Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness.

Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.

Be wiser than other people if you can; but do not tell them so.

When you have nothing to say, say nothing.

You don't have to explain something you never said.

One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to 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.

When an idea is wanting a word can always be found to take its place.

If you do not wish a thing heard, do not say it.

The thoughtless are rarely wordless.

They talk most who have the least to say.

I have often regretted my speech, but never my silence.

Silence is better than unmeaning words.

If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in mind, give it more thought.

It often shows a fine command of a language to say nothing.

Think much, Speak little, Write less.

Listening gives wisdom. Speaking gives repentance.

Wise people think all they say; fools say all they think.

Always try to stop talking before people stop listening.

It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it.

"Wisdom is divided into two parts: (a) having a great deal to say, and (b) not saying it."

There is no satisfactory substitute for brains, but in some cases silence does pretty well.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Silence Can Be Lethal - Dr. Dan Reiland ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: As a parent of young children, I can appreciate the phrase "silence is golden." But silence can sometimes be harmful in the church - whenever it's caused by fear, apathy or insecurity. Sometimes your people need to be taught to "speak up" for Kingdom causes. Teach them the following lesson paired with Scripture from Ephesians (4:3-6,15,32) or I John (4:18), and you're likely to see (and hear) great results! 1. Silence . . . Causes Misrepresentation. Early in my ministry, I thought the loving thing to do was simply listen. But one day, I met with a negative person who complained about everything they thought was wrong in the church. As usual, I listened. But a few days later I was being quoted as if I were in total agreement with them, even though I'd agreed with nothing they'd said. Yikes! That's when I learned that silence can convey agreement. Compassion and empathy are wonderful virtues, but they do little good if you let harmful statements go without a response. We must all speak up in defense of our church, pastor and ministries. Even if we don't agree with everything that's done, we can still present a unified front. 2. Silence . . . Withholds Forgiveness. We're taught to forgive by the Scripture and Jesus' modeling. But our humanity and pride often keep us from communicating our forgiveness to others. Here's the point: You may have forgiven someone in your heart, but unless you tell them, it's almost as if you never forgave them at all. Healing and wholeness in the Body of Christ depend on sharing aloud the forgiving grace of Jesus Christ. 3. Silence . . . Weakens Leadership. Over the years, I've associated with many people who have leadership instincts and Godly wisdom, yet rarely speak up about anything. Maybe they're in a board or committee meeting, listening to the discussion and thinking great thoughts, but they don't verbalize them. When this happens, not only does the church miss out on needed wisdom, but that person forfeits leadership. Leaders speak up. If you don't, you'll have a hard time making an impact. 4. Silence . . . Promotes Division. The Body of Christ is affirmed when you speak words of unity, support, and mutual conviction. Silence leaves people wondering where you stand - whether on family values, your support of the new pastor, or your commitment to the building program. Unfortunately, in the local church, negative people tend to speak louder than positive people and end up forming a negative "majority." All it would take is one positive person to lead the way, and others would quickly add their support. Speak up - your input can help conquer division and promote unity in your church. Don't stand silent when your input can make a positive impact. If you make a habit of speaking up in love, you'll be more precious than gold to your church.

For no particularly good reason, Brett Banfe decided to stop speaking for a year. In addition to raising some money for charity, perhaps his feat proves an important point: you can do whatever you decide to do. The Miami Herald Story: http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/national/digdocs/098688.htm

Men are like fish. They both get in trouble when they open their mouth.

No one has a finer command of language than the person who keeps his mouth shut.

All speech that moves men was minted when some man’s mind was poised and still.

Frogs croak day and night, yet people loath them. But when the cock crows only once, everything under the sky comes into motion. It is important to speak at the proper time, and that is all.

Silence is the measure of the power to act; that is, a person never has more power to act than he has silence. Anyone can understand that to do something is far greater than to talk about doing it. If, therefore, a person has a plan or idea and is fully resolved to carry it out, he does not need to talk about it. What he talks about in connection with the proposed action is what he is most unsure of and most unwilling to do.

At a White House party, a woman approached Calvin Coolidge, famed for his silence, and said "Mr. President, I made a bet I can get more than three words out of you." He replied: "You lose."

Q: Problems are more complex, but we also have more "knowledge workers" for dealing with them. Management philosopher Peter Drucker says that knowledge workers can't be supervised. Do you agree? A: Back in 1973, the third Skylab crew had a tight schedule of experiments to run. NASA kept leaning on them to take on more experiments. The crew got more behind, more overloaded, so it turned off the microphone for 24 hours and spent some time reading and looking out the window. This says something about how companies blend control and autonomy. People are better able to get complex assignments done when given more discretion within a framework of common values.