“Speak softly, but carry a big can of paint.”
Banksy pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, and painter
Source: Wall and Piece
Source: President Biden says on new aid to Ukraine, putting a twist on Roosevelt's phrase.
“Speak softly, but carry a big can of paint.”
Banksy pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, and painter
Source: Wall and Piece
“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, 26th president of the United States
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, 26th president of the United States
Ch. XV : The Peace of Righteousness http://books.google.com/books?id=Io4fAAAAIAAJ&q=%22The+only+safe+rule+is+to+promise+little+and+faithfully+to+keep+every+promise+to+speak+softly+and+carry+a+big+stick%22&pg=PA537#v=onepage <br class="br">1910s, Theodore Roosevelt — An Autobiography (1913)
Susan Cain (1968) self-help writer
"Susan Cain: Quiet revolutionary" speaker profile at TED.com, February 2012 (est.)
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, 26th president of the United States
1900s, The Strenuous Life: Essays and Addresses (1900), National Duties
Context: Right here let me make as vigorous a plea as I know how in favor of saying nothing that we do not mean, and of acting without hesitation up to whatever we say. A good many of you are probably acquainted with the old proverb: "Speak softly and carry a big stick—you will go far." If a man continually blusters, if he lacks civility, a big stick will not save him from trouble; and neither will speaking softly avail, if back of the softness there does not lie strength, power.
“Speak softly and employ a huge man with a crowbar.”
Terry Pratchett book Going Postal
Source: Going Postal
“Speak more softly to be better heard by a deaf public.”
Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) French moralist and essayist
“the voice of beauty speaks softly; it creeps only into the most fully awakened souls”
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German philosopher, poet, composer, cultural critic, and classical philologist
Terry Tempest Williams (1955) American writer
Source: When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice