On Speech and Silence, Truth and Lies
When all other means of communication fail, try words.
—Ashleigh Brilliant, mid-1970s
***
He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know.
—Lăozi, *fourth century BC
Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say
something.
—Plato, first century AD
Saying what we think gives us a wider conversational range than saying what we know.
—Cullen Hightower
1
Just imagine the silence in the world, if people talked only what they knew.
—Karel Čapek, 1936
***
Word is a shadow of a deed.
—Democritus
2
For if your meaning’s threatened with stagnation,
Then words come in, to save the situation.
3
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1808
1
As quoted, without a date, in many sources, starting not later than 1998.
2
As quoted, without a date, in several reliable sources, including Kathleen Freeman’s collection
published in 1948.
3
Translation by Philip Wayne. This verse (from Part 1 of Faust) is frequently paraphrased shorter:
“When ideas fail, words come in handy”.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
K. K. Likharev (ed.), Essential Quotes for Scientists and Engineers,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63332-5_11
93
When all other means of communication fail, try words.
—Ashleigh Brilliant, mid-1970s
***
He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know.
—Lăozi, *fourth century BC
Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say
something.
—Plato, first century AD
Saying what we think gives us a wider conversational range than saying what we know.
—Cullen Hightower
1
Just imagine the silence in the world, if people talked only what they knew.
—Karel Čapek, 1936
***
Word is a shadow of a deed.
—Democritus
2
For if your meaning’s threatened with stagnation,
Then words come in, to save the situation.
3
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1808
1
As quoted, without a date, in many sources, starting not later than 1998.
2
As quoted, without a date, in several reliable sources, including Kathleen Freeman’s collection
published in 1948.
3
Translation by Philip Wayne. This verse (from Part 1 of Faust) is frequently paraphrased shorter:
“When ideas fail, words come in handy”.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
K. K. Likharev (ed.), Essential Quotes for Scientists and Engineers,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63332-5_11
93