The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1876-01-06
The POWER VI Silence.

however Ol human COlNUil IllIItT tIIIl
Of natural laws that we are thinking
when we speak Of the power of silence.
The power Of speech in it, various forms
whether Of conversation, Of argument,
Of oratory, or, in Il wider sense OF the
word, of written communication, IL IN
deed Obvious cnough-so obvious, that
without it, human life would come to a
staudstill altogether.
Language, rs it is constantly observed,
distinguishes the rational from the brute
creation. But, ON the other hand, the
ingenious sarcasm Of II great master OF
diplomacy, who suggested that the Prlh-
cipaI use Of language Is to conceal our
Thoughts, has a basi. Of fact to rest upon
At all events it il very often used Tor
That purpose, and in such cases the IAN
wIigc Of silence, wherever it If ayaIla-
bic, for Il ~tclI-taIc silence, according to
the familiar prOycrb, may he the sureSt
means Of revealing not conceaIlng
thought. 1t is not every one who
knows how "to be silent in seven Ian
guagcs;' to speak seven languages with
ease. if not Il common, is perhaps a less
rare accomplishment, But the capacity,
where it exists, is Il real source OF
strength, and solomon intimates that to
be- wholly destitute Of it il the mark OF II
fool, who "uttcrcth all his mind.'
4 very simple illustration may serve
to bring out our meaning here. One OF
the commOncst objections to the whole
class of alleged phenomena which are
~yuIgarly Jumped together under the com
]prchcnsiyc namc Of ghost stories IS That
they are almost always reported second
hand. The fact is admitted and nc
counted for in several cases in a work on
alleged supernatural appearances re-
viewed in our columns not long ago,
Now the objection Of course has it4
weight, U1icut qu1Hfum; but it is not
conclusive, for the simple rcS5on that "a
man of understanding, to use NoIomoh's
phrase, if he believes himself to have
witnessed any such prctcrnatural occur
renee, is not likely to be communicative
On the subject. However strong may be
his own conviction Of its reality, he will
have a keen sense Of the ridiCulc to
which an open ayowaI may expose him
self and perhaps his family also; while
hc will DE 50 far from sharing the fat
boys cagcrncss "to make YER flesh creep"
that in proportion to the depth Of his
own conviction will be his mnwillingncSs
to expose to vulgar criticism, what to
himself has II character Of sacredness.
Every one has heard Of Col. Gardeners
visions, and there can be no sort Of doubt
as to his own belief in them. But when
a rough military friend Of his, on first
the account in print after his
remarked that it must be II pure
invention, because Col. Gardiner had
never told him a word about the matter,
one feels at once that the objection is alb
surl, whatever may be thought about
the visions. Thus again it is related of
IIallam and the poet Rogers, that in
early life they were greatly impressed
with some mcsmcric experiments they
had witnessed in Paris, and on their first
return to London began talking freely on
the subject but when they found their
revelations received with Il chorus of i'll
discriminate ridiculc, they agreed never
again to speak of the subject in general
society.
In such instances, and many more that
might he mentioned silence is chiefly
| used rs n protective power, and that is
no doubt its most obvious, though by no
means its only use. Our readers may be
aware that in former days the Fellows of
Trinity college, Dublin, were forbidden
by statute to marry hut the violation
of the rule, which in fact they seldom
observed, was cOnnivcd at 50 long as they
maintained Il strict rcticcnCc ON their
connubial arrangements, and their wives
bore their maiden name in public. One
OF these welded ccIibatcs was asked by
a friend, who had been much pcrplexcd
ON discovering the state of the case, how
he managed to hold his fellowship? "Nly
dear, sir" was the reply, "a mar can
hold anything who can hold his tongue"
1t follows, of course, that n III who
wear his heart on his sleeve will let
everything slip through his fingers.
This gift of silence is characteristic of
the "canny" Scot. A ScOtchman will
never "tcll a lee" but he will make it
next to impossible for you to discover
what he wishes to conceal. The surgical
operation which is said to be requisite
for getting Il Joke into him is equally re-
quired for getting ont of him when he
| prefers, us he very frequently docs prefer,
to keep his W counsel. He is an adept
ut beating about the bush, which is
another way of saying that he knows
how to hold his tongue.
But silence is not merely a protective
power. II it oftcnscrvcs to conceal what
there might be- an indiscrction in betray-
ing, it may also prove a positive means
of influence. The Greeks thought it 80
difficult to speak good omened words
that they used the phrase rs equivalent
to what the Romans moredirectly termed
Il Sacred silence" And, great as is the
repute which their philosophers, orators
aud poets have won 10y their writing, it
is difficult To determine how much of the
still grander reputation of Socrates is due
to his having written nothing. In one
sense certainly he wa the reverse of 81
lent, but he did not commit his thoughts
to paper, and he has been credited-wc
do not say undeservedly-with more
than the highest wisdom Of those who
undertook TO report his u%tterances while
their weaknesses are attributed to them
selves.
How much, again, of influence and
reputation in ordinary life is due to a iu-
dicious silence. We have all heard OF
Lord Thurlop's awful nod, but there are
other professions than the law where a
sententious silence has proved a secret of
.g.r H. IL -