Can anyone tell me who first said the famous quote:
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than speak and remove all doubt.”
The first thing I thought when asked was Lincoln. But, after trying to verify this by doing a google search I found many sites attributing this quote to varying people.
It is usually attributed to Lincoln but there are a couple sites that link it to someone named Silvan Engel. Here is a link where a guy has done some serious searching on the matter. From the Googling that I’ve done, it doesn’t seem that there is a known answer.
I’ve always heard that it was from Ben Franklin in the character of Poor Richard. However, if Google and others say the origin is obscure, they are probably right.
the Proverbs of Solomon 17:28 Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is counted wise: and he that shuts his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
This is where the quote originated, despite the intentions of those who would discredit the source. In fact, almost all the really good quotes and sayings we still use today originated in the scriptures. Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln were both students of the scriptures!
FUN FACT: Karma is the wrong way to describe the universal principle of “Sowing and Reaping.”
My money is on Odin, from the Hávamál…
The ignorant booby had best be silent
When he moves among other men,
No one will know what a nit-wit he is
Until he begins to talk;
No one knows less what a nit-wit he is
Than the man who talks too much.
Not sure why you opened an 8-year-old thread when you could have contributed to one from a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, engineer_comp_geek beat you to it.
Although it has a similar meaning, the bible quote lacks the humor of the “and remove all doubt” quote; whoever came up with the later version definitely added value.
Given that we have a much more recent thread on this, and this one is so old, I’m going to close this one to avoid confusion. See the link in post #12 for the current thread.