“A fool is known by his Speech; and a wise man by Silence.”

—  Pythagoras

The Sayings of the Wise (1555)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Jan. 31, 2025. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "A fool is known by his Speech; and a wise man by Silence." by Pythagoras?
Pythagoras photo
Pythagoras 121
ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher -585–-495 BC

Related quotes

Pythagoras photo

“By Silence, the discretion of a man is known: and a fool, keeping Silence, seemeth to be wise.”

Pythagoras (-585–-495 BC) ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher

The Sayings of the Wise (1555)

Thomas Fuller (writer) photo

“1953. Learn the art of Silence; the wise Man that holds his Tongue, says more than the Fool who speaks.”

Thomas Fuller (writer) (1654–1734) British physician, preacher, and intellectual

Introductio ad prudentiam: Part II (1727)

Anatole France photo

“Silence is the wit of fools, and one of the virtues of the wise.”

Anatole France (1844–1924) French writer

Le silence est l'esprit des sots
Et l'une des vertus du sage.
Bernard de Bonnard, "Le Silence," http://books.google.com/books?id=9gAvAAAAMAAJ&pg=PR14&dq=%22Et+l%27une+des+vertus+du+sage%22+Bonnard&ei=iyzvR-bFOIa4zASV0PyoBQ#PPA244,M1 L'Almanach des Muses (1776)
Misattributed

Benjamin Franklin photo

“The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart.”

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, …

“A wise man rules his passions, a fool obeys them.”

Publilio Siro Latin writer

Maxim 49
Sentences, The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave

George Herbert photo

“253. A foole knowes more in his house then a wise man in another's.”

George Herbert (1593–1633) Welsh-born English poet, orator and Anglican priest

Jacula Prudentum (1651)

William Shakespeare photo

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”

Touchstone, Act V, scene i
Source: As You Like It (1599–1600)

Anatole France photo

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”

Anatole France (1844–1924) French writer

Touchstone, Act V, scene i
Misattributed

Coventry Patmore photo

“As the Word of God is God's image, so the word of man is his image, and "a man is known by his speech."”

Coventry Patmore (1823–1896) English poet

Vol. II, Ch. V Aphorisms and Extracts, p. 72.
Memoirs and Correspondence (1900)

Related topics