Sesquipedalian World
Do you like long and complex words? If yes, you are a sesquipedalian person living in a sesquipedalian world.
This word comes from sesquipedalis (Latin). Literally means a foot and a half long - and we are not talking about sandwiches here.
The Roman Horace wrote it in his Ars Poetica (The Art of Poetry) from ~19 BCE.
Projicit ampullas et sesquipedalia verba,
Si curat cor spectantis tetigisse querelâ.
As translated by George Colman the Elder in 1783:
Drop their big six-foot words, and sounding speech;
Or else, what bosom in their grief takes part,
Which cracks the ear, but cannot touch the heart?
Long words can't enter the heart. They are cold strangers beyond comprehension. Sesquipedalian words are not social beings.
Then Horace came back with the antidote:
Short be your precepts, and th' impression strong,
That minds may catch them quick, and hold them long!
Think about it! We don't need sesquipedalian words. Except if the intend is to create a fog of authority and sophistication in a sesquipedalian world of manipulation.
And why did I use some long words in this post?
Well, the post is intended for those who use sesquipedalian words. The crowd of direct and focused brevity doesn't need advice on this topic.
Write short, feel more. Be authentic. Be yourself.