The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-10-26
SILENCE OR SPEECH.

A London View of q Question Discuss
 ed By Many of Our Correspondents.
 The notion that the habit of silence is
 virtuous habit is passing away. It is
 part of the asectic ideal in which we no
 longer believe, and it is strange to recol-
 lect how assiduously this invented vir-
 tue was pressed upon the world by re-
 ligious men of all shades of opinion.
 Abstinence from talk was one of the
 abstinences which lay at the root of
 monasticism. That words might be many and yet wholesome seems to have
 been conception outside the imagina-
 ton of monks
 But the belief that silence Is to speech
 as gold Is to silver by no means melted
 away in England at the time of the
 dissolution of the monasteries. The early evangelicals regarded much si- lence as counsel of perfection, and
 Law In his Serious Call" relates how the worldly Flavia was always talk | ing" and relates it as one of the diffi- culties in the way of her extremely
 problematical salvation while with Miranda--the model MIranda--it was quite otherwise. Her conversation, we are told was alweys calculated to make any companion wiser "who should chance to be in company when she thought fit to speak"
 Not so very long ago children were directed to talk little, and this not only with the reasonable intention of giving their elders time to speak, but also to mi tHa intrinsic value of silence. Before they spoke they were told to ask themselves if what they were about to say was not only true and kind" but also if 1t was necessary" Outside religion many wits and moralists have upheld silence, or at least advised great re- serve and chariness of speech. La Rochsfoucauld sums up cha pter on conversation by a piece of general ad- vice to speak little, adding the perfect ly futile rider--"and nothing that we can ever regret" William Penn in his Fruits of Solitude recommends his readers to Speak little--and last" In this case the two last words rather take the moral flavor out of the sen tence Perhaps the old Quaker was thinking less of a virtuous habit than of a verbal victory, the more signal perhaps the smaller the expenditure of words.
 Montagne, on the other hand is a great advocate of talk ''The most nat ural and fruitful exercises of the mind In my opinion Is conversation" he de- clares, and T find the use of it more sweet than any other action in life" En etrnnply doaS hn hold his or)inion | that he professes himself more willing to lose his sight than his hearing. Con- versation is not however, an art which ! can in his eyes be legitimately praetis- i ed by all ''ill-bred people and fools," and all who are "so unhandsome as to l fight in play should be prohibited from I arguing.
 But if trucuent arguers destroy con- | versation, they are at least less depress | ing company than those who are what is called very reserved" Reserved peo- ! pie are usually wet blankets, and might 1 often be as well described as empty | people, only there is general belief | that emptiness always accompanies l and never solemnity. Occa- no doubt, silent men have much wisdom to which they could give utterance if they would, just as some cold manners are assumed to protect warm and sensitive hearts; | but such instances are uncommon. Men whose exterior entirely bellies their character are like rough diamonds speaking-very rare Those of whom it is really true to say that they are reserved-that they have