Think much, speak little, and write less.
Meaning: Excessive speech and writing scatter thought; silence preserves wisdom's clarity and power.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and Italian
- French: Pense moult, parle peu, écris moins (literally: Think much, say little, write less)
- Spanish: El silencio es oro (literally: Silence is gold)
- Japanese: 雄弁は銀、沈黙は金 (Yūben wa gin, chinmoku wa kin) (literally: Eloquence is silver, silence is gold)
- Italian: Pensa molto, parla poco, e scrivi meno (literally: Think much, speak little, and write less)
More proverbs about Communication
- Thrifty men are fond of thrifty sayings. — Those already practicing frugality naturally gravitate toward advice reinforcing their es…
- Thunder in December foretells fine weather. — Winter storms pass quickly, leaving clear skies; turbulence doesn't persist into lasting…
- A man may hold his tongue in an ill time. — Silence during conflict or crisis preserves safety and dignity better than speaking in an…
- Confine your tongue, lest it confine you. — Careless speech invites consequences that restrict your freedom far more than silence eve…
- Keep your tongue within your teeth. — Silence prevents harm; unspoken words cannot wound or betray you.
- The tongue's not steel, yet it cuts. — Words inflict wounds as deep as any blade, leaving scars that heal far more slowly.
From our untranslatable words
- Magari — One word doing the work of 'if only', 'I wish', 'perhaps' and 'you bet' — the tone decide…
- Sprezzatura — The art of making something difficult look wholly effortless, hiding every trace of the w…
- Dietrologia — The conviction that the official account is never the real one — that some hidden motive…