“Always when you are about to say anything, first weigh it in your mind; for with many the tongue outruns the thought.”
Verse 41.
To Demonicus
Context: Always when you are about to say anything, first weigh it in your mind; for with many the tongue outruns the thought. Let there be but two occasions for speech — when the subject is one which you thoroughly know and when it one on which you are compelled to speak. On these occasions alone is speech better than silence; on all others, it is better to be silent than to speak.
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Isocrates23
ancient greek rhetorician -436–-338 BCRelated quotes
Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) African American boxer, philanthropist and activist
"I am the Greatest" (1964)
Context: I am the man this poem’s about,
I’ll be champ of the world, there isn’t a doubt.
Here I predict Mr. Liston’s dismemberment,
I’ll hit him so hard; he’ll wonder where October and November went.
When I say two, there’s never a third,
Standin against me is completely absurd.
When Cassius says a mouse can outrun a horse,
Don’t ask how; put your money where your mouse is!
I AM THE GREATEST!
Kristin Hannah (1960) American writer
Source: Winter Garden
Megan McCafferty (1973) American novelist
Source: Sloppy Firsts
David Allen book Getting Things Done
Source: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (2001), Ch. 1
“Every thought you produce, anything you say, any action you do, it bears your signature.”
Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist
Source: Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
“Hold your tongue; you won't understand anything. If there is no God, then I am God.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881) Russian author
Kirilov, Part III, Ch. VI, "A busy night"
The Possessed (1872)
Marcus Aurelius book Meditations
Hays translation
The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.
V, 16
Source: Meditations (c. 121–180 AD), Book V