742 SPEECH SPEECH
Blessed is the man who having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact.
George Eliot—Impressions of Theophrastus Such. Ch. IV. P. 97.
Speech is but broken light upon the depth
Of the unspoken.
George Eliot—The Spanish Gypsy. Bk. I.
3
O that grave speech would cumber our quick
souls,
Like bells that waste the moments with their
loudness.
George Eliot—The Spanish Gypsy. Bk. III.
Speech is better than silence; silence is better
than speech.
Emerson—Essay on Nominalist and Realist.
When Harel wished to put a joke or witticism
into circulation, he was in the habit of connecting it with some celebrated name, on the chance
of reclaiming it if it took. Thus he assigned to
Talleyrand, in the "Nain Jaune," the phrase,
"Speech was given to man to disguise his
thoughts."
Fodrnier—L'Esprit dans VIIisloire.
| seealso = (See also Voltaire)
| topic = Speech
| page = 742
}}
{{Hoyt quote
| num =
| text = <poem>Mir wird von alledem so dumm,
Als ging 'mir ein Miihlrad im Kopf herum.
I feel as stupid, from all you've said
As if a mill-wheel whirled in my head.
Goethe—Faust. Act I. Schulerszene.
Du sprichst ein grosses Wort gelassen aus.
Thou speakest a word of great moment
calmly.
Goethe—Iphigenia auf Tauris. I. 3. 88. 1.
The true use of speech is not so much to express our wants as to conceal them.
| author = Goldsmith
| work = The Bee. No. 3.
| seealso = (See also Voltaire)
| topic = Speech
| page = 742
}}
{{Hoyt quote
| num =
| text = <poem>All the heart was full of feeling: love had ripened
into speech,
Like the sap that turns to nectar, in the velvet
of the peach.
Wm. Wallace Harney—Adonais.
Raow when to speake; for many times it brings
Danger to give the best advice to kings.
| author = Herrick
| work = Hesperides. Caution in Councell.
.
In man speaks Cod.
Hesiod—Works and Days.
These authors do not avail themselves of the
invention of letters for the purpose of conveying,
but of concealing their ideas.
Lord Holland—Life of Lope de Vega.
| seealso = (See also Voltaire)
| topic = Speech
| page = 742
}}
{{Hoyt quote
| num =
| text = <poem>I love to hear thine earnest voice,
Wherever thou art hid. * *
Thou say'st an undisputed thing
In such a solemn way.
Holmes—To an Insect.
The flowering moments of the mind
Drop half their petals in our speech.
Holmes—To My Readers. St. 11.
| author =
| work =
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| note =
| topic = Speech
| page = 742
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{{Hoyt quote
| num = 15
| text = His speech flowed from his tongue sweeter
than honey. *
Homer—Iliad. Bk. I. 124.
He spake, and into every heart his words
Carried new strength and courage.
Homer—Iliad. Bk. V. L. 586.
| note = Bryant's trans.
He, from whose lips divine persuasion flows.
Homer—Iliad. Bk. VII. L. 143
| note = Pope's trans.
For that man is detested by me as the gates of
hell, whose outward words conceal his inmost
thoughts.
Homer—Iliad. IX. 312.
| seealso = (See also Voltaire)
| topic = Speech
| page = 742
}}
{{Hoyt quote
| num =
| text = <poem>Persuasive speech, and more persuasive sighs,
Silence that spoke, and eloquence of eyes.
Homer—Iliad. Bk. XIV. L. 251
| note = Pope's trans.
And endless are the modes of speech, and far
Extends from side to side the field of words.
Homer—Iliad. Bk. XX. L. 315.
| note = Bryant's trans.
Brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio.
In laboring to be concise, I become obscure.
Horace—Ars Poetica. XXV.
I am a man of unclean lips.
Isaiah. VI. 5.
That fellow would vulgarize the day of judgment.
Douglas Jerrold—A Comic Author.
Speak gently! 'tis a little thing
Dropp'd in the heart's deep well:
The good, the joy, that it may bring
Eternity shall tell.
G. W. Langford—Speak Gently.
It is never so difficult to speak as when we
are ashamed of our silence.
La Rochefoucauld—Maxims. . No. 178.
L'alle^orie habite un palais diaphane.
Allegory dwells in a transparent palace.
Lemierre—Peinture. III.
Speech was made to open man to man, and
not to hide him; to promote commerce, and not
betray it.
David Lloyd—State Worthies. Vol.1. P. 503.
Whttworth's Ed. (1665)
| seealso = (See also Voltaire)
| topic = Speech
| page = 742
}}
{{Hoyt quote
| num =
| text = <poem>In general those who nothing have to say
Contrive to spend the longest time in doing it.
| author = Lowell
| work = To Charles Eliot Norton.
