Is 140 characters enough to convey a big idea? The New York Times says 140 is fine for microblogging in business. Many famous quotes fit nicely, such as “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” (88 characters)

But what about really big concepts? What about thinking that transforms history?

Like the Bill of Rights, for example.

I took a look. Two of the Amendments, the 8th and 9th, are each under 140 characters, including spaces. The 8th Amendment is the shortest at 111 characters: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Glad we have that one.

The 2nd (144 characters), 3rd (156) and 10th (161) could get there with some simple editing and abbreviating, such as converting “United States” to “US.” The rest of the Amendments, including the oft-cited 1st and 5th, are way over the limit. The 5th is the longest at 591 characters, but the portion used when “taking the fifth” is only 151 characters.

So at least five of the first Ten Amendments could have been tweeted. As could most of Confucius’ quotes, such as “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” As could Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths.

As for the Ten Commandments, it turns out God is a master of brevity.

Depending on which religion, translation, list, parsing and edition you follow, six of the Ten Commandments are under 140 characters! The shortest, “You shall not kill” has only 19.

“Neither shall you commit adultery.” (34 characters) “Neither shall you steal.” (24) “Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor.” (59) And so on.

The first line of the Gettysburg address is 179 characters. Here’s how to shorten it to 140: “87 yrs ago our fathers brought 4th upon this continent a new nation conceivd in Liberty and dedicatd to the prop. that all men are creatd =.” Doesn’t quite have the same ring, does it?

What other great concepts can be conveyed in only a few words? Send them and I’ll start a list.