Agreed, but entirely dependent on context. Most writing on the web (including most of my work) is designed for reach, for all of the narcissistic reasons like

Agreed, but entirely dependent on context. Most writing on the web (including most of my work) is designed for reach, for all of the narcissistic reasons like retweets and shares, but also the reason that we live in a more democratic world today, and ideas that have more reach often have more impact. When you write, you want yourself to succeed through your writing, but to me it's far more important that my ideas succeed - that they find life in another mind. Early writing (especially from the era you mentioned, alongside the vedas and the upanishads before it) was poetic not only for the purpose of aesthetics, but also so that the work can self-select who can understand it. Interpreters and translators were common (and still are when concerning these and religious works), which concentrates power. If I need you to tell me what the mahabharata says, you have more power than if I could understand it myself. Overall, pulling to either extreme - simplicity or purple prose - is not recommended, but I think everyday writing (especially policy) should be clearer and not cleverer.