Francis de Sales Quotes

The wise man knows when to keep silent. Only the fool tells all he knows.

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

Fools give you reasons, wise men never try.

When Demaratus was asked whether he held his tongue because he was a fool or for want of words, he replied, "A fool cannot hold his tongue.

It is wise to be silent when occasion requires, and better than to speak, though never so well.

You know, I have found out in the course of a long public life that the things I did not say never hurt me.

Have you ever heard the phrase, it is better to keep your mouth closed and have people wonder if you are stupid than open it and remove all doubt? (Hakim al Harbi)

I suppose that people, using themselves and each other so much by words, are at least consistent in attributing wisdom to a still tongue.

Be wise among the wise, but pretend to be dull among fools.

Wise is the man who says what needs to be said, but not all that could be said.

Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or all he sees.

It is well for one to know more than he says.

Be sure your wisest words are those you do not say.

He lacks the common wisdom to keep still that deadly enemy of a man, his own tongue.

To be silent is sometimes an art, yet not so great a one as certain people would have us believe, who are wisest they are most silent.

Tis better to sit there and look the fool, than to open your mouth and prove it.

Everyone breathes in air, but it's a wise person who knows when to use that air to speak and when to exhale in silence.

It is but a small merit to observe silence, but it is a grave fault to speak of matters on which we should be silent.

Silence is the best answer to a fool.

A fool cannot hold his tongue.

Knowing when to keep your mouth shut is invariably more important than opening it at the right time.

Remember what Simonides said, that he never repented that he had held his tongue, but often that he had spoken.

Knowing when to say something and when not to say something is important.