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Sirach 20. Hidden wisdom and an unseen treasure, what profit is in them both?

Solomon 18. A silent man calms contradiction; and he who loves his life, spares his mouth.

Of Basil. We ought to know what we must say, and what we must keep silent. For not all things of God can be spoken by the tongue, lest the mind, like an eye wishing to gaze upon the whole sun, should lose even the light it has.

Of the Theologian. Speak, if you have something better than silence; but love quiet, where it is better to be silent than to speak.

(845) Say something better than silence, or keep silent.

Of Chrysostom. Many men, when they say something secret, beg the listener and adjure him to tell no one else; thereby showing that they did something worthy of condemnation. For if you beg him to tell no one else, it was much more necessary that you should not have told him these things in the first place.

From the Elders. Love silence more than speaking; for silence gathers treasure, but speaking scatters it.

Before all commandments God chose quietness; for it is written, On whom shall I look, but on him who is humble and quiet?

He who wishes to be saved, let him pursue poverty and silence.

Of Apollonius. It is necessary to take great care not to say what one should not. For it is the mark of someone completely uneducated not to be able to be silent, but to blurt out things that are not proper.

A wise man even in silence honors God, knowing also why he is silent.

Of Plutarch. Whatever you wish to be kept in silence, tell to no one; or how do you demand from someone the faithfulness of silence, which you have not provided for yourself?

To be silent is not only thirst-quenching, as Hippocrates says, but also free from grief and painless.

Of Zeno. When some strangers present at a symposium, paying their respects to Zeno and drinking a toast to him, asked him as he was keeping quiet, "What should we say about you, O Zeno, to the king?" and he said, "Nothing else, but that there is an old man in Athens who is able to keep silent over his drink."

Of Anacharsis. He, having been entertained by Solon, was seen while sleeping holding his left hand on his genitals, and his right hand on his mouth. For he thought the tongue required a stronger bridle.

(848) Of Aristotle. He who does not know how to be silent, does not know how to speak.

The same, when asked, "What is most difficult in life," said, "To be silent about things one must not speak."

When asked, "For what reason, while teaching others to speak, are you yourself silent?" he said, "For the whetstone itself does not cut, but it makes swords sharp."

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Σιράχ κ΄ . Σοφία κεκρυμμένη καί θησαυρός ἀφανής, τίς ὠφέλεια ἐν ἀμφοτέροις;

Σολομ. ιη´. Ἀντιλογίαν πραΰνει σιγηρός· ἀγαπῶν δέ ζωήν αὐτοῦ, φείδεται στόματος αὐτοῦ.

Βασιλείου. Εἰδέναι, ὀφείλομεν ἅ χρή λαλεῖν, καί ἅ χρή σιωπᾶν. Οὐ γάρ πάντα ῥητά τῇ γλώσσῃ τά τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα μή ὁ νοῦς καθάπερ ὀφθαλμός ὅλον τόν ἥλιον θέλων ἀποβλέπειν, ἀπολέσῃ καί ὅ ἔχει φῶς.

Θεολόγου. Φθέγγου μέν, εἴ τι κρεῖττον σιωπῆς ἔχεις· ἀγάπα δέ ἡσυχίαν, ἔνθα κρεῖττον λόγου σιωπᾷν.

(845) Λέγε σιγῆς τι κρεῖσσον, ἤ σιγήν ἔχε.

Χρυσοστ. Οἱ πολλοί τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐπειδάν εἴπωσί τι τῶν ἀποῤῥήτων, παρακαλοῦσι τόν ἀκούοντα καί ὁρκοῦσι μηδενί λοιπόν εἰπεῖν ἑτέρῳ· αὐτόθεν δηλοῦντες, ὅτι πρᾶγμα ἄξιον κατηγορίας ἐποίησαν. Εἰ γάρ ἐκεῖνον μηδενί εἰπεῖν ἑτέρῳ παρακαλεῖς, πολλῷ μᾶλλον σέ πρότερον τούτῳ ταῦτα εἰπεῖν οὐκ ἐχρῆν.

Ἐκ τῶν Γερόντων. Ἀγάπα τό σιγᾷν ὑπέρ τό λαλεῖν· ἡ σιωπή γάρ θησαυρίζει· τό δέ λαλεῖν διασκορπίζει.

Πρό πασῶν τῶν ἐντολῶν τήν ἡσυχίαν ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός· γέγραπται γάρ, Ἐπί τίνα ἐπιβλέψω, ἀλλ᾿ ἤ ἐπί τόν ταπεινόν καί ἡσύχιον;

Ὁ θέλων σωθῆναι, διωξάτω τήν ἀκτημοσύνην καί τήν σιωπήν.

Ἀπολλων. Πολλήν ἐπιμέλειαν ποιεῖσθαι χρή, περί τοῦ μή λέγειν ἅ μή δεῖ. Παντελῶς γάρ ἀπαιδεύτου τινός ἐστι τό μή δύνασθαι σιωπᾷν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκλαλεῖν τά μή καλῶς ἔχοντα.

Σοφός ἀνήρ καί σιγῶν τόν Θεόν τιμᾷ, εἰδώς καί διατί σιγᾷ.

Πλουτάρχ. Ἅπερ ἄν σιωπᾶσθαι βούλει, μηδενί εἴπῃς· ἤ πῶς παρά τινος ἀπαιτεῖς τό πιστόν τῆς σιωπῆς, ὅ μή παρέσχρς σεαυτῷ;

Τό σιωπᾷν οὐ μόνον ἄδιψον, ὥς φησιν Ἱπποκράτης, ἀλλά καί ἄλυπον καί ἀνώδυνον.

Ζήνων. Ὅτε ξένοι τινές ἐν συμποσίῳ παρόντες φιλοφρονούμενοι Ζήνωνα, προπιόντες αὐτῷ, ἤροντο ἡσυχίαν ἄγοντα, Περί σοῦ δέ τί χρή λέγειν, ὦ Ζήνων, τῷ βασιλεῖ; κἀκεῖνος ἔφη, Ἄλλο μηδέν, ἤ ὅτι πρεσβύτης ἐστίν ἐν Ἀθήναις παρά πότον σιωπᾷν δυνάμενος.

Ἀνάχαρσις. Οὗτος ἑστιαθείς παρά Σόλωνι, καί κοιμώμενος ὤφθη, τήν μέν ἀριστεράν χεῖρα τοῖς μορίοις, τήν δέ δεξιάν τῷ στόματι προσκειμένην ἔχων. Ἐγκρατεστέρου γάρ ᾤετο χαλινοῦ δεῖσθαι τήν γλῶτταν.

(848) Ἀριστοτέλ. Ὁ μή εἰδώς σιωπᾶν, οὐκ οἶδε διαλέγεσθαι.

Ὁ αὐτός ἐρωτηθείς, Τί δυσκολώτατόν ἐστιν ἐν τῷ βίῳ, εἶπε, Τῷ σιωπᾷν ἅ μή δεῖ λαλεῖν.

Ἐρωτηθείς, ∆ιά ποίαν αἰτίαν τούς ἄλλους διδάσκων λέγειν, αὐτός σιωπᾷς; ἔφη, Καί γάρ ἡ ἀκόνη αὐτή μέν οὐ τέμνει, τά δέ ξίφη ὀξέα ποιεῖ.