Silence is an ornament for women.
SophoclesRead
Hush! Check those words. Do not cure ill with ill and make your pain still heavier than it is.
Interpretation
Avoid escalating problems by responding negatively to negativity.
This quote from Sophocles emphasizes the importance of being mindful of our words and actions, particularly in times of distress. Responding to negativity with more negativity only aggravates the situation and can lead to increased pain or suffering, suggesting that one should seek healing and understanding rather than perpetuating harm.
In practice
In a speech about conflict resolution, one could use this quote to encourage diplomacy.
Silence is an ornament for women.
None love the messenger who brings bad news.
All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.
Not even Ares battles against necessity.
You clearly hate to yield, but you will regret it when your anger has passed. Such natures are justly the hardest for themselves to bear.
There is nothing more hateful than bad advice.
Try not to become disappointed if someone doesn't like a story you've written. Stick up for your ideas, but listen to what other people say, too. They might have good advice.
It is disgraceful to live at the cost of one's self-respect. Self-respect is the most vital factor in life. Without it, man is a cipher. To live worthily with self-respect, one has to overcome difficulties. It is out of hard and ceaseless struggle alone that one derives strength, confidence and recognition.
In obedience there is always fear, and fear darkens the mind.
Owning your own feelings, rather than blaming them on someone else, is the mark of a person who has moved from contracted to expanded awareness.
So long as we believe in our heart of hearts that our capacity is limited and we grow anxious and unhappy, we are lacking in faith. One who truly trusts in God has no right to be anxious about anything.
Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.