“Who was it who said that a wise man speaks when he has something to say, but a fool speaks because he must?”

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.”

Plato (-427–-347 BC) Classical Greek philosopher

“Always have something to say. The man who has something to say and who is known never to speak unless he has, is sure to be listened to.”

Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American writer and lecturer

“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

“A wise man first thinks and then speaks and a fool speaks first and then thinks.”

Ali book Nahj al-Balagha

“Talking and eloquence are not the same: to speak, and to speak well, are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks…”

Ben Jonson (1572–1637) English writer

“Talking and eloquence are not the same: to speak and to speak well are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks.”

Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) German poet, journalist, essayist, and literary critic

“When a man says he does not want to speak of something he usually means he can think of nothing else.”

John Steinbeck book East of Eden

“Before a man speaks it is always safe to assume that he is a fool. After he speaks, it is seldom necessary to assume it.”

H.L. Mencken (1880–1956) American journalist and writer

“Man does not speak because he thinks; he thinks because he speaks. Or rather, speaking is no different than thinking: to speak is to think.”

Octavio Paz (1914–1998) Mexican writer laureated with the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature