A huge part of rhetoric is knowing when to speak ~ a well-placed silence can say volumes.
"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... we need silence to be able to touch souls." ~ Mother Teresa
"There are times when silence has the loudest voice."
~ Leroy Brownlow
~ Leroy Brownlow
"Do not speak unless you can improve the silence."
"Silences make the real conversations between friends. Not the saying but the never needing to say is what counts."
~ Margaret Lee Runbeck
~ Margaret Lee Runbeck
"Saying nothing... sometimes says the most." ~ Emily Dickinson
"We must have reasons for speech but we need none for silence."
"Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute." ~ Josh Billings
"Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content."
~ Helen Keller
~ Helen Keller
"The world would be happier if men had the same capacity to be silent that they have to speak." ~ Baruch Spinoza
You might like to listen to the Simon and Garfunkel song "The Sound of Silence." It's one of those that takes a while to "get," and I don't completely "get it" myself. But it's a thought provoking look at the idea of silence. =) Nice post.
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