“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.”
1940s–present, A Mencken Chrestomathy (1949)
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H.L. Mencken281
American journalist and writer 1880–1956Related quotes
Aurelius Augustinus (354–430) early Christian theologian and philosopher
Source: On the Mystical Body of Christ, p.421
Alphonse Daudet book Tartarin of Tarascon
L'homme du Midi ne ment pas, il se trompe. Il ne dit pas toujours la vérité, mais il croit la dire.
Source: Tartarin de Tarascon (1872), P. 40; translation p. 17.
“The superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his action.”
Confucius (-551–-479 BC) Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher
“Distrust the man who smiles before he speaks.”
Alphonse Daudet Tartarin sur les Alpes
Méfie-toi de celui qui rit avant de parler!
Tartarin sur les Alpes (1885; repr. New York: H. Holt, 1917) p. 89; Katharine Prescott Wormeley (trans.) Tartarin of Tarascon. To Which is Added Tartarin on the Alps (Boston: Little, Brown, 1900) p. 241.
Octavio Paz (1914–1998) Mexican writer laureated with the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature
André Breton or the Quest of the Beginning
Alternating Current (1967)
Maimónides (1138–1204) rabbi, physician, philosopher
Source: Hilkhot De'ot (Laws Concerning Character Traits), Chapter 2, Section 4, p. 32
“Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart. ”
Matka Tereza (1910–1997) Roman Catholic saint of Albanian origin
Herbert Read (1893–1968) English anarchist, poet, and critic of literature and art
Form in Modern Poetry(1932)