William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898) British Liberal politician and prime minister of the United Kingdom
Quotes about speaking page 10
“You ask me what forces me to speak? a strange thing; my conscience.”
Victor Hugo book Les Misérables
Source: Les Misérables
“Treat a work of art like a prince: let it speak to you first.”
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German philosopher
Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) American art collector and experimental writer of novels, poetry and plays
“Invent nothing, deny nothing, speak up, stand up, stay out of school.”
David Mamet (1947) American playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and film director
Source: True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor
“But let's not speak of what might have been. Let us speak instead of what is. You are whole.”
Kate DiCamillo book The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Source: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
“If I speak of myself in different ways, that is because I look at myself in different ways.”
Michel De Montaigne (1533–1592) (1533-1592) French-Occitan author, humanistic philosopher, statesman
Source: The Complete Essays
“I said to the almond tree: "Speak to me of God."
and the almond tree blossomed.”
Nikos Kazantzakis book Report to Greco
The Fratricides (1964)
Source: Report to Greco
“If you ever decide on a career change, I’d avoid motivational speaking.”
Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo
Source: Magic Breaks
“Think twice before you speak to a friend in need”
Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist
Source: The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary
“If I speak, I am condemned.
If I stay silent, I am damned!”
Victor Hugo book Les Misérables
Source: Les Misérables
George W. Bush (1946) 43rd President of the United States
2000s, 2009, Farewell speech to the nation (January 2009)
Context: As we address these challenges – and others we cannot foresee tonight – America must maintain our moral clarity. I have often spoken to you about good and evil. This has made some uncomfortable. But good and evil are present in this world, and between the two there can be no compromise. Murdering the innocent to advance an ideology is wrong every time, everywhere. Freeing people from oppression and despair is eternally right. This nation must continue to speak out for justice and truth. We must always be willing to act in their defense and to advance the cause of peace.
Bill Watterson (1958) American comic artist
There's Treasure Everywhere
“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”
Hans Hofmann (1880–1966) American artist
As quoted in Zen and the Art of Stand-up Comedy (1998) by Jay Sankey
1970s and later
“Both Averill and Bayar were like actors speaking lines for their audience and not to each other.”
Cinda Williams Chima (1952) Novelist
Source: The Gray Wolf Throne
“Scars speak more loudly than the sword that caused them.”
Paulo Coelho book Manuscript Found in Accra
Source: Manuscript Found in Accra
“Even across the dark, even across the loss, even across the emptiness, soul will speak to soul”
Catherine Fisher (1957) Welsh children's writer
Source: The Dark City
“Xander, don't speak Latin in front of the books.”
Joss Whedon (1964) American director, writer, and producer for television and film
“Me and normal have never really been on speaking terms.”
Rachel Caine (1962) American writer
Source: Ill Wind
“Biologically speaking, if something bites you, it is more likely to be female.”
Desmond Morris (1928) English zoologist, ethologist and surrealist painter
“No-one is exempt from speaking nonsense – the only misfortune is to do it solemnly.”
Michel De Montaigne (1533–1592) (1533-1592) French-Occitan author, humanistic philosopher, statesman
Kresley Cole American writer
Source: Dreams of a Dark Warrior
André Maurois (1885–1967) French writer
Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939), The Art of Friendship
“If I do not speak in a language that can be understood there is little chance for a dialogue.”
Bell Hooks (1952) American author, feminist, and social activist
Audre Lorde (1934–1992) writer and activist
essay "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action", in Sister Outsider
“When one woman doesn't speak, other women get hurt.”
Terry Tempest Williams (1955) American writer
Source: When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice
“This is how the girl who couldn't speak and the man who couldn't see fell in love.”
Margaret Atwood book The Blind Assassin
Source: The Blind Assassin
Jessica Bird (1969) U.S. novelist
Source: Lover at Last
“When one is silent, those around speak even more.”
Melina Marchetta Finnikin of the Rock
Source: Finnikin of the Rock
“I ought to go upright and vital, and speak the rude truth in all ways.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
Source: Self-Reliance
“You who speak languages, you are such liars.”
Orson Scott Card (1951) American science fiction novelist
“I think I speak for all of us when I say, "Huh?”
Frank Beddor book The Looking Glass Wars
Source: The Looking Glass Wars
“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.”
Emily Brontë (1818–1848) English novelist and poet
“There's no reason to speak. I have nothing to say.”
Julie Anne Peters (1952) American writer
Source: By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead
“He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.”
Confucius (-551–-479 BC) Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher
“Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.”
David Hume book A Treatise of Human Nature
Part 4, Section 7
Source: A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), Book 1: Of the understanding
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Tales of a Wayside Inn
Pt. III, The Theologian's Tale: Elizabeth, sec. IV.
Source: Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863-1874)
Umberto Eco (1932–2016) Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist
Source: Postscript to the Name of the Rose
“Animals can communicate quite well. And they do. And generally speaking, they are ignored”
Alice Walker (1944) American author and activist
Source: The Magicians
“My silences he mistook for a lack of wit rather than a lack of any need to speak.”
Robin Hobb book Assassin's Apprentice
Source: Assassin's Apprentice
“Only the person who is essentially capable of remaining silent is capable of speaking essentially.”
Sören Kierkegaard (1813–1855) Danish philosopher and theologian, founder of Existentialism
Michel De Montaigne (1533–1592) (1533-1592) French-Occitan author, humanistic philosopher, statesman
“It make one's mouth hurt to speak with such forced merriment.”
David Sedaris book Holidays on Ice
Source: Holidays on Ice
“Never separate the life you lead from the words you speak.”
Paul Wellstone (1944–2002) American politician
“One must not speak of such things. One is still scarred from that experience.”
Cecelia Ahern (1981) Irish novelist
Source: P.S. I Love You
