
“The author must keep his mouth shut when his work starts to speak.”
“The author must keep his mouth shut when his work starts to speak.”
“It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.”
Cited as an example of "What Mark Twain Didn't Say" in Mark Twain by Geoffrey C. Ward, et al.
Misattributed
Variant: It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.
“Life is fraught with opportunities to keep your mouth shut.”
“If you only ever read one book in your life… I highly recommend you keep your mouth shut.”
Attention Scum! (2001), How To Live (2005)
“The first thing a psychologist learns is to keep her mouth shut around laymen.”
Source: …And All the Stars a Stage (1971; [serialized in 1960]), Chapter 13 (p. 180)