Word: silents
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...influence exerted upon society by the silent man is irresistible; his very silence is a proof of wisdom. But let him break through his reserve, and his doom is sealed; henceforth he has lost his dignified-exaltation, and become one of the mobile vulgus. There is deeply implanted in the human heart a feeling that to speak, to write, is a sign of weakness, of lack of self-reliance. It shows that one's own approbation is not sufficient unless that of others be superadded. And there is a dim belief that the speaker, as Socrates says, is moved...
...silent man is supposed to live out his beautiful thoughts, to carry his poetry into his daily life, and make that, what others make their speeches and writings, ideally noble and beautiful. The outflow cannot exceed the supply; and if there is only so much of good in each man, if this runs away in the form of fine words, there is none left for home consumption, and vice versa. Indeed, the surest way to gain the respect and esteem of the world, and to keep it, is to say nothing, to express our wisdom, like...
...silent mountains, purple-robed, like kings...