The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-02-13
Golden silence.

speech is siIvern but silence is golden, I"
saith the proverb. Certainly a talent for
holding ones tongue deserves high rank
among negative virtues. Many a man passes
for wise simply by saying nothing, and those
who talk least make fewest enemies. True
sometimes We may repent our silence, but
such repentance is rare COMPARED 10 the fire.
quencv with which we array ourselves IN
mental saekcloth because of inca utious
speeches. To adopt the rule once given TO
a laxative girl by friend who knew the
world, Never speak of yourself, and never
say anything which is unnecessary" would
seem at first likely to make Carthusian
monKs ana nuns of US all; yet il is to be
questioned whether the advice were not wise.
There are always people who like to talk,
and good listeners are rare. 1t is said that
Macaulay once rode half day IN coach
with deaf mute, whom he afterwards pro-
nouDced person of remarkable sound po
htical views, and Madame de Stael on one
occasion was induced to harangue a wax
figure for an hour under the impression that
l. 1.-THE hgure) was gentleman who admired
her writings and expressed desire to be
come acquainted with the author These
stories may or may not be facts; certain it is
that both OF the great personages in question
were fond of hearing themselves talk, and
sufficiently egotistIcal not to notice whether
their remarks elected more than silent &C
quiescence on the part of others.
All savage nations place high value upon
silence, and conversation is beyond doubt
one of the arts of civilization. To know
what to say aud when 10 say it-this is the
sixth sense which shall steer its possessor
safely over hidden shoals and through break
ers, and win for him the harbor of popular
ity. Fluency and garrulity, these are as
different, as distinct, as the flowers we
cultivate with care and the We eds we uproot
in disgust from our flower borders; pity that
the one should ever be mistaken for the
other. Undoubtedly half of the mischief in
the world has been done by too much talk
ing Had Eve not stopped to parley with
the serpent, Paradise had never been 10 t;
and henceforth all through history idle
words have turned the fate of nations.
And a word once spoken can never DE unSaid;
alas for the times when we bewail ourselves
IN dust and ashes over the speeches we would
fsin never have spoken. Perhaps the eastern
despots, who cut out the tongues OF their
slaves, placed too high value upon silence
sS virtue for servants. Yet modern usage
demands that the we'll trained domestic shall
never speak unless first spoken to. "Good
children are seen but not heard" is saying,
passed into OBLIVION with the old fashioned
doctrine which required filial obedience; but
in the days when it was part of household
doctrine it must have added infinitely to the
comfort of the families in which it was so
observed In short, throughout all ages sages
have taught the. virtues of silence, and hun
dreds of wise sayings might be quoted in its
praise; but neither proverb nor precept can
have more weight than the words of Holy
Writ wherein il is said that, For every idle
word God shall call us into judgment"