The Supremacy Of Silence

Two things express the inexpressible: music and silence.  

Atheistically speaking, silence is the most powerful interrelational tool.  The greatest communicators are they which have learned not what to say, but rather what not to say.  If communication itself is to be made into an art, then it can be stated that the art of communication lies in the placing of silence.

The following are observations on the concept of silence.  Those which are not original are marked as such and highlighted.

• When you have accomplished nothing by speaking, you have erred in doing so
• Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt (Abraham Lincoln)
• Where silence is, there lacks shame
• How contrary is the case where verbosity reigns?
• A fool uttereth all  his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards (Solomon)
• Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding (Solomon)
• A dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a  fool's voice is known by multitude of words (Solomon)

• Activity of the mind increases as activity of the mouth decreases
• When words are no better than silence, it is best to remain silent (Kwai Chang Caine)
• The prudent will not explain a word further than what is asked
• A closed mouth gathers no foot (Anonymous)
• Words are merely the remission of silence
• Because the people of the world in their proper state should be silent

• The dignity of truth is lost with much protesting (Ben Johnson)

• There are two kinds of people.

1. Those who listen
2. Those who simply wait for their turn to speak

• As empty vessels make the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers (Plato)
• If anyone could have said it, it is best left unsaid
• The veracity of a matter does not negate the impropriety of its vocalization
• If no other quote is regarded, this one ought to be well understood and internalized
• In layman's terms: Just because it's true doesn't mean it's okay to say it

• Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak (James)
• The silent man is the one the world is disposed to hear
• Is it not so that when the timid suddenly speak with authority, those nearby are shocked with unmitigated interest in the words of him who was silent? 

• We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak (Epictetus)
• Prolixity is proportionate to age
• Brevity is the soul of wit (William Shakespeare)
• Stress is amassed through noise of the mind and distributed through noise of the mouth
• It is with words as it is with sunbeams - the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn (Robert Southey)
• Prudence is inversely proportionate to the disposition to speak
• When, in the course of human interactions, you don't know what to say, silence is the correct answer