29:
157:, but Wasserstein writes that there is no verifiable evidence for such an origin, as no ancient Jewish version of the proverb using the terms "silver" and "gold" has been found. He also notes that some other Arabic works, again with no verifiable evidence, have attributed the "silver"–and–"gold" proverb to
113:
In 1932 Richard Jente described the "silver"–and–"gold" proverb as being "of
Eastern origin". In 1999 David J. Wasserstein remarked that the "Eastern origin" mentioned by a number of earlier writers was most likely the Aramaic "shekels" proverb, as it connects speech, silence, and monetary value.
221:
The proverb's origins and history of its earliest
English-language appearances were already of interest to the English public by the second half of the 19th century, when the matter was discussed in a series of exchanges in the literary journal,
209:
inscription". A similar saying, however, "discourse is silver, silence is gold", and attributed as a "Greek proverb", was printed in
English as early as 1818 in a collection that reprinted material from the
122:– was related, perhaps sharing the same ancient origin, but differed from the version in European culture that uses the terms "silver" and "gold". Wasserstein traced the latter version to
161:, and Wasserstein concludes that the real origin is likely lost to history, while the oldest surviving sources have simply attributed the proverb to "wise men of old".
93:, silence is worth two", which was translated into English in the 17th century. Praise of silence can also be found in much older works, including the
74:"Speech is silver, silence is golden" has been described as "perhaps the best known of the proverbs concerned with silence". Similar proverbs in
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138:(the latter wrote that, "if speech were of silver, then silence would be of gold"). The "silver"–and–"gold" proverb was also known in
20:
364:
169:
296:
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Wasserstein argued, however, that the
Aramaic "shekels" proverb – which had been already published in English by
97:, for example, "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin, but he that refraineth his lips is wise." (
386:
131:
215:
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According to
Wasserstein, the proverb, in its "silver"–and–"gold" version, most likely entered
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338:
275:
267:
224:
173:
147:
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330:
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Compilation and
Creation in Adab and Luġa: Studies in Memory of Naphtali Kinberg (1948–1997)
228:, in which several contributors commented on the question in the context of Carlyle's book.
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297:"Still Waters Run Deep' Proverbs about Speech and Silence A Cross-Linguistic Perspective"
268:"A West-East Puzzle: On the History of the Proverb 'Speech in Silver, Silence in Golden'"
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for centuries, having been recorded in the writings of the 11th-century Muslim scholar
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writer and translator of Arabic texts; and over the next centuries came to be used in
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in the early 19th century, then spread to the
English language, possibly through
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42:(1833–34) on which the proverb appears, marking its earliest usage in English.
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195:. Wasserstein writes that its first recorded use in English was the novel
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include "Still waters run deep" and "Empty vessels make the most sound."
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There have been like proverbs in other languages, for example the
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270:. In Albert Arazi; Joseph Sadan; David J. Wasserstein (eds.).
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In some Arabic works the proverb has been attributed to
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187:According to Jente, the proverb became popular in
184:and eventually also in other European languages.
16:Proverb extolling the value of silence over speech
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66:, where it was used as early as the 9th century.
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321:Jente, Richard (1932). "The American Proverb".
176:, also known as Shem Tob ben Isaac Ardutiel, a
142:, where it was recorded in the 11th century by
205:, who for reasons unknown attributed it to a "
8:
126:, observing that it had been widely used in
62:. Its modern form most likely originated in
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193:German immigrants in the United States
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168:through the work of a 14th-century
48:Speech is silver, silence is golden
295:Charteris-Black, Jonathan (1995).
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369:. A. J. Valpy. 1818. p. 40.
120:Collection of English Proverbs
32:Page from the 1901 edition of
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266:David J. Wasserstein (1999).
134:and the 9th-century writer
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89:, "if a word be worth one
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54:extolling the value of
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366:The Classical Journal
132:Al-Raghib al-Isfahani
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216:William Martin Leake
212:Researches in Greece
19:For other uses, see
109:Origins and spread
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281:978-1-57506-045-3
225:Notes and Queries
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21:Silence Is Golden
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198:Sartor Resartus
166:Western culture
159:Luqman the Wise
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85:proverb in the
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170:Spanish Jew
381:Categories
232:References
214:(1814) of
144:Ibn Hayyan
118:in a 1678
343:0003-1283
392:Proverbs
136:Al-Jahiz
116:John Ray
99:Proverbs
83:Talmudic
397:Silence
189:Germany
182:Spanish
148:Cordoba
76:English
70:Meaning
56:silence
52:proverb
50:" is a
402:Speech
351:452956
349:
341:
278:
178:Hebrew
128:Arabic
105::19).
91:shekel
60:speech
347:JSTOR
207:Swiss
95:Bible
58:over
339:ISSN
307:(2).
276:ISBN
331:doi
218:.
146:of
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313:^
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23:.
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