No ancient text has Pythagoras saying this, and none of his writings survive. Wikiquote lists it as disputed. The earliest instance it found is in Grist in 1965, and the line appears to be a misconstrual of Ausonius’s story that the reborn Pythagoras answered babblers only “yes” or “no.”
“The oldest, shortest words — yes and no — are those which require the most thought” popularly attributed to Pythagoras, but no ancient source contains it; earliest located in Grist, 1965 (per Wikiquote), and probably a misreading of an anecdote in Ausonius.
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Provenance
Where the line actually comes from
Popular form
“The oldest, shortest words — ‘yes’ and ‘no’ — are those which require the most thought.”
Earliest located
Grist (National Conference on State Parks magazine), 1965, as cited by Wikiquote
Pythagoras’s own writings
None survive
Nearest ancient story
Ausonius, Epistle to Paulinus (Evelyn White’s no. XXIX)
The oldest, shortest words — “yes” and “no” — are those which require the most thought.
This is the popular wording. Wikiquote found it in print in 1965 and nowhere earlier. It is not in any ancient text, and no words of Pythagoras himself survive.
Wikiquote lists the line in its Disputed section for Pythagoras. It cites Grist: The National Conference on State Parks magazine, 1965, and notes it was “not found earlier.” Wikiquote ↗
Wikiquote adds that the saying “appears to be a misconstrual of a story in Ausonius,” and quotes the Latin lines in which Pythagoras answers only “est” or “non.” Wikiquote ↗
In Hugh G. Evelyn White’s 1921 Loeb translation, Ausonius’s letter to Paulinus (no. XXIX) reads: “For indeed terseness is courteous; so, report says, taught reborn Pythagoras. While babblers would be stringing indecisive words, in all cases he would answer only ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’” Internet Archive ↗
Matthew M. McGowan’s 2014 article in Anabases identifies the passage as Ausonius, Epist. 21.38–42, and reads it as a lesson in letter-writing etiquette, with Pythagoras as the model of the brief reply. Anabases ↗
The popular wording has no identifiable author. Its earliest located appearance is a 1965 periodical, so we make no public-domain claim for it. The Ausonius passages quoted on this page come from Hugh G. Evelyn White’s Loeb translation (vol. 1, 1919; vol. 2, 1921), which was published before 1931 and is public domain in the US. They are not the source of the modern wording.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Fact-check
Why it gets pinned on Pythagoras
The line borrows a real ancient anecdote about Pythagoras and “yes” and “no,” then gives it a new point that no ancient text makes.
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The attributionPythagoras No source
“No authentic writings of Pythagoras have survived,” so no saying in this polished modern form can be pinned to him Wikipedia ↗. Wikiquote files this one under Disputed Wikiquote ↗.
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The likely seedAusonius, letter to Paulinus Misread anecdote
Ausonius reports that the reborn Pythagoras answered babblers only “Yes” or “No,” and praises this because “nothing is shorter and more adequate than these.” His point is that brevity is courteous. He does not say these words demand the most thought Evelyn White, 1921 ↗.
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Quote sitesGoodreads, Quotewise and similar lists Unsourced
These sites print the line under Pythagoras without naming any work. Goodreads notes that its quotes are added by members and are not verified Goodreads ↗, and Quotewise shows no source on the page Quotewise ↗.
✓Pythagoras is not known to have said this. Wikiquote finds the line no earlier than 1965 and regards it as a misconstrual of an Ausonius story Wikiquote ↗.
Context
The ancient “yes and no”
Pythagoras and the two little words do have a real ancient connection, through the Latin poet and teacher of rhetoric Ausonius (c. 310 – c. 395) Wikipedia ↗. One of his short poems is headed “The Pythagorean ‘Yea’ and ‘Nay’” in Evelyn White’s 1919 translation. It argues that all human talk turns on these “familiar monosyllables”: “Take these away and you leave nothing for the tongue of man to discuss” Internet Archive ↗.
In a letter to his former pupil Paulinus, Ausonius holds up Pythagoras’s yes-or-no replies as a model of courteous brevity. The modern saying keeps the yes and no but changes the lesson. Ausonius said these words are short and adequate. The modern line says they demand the most thought, and no ancient source says that.
What a thing is the life of man which two monosyllables toss about!
Why do the letter numbers differ?
Editions of Ausonius number his letters differently. McGowan cites the passage as Epist. 21.38–42 Anabases ↗, while Evelyn White’s 1921 Loeb volume prints the same lines in letter XXIX, sent when Paulinus had not answered four earlier letters Internet Archive ↗.
The pull quote above is Evelyn White’s translation of the last line of Ausonius’s “Yea and Nay” poem. It is not a saying of Pythagoras.
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Pythagoras was a Greek philosopher of the sixth century BC around whom a whole school and legend grew. No authentic writings of his survive. What we know comes mainly from three biographies written in late antiquity, by Diogenes Laërtius, Porphyry and Iamblichus. Later writers such as the Latin poet Ausonius told anecdotes about him, and this saying seems to have grown out of one of them.
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Cite this
Earliest located
Earliest located in print: Grist (National Conference on State Parks magazine), 1965, as cited in “Pythagoras,” Wikiquote, Disputed section. Compare Ausonius, letter to Paulinus, in Ausonius, trans. Hugh G. Evelyn White, vol. 2 (London: William Heinemann; New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1921), letter XXIX.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘The oldest, shortest words — yes and no — are those which require the most thought’?” Last verified 3 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/the-oldest-shortest-words-yes-and-no-are-those-which/