Silence is one of the main virtues of a wise person. As a spiritual practice, silence has existed since ancient times, and in its most extreme form was the lot of hermits and monks.
Silence and Buddhism
Quotes about silence help to better understand the essence of this phenomenon. Ideally, it should not be just physical. Among Buddhist monks, the silence of the spirit is practiced first of all, the result of which is their physical laconicism. They are led to this state by long and intense spiritual practices. In Buddhism, it is believed that unnecessary conversations take away a large amount of internal energy from a person, which could go on self-development.
For example, here is what the sage of modernity Osho says about silence:
In the silence of an enlightened Buddha there is no noise and there is no absence of noise. Buddha is not silent because he is forcing himself to do this; his calm is not the fruit of any effort; he is silent simply because there is no need to say or do anything.
In the Buddhist worldview, silence is one of the main virtues. And it does not mean passivity or laziness. If there is no need for conversation, it is useful to refrain from unnecessary words, Osho teaches his followers.
Short Sayings
Everyone knows the famous quote: "Silence is gold." What other short sentences exist about the importance of silence?
Listen and be silent. (Lucian)
To be silent is a great talent. (F. M. Dostoevsky)
Silence does not shout. (Rinat Valiullin)
Silence is a wonderful flower. (Japanese proverb).
These brief phrases succinctly demonstrate the full value of silence. Lucian restrainedly hints at the value of silence for gaining experience and learning. Indeed, only if you are silenced and allowed to speak out differently, a person has a chance to hear other people's ideas, to feel their meaning.
Silence and the Russian classic F. M. Dostoevsky considers a considerable talent. R. Valiullin emphasizes that silence speaks more eloquently than any words. And a Japanese proverb, using a pictorial metaphor, compares silence with a beautiful flower.
Words by Baltasar Gracian
The quote about the silence of the Spanish prose writer Balthazar Gracian, who wrote:
Silence is an altar of caution.
A silent person will never speak out stupidly about an important secret or about something that his interlocutor simply should not have known. In addition, abstaining from verbiage is more attentive to the words of his interlocutor and to the phenomena of reality. That is why silence is the real “altar” or basic for cautious and prudent behavior.
Is silence always good?
But some quotes about silence show that it is not always a virtue. For example, here is what Francis Bacon said about this phenomenon:
Silence is the virtue of fools.
Not always humble silence in a conversation is an indicator of wisdom or modesty. Sometimes a person is silent because of fear or uncertainty about his righteousness, although in reality he should share his opinion. In this case, silence can hardly be considered a positive quality.
What can silence talk about?
Quotes about silence show that sometimes it can be very eloquent. For example, Cicero said this:
Their silence is a loud cry.
Behind external silence a true cry of the soul may lie. Recognizing it is not difficult. About the most important things for a person, he can not say a single word. Nevertheless, from this they will not become less significant for him.
Female silence
Quotes about the silence of women are of particular interest. Everyone knows the craving of the weaker sex for gossip and empty talk. What do the wise men say about women's silence?
The ancient Roman comedian Menander speaks on this subject as follows:
Not the beauty of every woman - gold, but the mind and silence.
For Menander, beauty does not consist in outward appeal, but above all in the ability to observe silence. Even with outstanding beauty, constantly chatting women can become a real punishment for others, especially for men. Therefore, in order to become attractive, the fair sex should understand the truth of Menander: beauty is created both through appearance and through the nobility of the soul, expressed in silence. A quote about the silence of Homer is also known, which has a similar meaning:
The woman is decorated with silence.
Many women would do well to listen to Homer's wise thought. Indeed, it is silence that is so desirable for men dealing with congenital talkers and gossips.
Role of silence
A conversation always breaks the silence - one of the most pleasant phenomena for the human ear. Quotes about silence and silence help to refrain from unnecessary conversations that could disrupt the harmony and peace of silence. For example, here is what a Chinese proverb says:
Do not say if this does not change the silence for the better.
Chinese wisdom teaches: before you say anything, you should think about the appropriateness of your words. If the silence does not improve after what has been said, it is better to refrain from them.
The following quote belongs to the Russian poet of the era of symbolism B. Pasternak:
The best I've heard is silence.
I agree with the poet and Paul Claudel - French poet and playwright:
More beautiful than music is only silence.
Phrases of philosophers
Statuses and quotes about silence help to better understand the meaning of this phenomenon, and the statements of ancient philosophers are especially useful in this regard. For example, Aristotle spoke of silence as follows:
For two years a person learns to speak, and then for the rest of his life - to remain silent.
Silence is a special art, which is not so easy to learn. This was noticed by Aristotle. Having overcome the temptation to say something extra, a person learns to control himself. And it’s not always possible to learn to be silent quickly - for many people it takes almost their entire lives, as the philosopher correctly noted.
A true thought was noticed by another sage of antiquity - Socrates:
If they answered you with silence, this does not mean that they did not answer you.
Sometimes silence can make much more sense than a stream of speech. And therefore, in each situation, it is necessary to understand what the silence of a person in response means, what words, desires, emotions and feelings really stand behind him.