Quotes about silence

„You burn the paper, but not the words. You silence the words, but not the thoughts. You kill the thoughts only if you kill the man. And you will find that his thoughts rise again in the minds of others - twice as strong as before.“

—  Linda Sue Park, book When My Name Was Keoko

Source: When My Name Was Keoko

„The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.“

—  Audre Lorde writer and activist 1934 - 1992

„Never reveal your dark moments to anyone, for what people do not know cannot be utilized to destroy you. By nature, people are envious and jealous; and will attempt to bring you down. Silence reveals nothing.“

—  RJ Intindola (Gandolfo)

1974

„Even as a child, I had that sort of defense mechanism. If something was awkward, I would try to lighten it up by making people laugh. But like Chandler, I've grown up a little bit in the last eight years and become a lot more comfortable with my serious side. I feel the need to fill the silences a lot less with jokes.“

—  Matthew Perry (actor) American actor 1969

Frazier Moore, Associated Press (August 22, 2002) "Perry pondering life after 'Friends'", Deseret Morning News, Deseret News Publishing Co., p. C04.

„Silence
is an ocean. Speech is a river.“

—  Rumi Iranian poet 1207 - 1273

"The Three Fish" Ch. 18 : The Three Fish, p. 196
Variant translations or adaptations:
Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation.
As quoted in Teachers of Wisdom (2010) by Igor Kononenko, p. 134
Silence is an ocean. Speech is a river. Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation.
As quoted in "Rumi’s wisdom" (2 October 2015) http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2015/10/02/character-of-the-week-rumi/, by Paulo Coelho
Context: Silence
is an ocean. Speech is a river.When the ocean is searching for you, don't walk
into the language-river. Listen to the ocean,
and bring your talky business to an end Traditional words are just babbling
in that presence, and babbling is a substitute
for sight.

„Let silence be your general rule; or say only what is necessary and in few words.“

—  Epictetus philosopher from Ancient Greece 50 - 138

Context: Let silence be your general rule; or say only what is necessary and in few words. We shall, however, when occasion demands, enter into discourse sparingly, avoiding such common topics as gladiators, horse-races, athletes; and the perpetual talk about food and drink. Above all avoid speaking of persons, either in the way of praise or blame, or comparison. If you can, win over the conversation of your company to what it should be by your own. But if you should find yourself cut off without escape among strangers and aliens, be silent. (164).

„Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose.“

—  Elisabeth Kübler-Ross American psychiatrist 1926 - 2004

„Learn to get in touch with silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences; all events are blessings given to us to learn from.“

—  Elisabeth Kübler-Ross American psychiatrist 1926 - 2004

As quoted in " Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: Messenger of Love https://books.google.com/books?id=3esDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&dq=%22Yoga+Journal%22+Kronisch&source=bl&ots=B895e3lzeI&sig=7V4uALc6CTiPrF02-cV8AAzsgbw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjM1enasPLSAhWs6oMKHbpyAbQQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=%22Elisabeth%20Kubler-Ross%22&f=false" by Lennie Kronisch in Yoga Journal, Issue 11, November-December 1976, pp. 18-20
Context: Learn to get in touch with silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences; all events are blessings given to us to learn from. There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub.

„Silence is like a flame, you see?“

—  Marcel Marceau French mime and actor 1923 - 2007

Interview Charlie Rose (27 September 2000)

„The cruelest lies are often told in silence.“

—  Robert Louis Stevenson Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer 1850 - 1894

Truth of Intercourse.
Virginibus Puerisque and Other Papers (1881)
Context: The cruelest lies are often told in silence. A man may have sat in a room for hours and not opened his teeth, and yet come out of that room a disloyal friend or a vile calumniator. And how many loves have perished because, from pride, or spite, or diffidence, or that unmanly shame which withholds a man from daring to betray emotion, a lover, at the critical point of the relation, has but hung his head and held his tongue?

„Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.“

—  Muhammad Ali African American boxer, philanthropist and activist 1942 - 2016

„The music is not in the notes,
but in the silence between.“

—  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Austrian Romantic composer 1756 - 1791

„Rabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit's clever."
"And he has Brain."
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit has Brain."
There was a long silence.
"I suppose," said Pooh, "that that's why he never understands anything.“

—  Benjamin Hoff, book The Tao of Pooh

Source: The Tao of Pooh

„I turned silences and nights into words. What was unutterable, I wrote down. I made the whirling world stand still.“

—  Arthur Rimbaud French Decadent and Symbolist poet 1854 - 1891

Source: A Season in Hell/The Drunken Boat

„I know that when the world
surrenders, pallid, to repose,
the murmur of a tranquil stream
through the deep silence flows.“

—  José Martí Poet, writer, Cuban nationalist leader 1853 - 1895

I (Yo soy un hombre sincero) as translated by Esther Allen in José Martí : Selected Writings (2002), p. 275
Simple Verses (1891)

„Maintaining silence about a dirty truth is another way of lying, a common practice in high places.“

—  Michael Parenti American academic 1933

2 MEDIA AND CULTURE, The Invisible Bloodbaths, p. 132
Dirty truths (1996), first edition

„Magic exists. Who can doubt it, when there are rainbows and wildflowers, the music of the wind and the silence of the stars? Anyone who has loved has been touched by magic. It is such a simple and such an extraordinary part of the lives we live.“

—  Nora Roberts American romance writer 1950

„Silence gives consent.“

—  Oliver Goldsmith Irish physician and writer 1728 - 1774

Act II.
The Good-Natured Man (1768)

„The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you strangle today.“

—  August Spies American upholsterer, radical labor activist, and newspaper editor 1855 - 1887

Cited in: Kenneth G. Alfers (1993) America's second century: readings in United States history since 1877. p. 43