William Arthur Ward Quotes

… a word carries far--very far--deals destruction through time as the bullets go flying through space.

For one word a man is often deemed to be wise, and for one word he is often deemed to be foolish. We should be careful indeed what we say.

After man knows the truth, he cannot be too careful of his words.

You have a brake in your brain that stops you doing stupid things. The older you are, the earlier that brake comes on. When you're 20 you stop at nothing; when you're older you're cleverer than when you're 20, so your brain brake operates more often!

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

You'll regret opening your mouth. You'll rarely regret keeping it shut.

A word is worth one coin, silence is worth two

Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroyeth much good.

Hate smolders and eventually destroys, not the hated but the hater.

The bird alighteth not on the spread net when it beholds another bird in the snare. Take warning by the misfortunes of others, that others may not take example from you.

If you live in a glass house, don't be chucking stuff about.

The undisciplined man doesn't wrong himself alone- he sets fire to the whole world.

If you are going to live in a house made of candy, don't move next door to a couple of obese kids. A lot of these fairy-tale characters are missing common sense.

I'll tell you," said Beatty, smiling at his cards. "That made you for a little while a drunkard. Read a few lines and off you go over the cliff. Bang, you're ready to blow up the world, chop off heads, knock down women and children, destroy authority. I know. I've been through it all.

Beware what you speak,' said the Merlin very softly, 'for indeed the words we speak make shadows of what is to come, and by speaking them we bring them to pass, my king.

We can destroy what we have written, but we cannot unwrite it.

If you will fling yourself under the wheels, Juggernaut will go over you; depend upon it.

To hazard much to get much has more of avarice than wisdom.

Before you ask more questions, think about whether you really want to know the answers.

If you place your head in a lion's mouth, then you cannot complain one day if he happens to bite it off.

Almost certainly I will not tell her my intentions this evening or tonight. I will put it off. Why? Because words are actions and they make things happen. Once they are out you cannot put them back.

Always keep your words soft and sweet. You never know when you'll have to eat them. Always remember, as you go out to seek your fortune, your fame, your fulfillment, always remember that it's not who you know in this world, it's whom.

Responding to truth will keep you safe. Reacting to error will only create another error.

Play with me and you play with fire.

A person who is discreet in speaking will be useful during the good times and will avoid punishment during the bad.