“A Frenchman must be always talking, whether he knows anything of the matter or not; an Englishman is content to say nothing, when he has nothing to say.”
1780, p. 446
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol IV
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Samuel Johnson362
English writer 1709–1784Related quotes
“When he has nothing to say, he lets words speak.”
Elias Canetti (1905–1994) Bulgarian-born Swiss and British jewish modernist novelist, playwright, memoirist, and non-fiction writer
J. Agee, trans. (1989), p. 147
Das Geheimherz der Uhr [The Secret Heart of the Clock] (1987)
“And he was not old enough to talk and say nothing at the same time.”
William Faulkner book Light in August
Source: Light in August
“If a person never contradicts himself, it must be that he says nothing.”
Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936) 19th-20th century Spanish writer and philosopher
“The true writer has nothing to say. What counts is the way he says it.”
Alain Robbe-Grillet (1922–2008) 1922-2008 French agricultural engineer, filmmaker and writer
“One always speaks badly when one has nothing to say.”
Voltaire book Commentaires sur Corneille
On parle toujours mal quand on n'a rien à dire.
"Commentaires sur Corneille," Oeuvres complètes de Voltaire (1827)
Citas
Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899) Union United States Army officer
"To the Indianapolis Clergy." The Iconoclast (Indianapolis, IN) (1883)
Tallulah Bankhead (1902–1968) American actress
"I want everything" in What I Want from Life (1934) edited by Edmund George Cousins, p. 108
Context: The cynic says "blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for he shall not be disappointed." I say "blessed is he who expecteth everything, for he can't always be disappointed."