Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood.

—William Penn

About William Penn

Portrait of William Penn

William Penn (24 October [O.S. 14 October] 1644 – 10 August [O.S. 30 July] 1718) was an English writer, theologian, religious thinker, and influential Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania. An advocate of democracy and religious freedom, Penn was known for his amicable relations and successful treaties with the...

More quotations from William Penn

Believe nothing against another but on good authority; and never report what may hurt another, unless it be a greater hurt to some other to conceal it.

—William Penn

More quotations tagged with “language”

Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all.

—Winston Churchill

Works of imagination should be written in very plain language; the more purely imaginative they are the more necessary it is to be plain.

—Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Do not accustom yourself to use big words for little matters.

—Samuel Johnson

No one has a finer command of language than the person who keeps his mouth shut.

Language exerts hidden power, like a moon on the tides.

—Rita Mae Brown

History

11 Jul 2015 Added