--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All pleasantry should be short; and it…" description: "\"All pleasantry should be short; and it might even be as well were the serious short also.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b39/voltaire-173_brevity_all-pleasantry-should-be-short-and-it-mi_2565436.png" --- # All pleasantry should be short; and it might even be as… ![“All pleasantry should be short; and it might even be as well were the serious short also.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b39/voltaire-173_brevity_all-pleasantry-should-be-short-and-it-mi_2565436.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b39/voltaire-173_brevity_all-pleasantry-should-be-short-and-it-mi_2565436.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b39/voltaire-173_brevity_all-pleasantry-should-be-short-and-it-mi_2565436.png) > “All pleasantry should be short; and it might even be as well were the serious short also.” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Brief humor works best; seriousness should also be concise. **In simple terms:** Keep jokes and seriousness short. Key Takeaway Be concise in both light and serious tones. Themes brevity humor seriousness Mood witty reflective Type aphilosophical literary When to use this quote - social conversation - public speaking - writing - teaching Key Concepts communication literary style Questions to Reflect On - When does brevity harm clarity? - How to balance humor and seriousness? A Different Perspective Over‑brevity may omit needed nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brevity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brevity/) [Pleasantries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasantries/) ## Related quotes > [Pleasantry is never good on serious points, because it always regards subjects in that point of view in which it is not the purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/pleasantry-is-never-good-on-serious-points-because-it-always-regards/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [ The powerful hold in deep remembrance an ill-timed pleasantry. \[Lat., Facetiarum apud praepotentes in longum memoria est.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/the-powerful-hold-in-deep-remembrance-an-ill-timed-pleasantry-lat/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Although I may express myself with some degree of pleasantry the purport of my words is entirely serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/although-i-may-express-myself-with-some-degree-of-pleasantry-the/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“The Dandy is the highest form of existence attainable by the human form. His life is exclusively dedicated to dressing exquisitely, parading about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-temple-and-vic-darkwood/the-dandy-is-the-highest-form-of-existence-attainable-by-the-human/) Gustav Temple and Vic Darkwood > [“For too long we have been the playthings of massive corporations, whose sole aim is to convert our world into a gargantuan shopping 'mall'.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-temple-and-vic-darkwood/for-too-long-we-have-been-the-playthings-of-massive-corporations/) Gustav Temple and Vic Darkwood > [I'm short and I know it proud to be short…if you short then you fun sized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shar-rae/i-m-short-and-i-know-it-proud-to-be-short-if-you-short-then-you-fun/) [Shar-rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shar-rae/) > [There's nothing as short as short-term debt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/there-s-nothing-as-short-as-short-term-debt/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [Short is short and Tall is Tall You are what you are That is All!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cosgrove/short-is-short-and-tall-is-tall-you-are-what-you-are-that-is-all/) [Stephen Cosgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cosgrove/) > [Life is short. Short, and not about anything except what you can touch and what touches you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/life-is-short-short-and-not-about-anything-except-what-you-can-touch/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [I was told I would never make it because I'm too short. Well, I'm still too short. It doesn't matter what your height is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-puckett/i-was-told-i-would-never-make-it-because-i-m-too-short-well-i-m-still/) [Kirby Puckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-puckett/) > [Sometimes ... the short short appears to rest on nothing more than a fragile anecdote which the writer has managed to drape with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-howe/sometimes-the-short-short-appears-to-rest-on-nothing-more-than-a/) [Irving Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-howe/) > [“Life is too short to waste being a productive member of society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/life-is-too-short-to-waste-being-a-productive-member-of-society/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [Pleasantries are low entropy, biased so far that they stop being an earnest inquiry and become ritual. Ritual has its virtues, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/pleasantries-are-low-entropy-biased-so-far-that-they-stop-being-an/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [In one sense what may pass between the pope and myself may be trivialities. In another sense the fact of talking trivialities is itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-fisher/in-one-sense-what-may-pass-between-the-pope-and-myself-may-be/) [Geoffrey Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-fisher/) > [All you'll get from strangers is surface pleasantry or indifference. Only someone who loves you will criticize you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-crist/all-you-ll-get-from-strangers-is-surface-pleasantry-or-indifference/) [Judith Crist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-crist/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Being unable to make people more reasonable, I preferred to be happy away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/being-unable-to-make-people-more-reasonable-i-preferred-to-be-happy/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/god-gave-us-the-gift-of-life-it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Providence has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/providence-has-given-us-hope-and-sleep-as-a-compensation-for-the-many/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-use-thought-only-to-justify-their-wrong-doings-and-employ-speech/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) [Explore all 934 Voltaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More Brevity quotes > [it is the brevity of life which makes it tolerable; its experiences have value because they have an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/it-is-the-brevity-of-life-which-makes-it-tolerable-its-experiences/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [“It's not my accent, but my brevity makes me stylish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/it-s-not-my-accent-but-my-brevity-makes-me-stylish/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Life is too short to waste being a productive member of society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/life-is-too-short-to-waste-being-a-productive-member-of-society/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [This is going to take a while. I'm a fantasy author. We have trouble with the concept of brevity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/this-is-going-to-take-a-while-i-m-a-fantasy-author-we-have-trouble/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if an hour, I am ready now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/if-i-am-to-speak-ten-minutes-i-need-a-week-for-preparation-if-an-hour/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [If, in the very intense electric field in the neighbourhood of the cathode, the molecules of the gas are dissociated and are split up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-john-thomson/if-in-the-very-intense-electric-field-in-the-neighbourhood-of-the/) [Joseph John Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-john-thomson/) > [Our senses will not admit anything extreme. Too much noise confuses us, too much light dazzles us, too great distance or nearness prevents vision,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/our-senses-will-not-admit-anything-extreme-too-much-noise-confuses-us/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Conversation! Supple sentences, with first and second meanings and overtones beyond, outrageous challenges with cleverly planned slip-points, rebuttals of elegant brevity; deceptions and guiles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/conversation-supple-sentences-with-first-and-second-meanings-and/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [It is excellent discipline for an author to feel that he must say all that he has to say in the fewest possible words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-excellent-discipline-for-an-author-to-feel-that-he-must-say-all/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [A drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-strunk-jr/a-drawing-should-have-no-unnecessary-lines-and-a-machine-no/) [William Strunk, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-strunk-jr/) > [Not to discriminate every moment some passionate attitude in those about us, and in the very brilliancy of their gifts some tragic dividing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/not-to-discriminate-every-moment-some-passionate-attitude-in-those/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [He will see himself and life and the world as truly as our human limitations will permit; realizing the brevity and minuteness of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/he-will-see-himself-and-life-and-the-world-as-truly-as-our-human/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [There came to him an image of man’s whole life upon the earth. It seemed to him that all man’s life was like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/there-came-to-him-an-image-of-man-s-whole-life-upon-the-earth-it/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [As a writer, I'm too busy and worried to experience the delight while composing my own work, although, of course, I hope a reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/as-a-writer-i-m-too-busy-and-worried-to-experience-the-delight-while/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [Aiming at brevity, I become obscure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/aiming-at-brevity-i-become-obscure/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) [Browse all 192 Brevity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brevity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All pleasantry should be short; and it might even be as well were the serious short also.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltaire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/all-pleasantry-should-be-short-and-it-might-even-be-as-well-were-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brevity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/all-pleasantry-should-be-short-and-it-might-even-be-as-well-were-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b39/voltaire-173_brevity_all-pleasantry-should-be-short-and-it-mi_2565436.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b39/voltaire-173_brevity_all-pleasantry-should-be-short-and-it-mi_2565436.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b39/voltaire-173_brevity_all-pleasantry-should-be-short-and-it-mi_2565436.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All pleasantry should be short; and it might even be as well were the serious short also.” — Voltaire", "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": "Voltaire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All pleasantry should be short; and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/all-pleasantry-should-be-short-and-it-might-even-be-as-well-were-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/all-pleasantry-should-be-short-and-it-might-even-be-as-well-were-the/#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 } } ] } ```