It Is Better To Offer No

Written on October 30, 1791, in a letter from Philadelphia to his niece Harriet Washington at Mount Vernon, who had apologized for writing only a brief note. Washington gently chided her for putting off the letter until there was no time left, then offered the broader maxim as avuncular advice. The letter is preserved in The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series and is available through the National Archives' Founders Online database.