduced from its purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/a-wise-judge-by-the-craft-of-the-law-was-never-seduced-from-its/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [Let us depart! the universal sun Confines not to one land his blessed beams; Nor is man rooted, like a tree, whose seed, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/let-us-depart-the-universal-sun-confines-not-to-one-land-his-blessed/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) [Explore all 116 Robert Southey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) ## More Brief quotes > [More than simply capturing brief moments in time, MixBit helps people bring stories to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-hurley/more-than-simply-capturing-brief-moments-in-time-mixbit-helps-people/) [Chad Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-hurley/) > [People don't want drama 365 days a year. I'm a sense of relief; it's my job to take your mind off what's bad for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hart/people-don-t-want-drama-365-days-a-year-i-m-a-sense-of-relief-it-s-my/) [Kevin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hart/) > [I think a fictional invention grows according to its own development, not the author's. Characters in fiction are not simply as alive as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/i-think-a-fictional-invention-grows-according-to-its-own-development/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [The interval allowed was only five minutes, at the end of which I resumed the lecture; but so refreshing was the effects of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-combe/the-interval-allowed-was-only-five-minutes-at-the-end-of-which-i/) [George Combe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-combe/) > [I can be working on a collection and a film at the same time. It can take a lot out of me, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-chalayan/i-can-be-working-on-a-collection-and-a-film-at-the-same-time-it-can/) [Hussein Chalayan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-chalayan/) > [Mortality is very brief but immeasurably important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/mortality-is-very-brief-but-immeasurably-important/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [It's terrifying the way molecular biology has become more and more jargon ridden. But I strongly believe that my book can be read by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ridley/it-s-terrifying-the-way-molecular-biology-has-become-more-and-more/) [Matt Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-ridley/) > [In my midteens I went through a brief stage of religious fanaticism, but it was very much about just saying prayers and stuff like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-crumb/in-my-midteens-i-went-through-a-brief-stage-of-religious-fanaticism/) [Robert Crumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-crumb/) > [Man is never always happy, and very often only a brief period of happiness is granted him in this world; so why escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/man-is-never-always-happy-and-very-often-only-a-brief-period-of/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [I strive to be brief, and become obscure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/i-strive-to-be-brief-and-become-obscure/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [“Juxtaposed with the rapid-fire questions, the brief”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nabeel-qureshi/juxtaposed-with-the-rapid-fire-questions-the-brief/) [Nabeel Qureshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nabeel-qureshi/) > [If you would be pungent, be brief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/if-you-would-be-pungent-be-brief/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [We modern Marxists regard socialism as a historically brief transitional stage between feudalism and capitalism, necessary only in backward countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccarthy/we-modern-marxists-regard-socialism-as-a-historically-brief/) [John McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccarthy/) > [Be sincere; be brief; be seated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/be-sincere-be-brief-be-seated/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Brief is life but love is long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/brief-is-life-but-love-is-long/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 137 Brief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you would be pungent, be brief; for it is with words as with sunbeams - the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Southey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/if-you-would-be-pungent-be-brief-for-it-is-with-words-as-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/if-you-would-be-pungent-be-brief-for-it-is-with-words-as-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/robert-southey-4115_brief_if-you-would-be-pungent-be-brief-for-it_1061351.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/robert-southey-4115_brief_if-you-would-be-pungent-be-brief-for-it_1061351.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/robert-southey-4115_brief_if-you-would-be-pungent-be-brief-for-it_1061351.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you would be pungent, be brief; for it is with words as with sunbeams - the more they are condensed, the…” — Robert Southey", "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": "Robert Southey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you would be pungent, be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/if-you-would-be-pungent-be-brief-for-it-is-with-words-as-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/if-you-would-be-pungent-be-brief-for-it-is-with-words-as-with/#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 } } ] } ```