Speech. Silence
Speech is silvern, silence is golden.
“Be silent, or say something that is better than silence” (German).626 “Better silence than ill speech” (Swedish).627 “Talking comes by nature, silence of understanding” (German).628 “Who speaks, sows; who keeps silence, reaps” (Italian).629
Silence seldom does harm.
Least said, soonest mended.
The principle applies still more forcibly to writing. “Words fly, writing remains” (Latin).630 A man’s spoken words may be unnoticed, or forgotten, or denied; but what he has put down in black and white is tangible evidence against him. Therefore “Think much, say little, write less” (Italian).631 Give Cardinal Richelieu two lines of any man’s writing and he needed no more to hang him. Fabio Merto, an archbishop of the seventeenth century, has oddly remarked, “It is nowhere mentioned in the Gospels that our Lord wrote more than once, and then it was on the sand, in order that the wind might efface the writing.” “Silence was never written down” (Italian);632 and “A silent man’s words are not brought into court” (Danish).633 “Hear, see, and say nothing, if you wish to live in peace” (Italian).634
A fool’s tongue is long enough to cut his own throat.
“Let not the tongue say what the head shall pay for” (Spanish).635 “The sheep that bleats is strangled by the wolf” (Italian).636 “He that knows nothing knows enough if he knows how to be silent” (Italian).637
A fool’s bolt is soon shot.
“A foolish judge passes quick sentence” (French).638 “He who knows little soon sings it out” (Spanish).639
When a fool has spoken he has done all.
“It is always the worst wheel that creaks” (French, Italian).640 The shallowest persons are the most loquacious. “Were fools silent they would pass for wise” (Dutch).641
Silence gives consent.
“Silence answers much” (Dutch).642
A man may hold his tongue in an ill time.
“Amyclæ was undone by silence” (Latin).643 The citizens having been often frightened with false news of the enemy’s coming, made it penal for any one to report such a thing in future. Hence, when the enemy did come indeed, they were surprised and taken. There is a time to speak as well as to be silent.
Spare to speak and spare to speed.
“If the child does not cry the mother does not understand it” (Russian). “Him that speaks not, God hears not” (Spanish).644
Footnotes
626 Schweig, oder rede etwas das besser ist denn Schweigen.
627 Bättre tyga än illa tala.
628 Reden kommt von Natur, Schweigen von Verstunde.
629 Chi parla, semina; chi tace, raccoglie.
630 Verba volant, scripta manent.
631 Pensa molto, parla poco, scrivi meno.
632 Il tacere non fu mai scritto.
633 Tiende Mands Ord komme ei til Tinge.
634 Odi, vedi, e taci, se vuoi viver in pace.
635 No diga la lengua por do paque la cabeza.
636 Pecora che bela, il lupo la strozza.
637 Assai sa, chi non sa, se tacer sa.
638 De fol juge brève sentence.
639 Quien poco sabe, presto lo reza.
640 C’est toujours la plus mauvaise roue qui crie. E la peggior ruota quella che fa più rumore.
641 Zweegen de dwazen zij waren wijs.
642 Zwijgen antwoordt veel.
643 Amyclas silentium perdidit.
644 A quien no habla, no le oye Dios.