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Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. Who said this? Google comes up with numerous citations for both Mark Twain and Lincoln. Unfortunately the quote is not in my Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Anyone have a definitive off-line or reputable on-line source?
Last edited by Hydra; 03/06/07 06:53 AM.
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This quote was not that long ago one of Anu's daily quotes. I remember it as being from Mark Twain. Anyway Google: Twain + quotes, and a whole world turns up. I'll give you one by Mark Twain back from my Dictionary of Cynical Quotations : Golf is a good walk spoiled. http://www.twainquotes.com/B.htmlSILENCE The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. - Mark Twain's Notebook well , odds and ends
Last edited by BranShea; 03/06/07 09:46 AM.
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Regardless of the source, it was born in Washington DC (where not enough people remain silent).
"I am certain there is too much certainty in the world" -Michael Crichton
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Pooh-Bah
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For what it's worth, which may not be much, googling the phrase remain silent and be thought a fool with twain yields 775 hits but with lincoln, 22,200
dalehileman
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This is weird to me. It's a very clever, quotable phrase. I don't understand why it is not in my (electronic) Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.
Just like circular definitions in a dictionary, this happens sometimes. In The Wordsworth Book of Literary Anecdotes, the bon mot: "He's a self made man who adores his maker" is credited to Disraeli, speaking of his aide (someone-or-other) and his aide, speaking of Disraeli.
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Afterthought: Twain probably quoted Lincoln, and then got credit for it.
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The number of quotes unverifiably attributed to Mark Twain, or to Lincoln, or Winston Churchill, or even Disraeli, is large. And I wouldn't want to guess at the multiple listings for the same quote, either.
"Those who cannot learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them." -- Santayanna (or Lincoln, or Mark Twain, or...)
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"Those who cannot learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them." -- Santayanna (or Lincoln, or Mark Twain, or...)
"Those who can learn the lessons of history are doomed to know that they are repeating them." -- Faldage
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Why don't we call it Anonymous and be done with?!
That guy, Anon, really had a lot to say!
"I am certain there is too much certainty in the world" -Michael Crichton
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Why don't we call it Anonymous and be done with?!
That guy, Anon, really had a lot to say! You think Anon is prolific? You should read Ibid.
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