
“If what one has to say is not better than silence, then one should keep silent.”
The Registrar
All the Names (1997)
“If what one has to say is not better than silence, then one should keep silent.”
The trial of Charles B. Reynolds for blasphemy (1887)
Context: There is a constitution higher than any statute. There is a law higher than any constitution. It is the law of the human conscience, and no man who is a man will defile and pollute his conscience at the bidding of any legislature. Above all things, one should maintain his self-respect, and there is but one way to do that, and that is to live in accordance with your highest ideal.
1 Cababe & Ellis' Q. B. D. Rep. 134.
Reg. v. Ramsey (1883)
You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence, But You Can't Make Him Think (2009)
Source: La Nouvelle Vague
The Loyalty of Free Men (1951) http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/quote-b.htm.
Source: The Memory Keeper's Daughter