"What, then, of this sneering claim advanced by the hecklers, by the detractors of philosophy and the enemies of wisdom, mere boys all of them, what of this claim they shout, that brevity is the soul of wit? This is my reply to them, if only they will fall silent long enough to hear: the purpose of rhetoric is not to clearly communicate an idea to a weak and inferior mind unworthy of your insight, but rather to convince the audience that you are in possession of the most words, which is like being in possession of the most wealth, but better and more philosophical. The aim of rhetoric is to draw out your speech to such lengths that no-one can remember what it was about to begin with, and cannot grasp the chain of logic presented, as the many disparate thoughts slip through their weak unphilosophical fingers; for you have put so little information into each individual clause that it is impossible to seize upon any one of them as objectionable. By such a method, one comes at last to a conclusion that brings the audience such relief, such joy of liberation from the deluge, that they will agree to everything you propose if only you will shut up and let them go home. So truly, we must come inevitably to the conclusion, that brevity is the soul of the Theban; it is the soul of the Spartan and of every sort of barbarian that is not Athenian, and Athenians are the best and smartest people to be found anywhere upon the earth, and the Athenian philosophers are the very bestest of all people anywhere, because they have the most words, which is better than the most anything else, by virtue of the fact that I really like words and I'm the smartest man here so my opinions are the most correct. Anyway, back on topic: why so-called 'scientists' who say the sun is hot are very stupid." – Athenian philosopher