“Silence has many advantages. When you do not speak, other people presume you to be deaf or feeble-minded and promptly make a show of their own limitations.”
Source: The Poisonwood Bible
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Barbara Kingsolver 119
American author, poet and essayist 1955Related quotes

“I do not speak the minds of others except to speak my own mind better.”
Je ne dis les autres, sinon pour d'autant plus me dire.
Book I, Ch. 26
Essais (1595), Book I
Variant: I quote others only in order the better to express myself.

1970s, Second Inaugural Address (1973)

165
Silence Speaks, from the chalkboard of Baba Hari Dass, 1977

“In silence and movement you can show the reflection of people.”
US News & World Report (23 February 1987)

Statements on his official plane traveling from Sri Lanka to the Philippines, reported in "Pope Francis: 'You cannot make fun of the faith of others (15 January 2015) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSV-GD9gA-U
2010s, 2015
Context: Not only does each person have the freedom and the right to say what they think for the common good, they have a duty to do so. Because while it is true that is wrong to react with violence, If my good friend Mr Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch in the nose. … It's normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others. … There are so many people who speak badly about religions or other religions, who make fun of them, who make a game out of the religions of others. They are provocateurs. And what happens to them is what would happen to Mr Gasparri if he says a curse word against my mother. There is a limit. … One cannot make war… kill in the name of one’s own religion, that is, in the name of God.