George R. R. Martin Quotes

Don't sit as if you have nothing to say. You should be bursting with things to say. You just choose at this particular place and time, not to say them.

A closed mouth catches no flies.

When you have nothing to say, say nothing.

Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.

It's very important in life to know when to shut up. You should not be afraid of silence.

You can't know too much, but you can say too much.

Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.

There is a better thing than the great man who is always speaking, and that is the great man who only speaks when he has a great word to say.

Say what you have to say and the first time you come to a sentence with a grammatical ending - sit down.

All we have to do is listen. The Good Lord gave us two ears and only one mouth, my dear white-headed mother used to say.

He that speakes sowes, and he that holds his peace, gathers.

Silence is not always a sign of wisdom, but babbling is ever a mark of folly.

My great grandfather used to say to his wife, my great-grandmother, who in turn told her daughter, my grandmother, who repeated it to her daughter, my mother, who used to remind her daughter, my own sister, that to talk well and eloquently was a very great art, but that an equally great one was to know the right moment to stop.

Whereas, according to the declaration of that true man of the world Talleyrand, the use of language is to conceal the thoughts; this is to declare in the present instance, when I say I am not able to bear much talking, it means really, and without any mistake, or equivocation, or oblique meaning, or implication, or subterfuge, or omission, that I am not able; being at present rather weak in the head, and able to work no more.

Speak and speed: the close mouth catches no flies.

Say it before you run out of time. Say it before it's too late. Say what you're feeling. Waiting is a mistake.

A sparing tongue is the greatest treasure among men.

No one can take less pains than to hold his tongue. Hear much, and speak little; for the tongue is the instrument of the greatest good and greatest evil that is done in the world.

A truth is to be known always, to be uttered sometimes.

The wise duck keeps his mouth shut when he smells frogs.

I have often repented of speech but hardly ever of silence.

Knowing when to speak up and when to shut up will get you very far not only in business, but in life.

Let thy words be few when in the midst of many.

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

Washington once advised his adopted grandson that where there is no occasion for expressing an opinion, it is best to be silent. For there is nothing more certain than that it is at all times more easy to make enemies than friends.