For the wise, one word is enough.
—European proverb
7
***
For the wise, silence is an answer.
—Euripides
8
Silence is a friend who will never betray.
—Confucius, fifth century BC
Speech is silver, silence is gold.
—European proverb
Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing.
—Robert Benchley
9
One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do, and always a clever
thing to say.
—Will Durant, 1958
Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of
the fact.
—George Eliot, 1879
The fool who is silent passes for the wise.
—European proverb
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.
—Anonymous
10
Look wise, say nothing, and grunt. Speech was given to conceal thought.
—William Osler
11
Well-timed silence has more eloquence than speech.
—Martin Farquhar Tupper, 1849
Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1921
Silence is the virtue of a fool.
—Francis Bacon, 1605
7
May be traced back to the Latin “Verbum Sat Sapienti”.
8
As quoted, without a date, in several reputable collections, including Wikiquotes.
9
As quoted, without a date, by C. E. Sylvester in 2005.
10
Frequently misattributed to either Samuel Johnson, or Abraham Lincoln, or Mark Twain.
11
As quoted, without a date, by William Bennett Bean in 1950. The second sentence paraphrases
an earlier (circa 1763) line by Voltaire.
On Speech and Silence, Truth and Lies
95
—European proverb
7
***
For the wise, silence is an answer.
—Euripides
8
Silence is a friend who will never betray.
—Confucius, fifth century BC
Speech is silver, silence is gold.
—European proverb
Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing.
—Robert Benchley
9
One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do, and always a clever
thing to say.
—Will Durant, 1958
Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of
the fact.
—George Eliot, 1879
The fool who is silent passes for the wise.
—European proverb
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.
—Anonymous
10
Look wise, say nothing, and grunt. Speech was given to conceal thought.
—William Osler
11
Well-timed silence has more eloquence than speech.
—Martin Farquhar Tupper, 1849
Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1921
Silence is the virtue of a fool.
—Francis Bacon, 1605
7
May be traced back to the Latin “Verbum Sat Sapienti”.
8
As quoted, without a date, in several reputable collections, including Wikiquotes.
9
As quoted, without a date, by C. E. Sylvester in 2005.
10
Frequently misattributed to either Samuel Johnson, or Abraham Lincoln, or Mark Twain.
11
As quoted, without a date, by William Bennett Bean in 1950. The second sentence paraphrases
an earlier (circa 1763) line by Voltaire.
On Speech and Silence, Truth and Lies
95