A little humor and a little wisdom
A little humor and a little wisdom from Sir William Osler.
Look wise, say nothing, and grunt. Speech was given to conceal thought.
Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day’s work absorb your entire energies, and satisfy your widest ambition.
Those two quotes sum up my daily outlook better than anything I’ve written. My wife says that I believe in a lifetime quota of words, and I’m afraid of running out. Next time she suggests this, I’ll bring up Sir Osler.
I’m also fond of ‘Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt. - Abraham Lincoln, but I think Sir Olser is my new favorite.
Update: Jan had several great additions to these quotes in the comments. I particularly liked: “Under all speech that is good for anything there lies a silence that is better. Silence is deep as Eternity; speech is shallow as Time.” - Thomas Carlyle
Trackposted to Pirate’s Cove, Leaning Straight Up, Faultline USA, Conservative Cat, stikNstein… has no mercy, Adam’s Blog, Conservative Thoughts, Right Voices, and Pursuing Holiness, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Just a couple of my favorites:
“Silence is the virtue of fools” Sir Francis Bacon
“For six years profound silence was mistaken for profound wisdom.” Albert W. Barkley
“Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.” Josh Billings
“Under all speech that is good for anything there lies a silence that is better. Silence is deep as Eternity; speech is shallow as Time.” Thomas Carlyle
Comment by jan — March 6, 2007 @ 11:30 pm
Found another that you might like:
“Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact.” George Eliot
Comment by jan — March 10, 2007 @ 12:57 pm
Beautiful!
Comment by HDW — March 10, 2007 @ 4:21 pm