John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
1548 William Shakespeare 1564-1616 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 1548 |
| AUTHOR: | William Shakespeare (1564–1616) |
| QUOTATION: | Brevity is the soul of wit. 1 |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Hamlet. Act ii. Sc. 2. [text] |
| WORKS: | William Shakespeare Collection. |
| Note 1. A short saying oft contains much wisdom.—Sophocles: Aletes, frag. 99. [back] |