Christoph Martin Wieland Quotes

When you have nothing to say, say nothing.

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.

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

One of the most beneficial things I've ever learned is how to keep my mouth shut.

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.

If it requires great tact to speak to the purpose, it requires no less to know when to be silent.

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

Nothing is often a good thing to do and always a good thing to say.

If you have nothing to say, say nothing.

It's not so much knowing when to speak, when to pause.

There is a time to speak and a time to listen, and sometimes people need to shut up.

We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.

Silence and tact may or may not be the same thing.

Men are born with two eyes, but with one tongue, in order that they should see twice as much as they say.

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

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

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

I often regret that I have spoken; never that I have been silent.

There is a time to be quiet and a time to talk.

It illustrates vividly my incapacity of knowing when to be silent and when to speak.

If you're not sure of what to say, don't say anything.

Speak only if it improves upon the silence.

He knows not when to be silent who knows not when to speak.

Half of seeming clever is keeping your mouth shut at the right times.