Words spoken, you are a slave to; those not said, you are the master of.
—Irish Proverb
Wine makes a man better pleased with himself. I do not say that it makes him more pleasing to others… This is one of the disadvantages of wine, it makes a man mistake words for thoughts.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world’s happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.
—Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American Self-Help Author
The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
You can stroke people with words.
—Unknown
Words are not as satisfactory as we should like them to be, but, like our neighbors, we have got to live with them and must make the best and not the worst of them.
—Samuel Butler
Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.
—Buddhist Teaching
Words are loaded pistols.
—Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–80) French Philosopher, Playwright, Novelist, Screenwriter, Political Activist
Men of few words are the best men.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Tsze-Kung asked, saying, “is there one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one’s life?” The Master said, “Is not Reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
A wise man hears one word and understands two.
—Yiddish Proverb
There can be no doubt that distrust of words is less harmful than unwarranted trust in them. Besides, to distrust words, and indict them for the horrors that might slumber unobtrusively within them—isn’t this, after all, the true vocation of the intellectual?
—Vaclav Havel (1936–2011) Czech Dramatist, Statesman
When you have spoken the word, it reigns over you. When it is unspoken you reign over it.
—Arabic Proverb
To be brief is almost a condition of being inspired.
—George Santayana (1863–1952) Spanish-American Poet, Philosopher
May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night and a smooth road all the way to your door.
—Irish Blessing
Poetry is the deification of reality.
—Edith Sitwell (1887–1964) British Poet, Literary Critic
Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.
—Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) British Children’s Books Writer, Short story, Novelist, Poet, Journalist
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.
—T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) American-born British Poet, Dramatist, Literary Critic
If the word has the potency to revive and make us free, it has also the power to blind, imprison, and destroy.
—Ralph Ellison (1914–1994) American Novelist
Words are the only things that last forever; they are more durable than the eternal hills.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don’t know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use.
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American Author, Journalist, Short Story Writer
Words are a wonderful form of communication, but they will never replace kisses and punches.
—Ashleigh Brilliant (b.1933) British Cartoonist, Author
One kind word can warm three winter months.
—Japanese Proverb
I like good strong words that mean something.
—Louisa May Alcott (1832–88) American Novelist
Political correctness is simply a speed bump in the traffic of truth, free thought and speech.
—Indian Proverb
A knife wound heals; a wound caused by words does not
—Turkish Proverb
Words are all we have.
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) Irish Novelist, Playwright
When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
Kind words may be short… but their echoes are endless.
—Mother Teresa (1910–97) Roman Catholic Missionary, Nun
Words form the thread on which we string our experiences.
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English Humanist, Pacifist, Essayist, Short Story Writer, Satirist