Name that quote

[bizmark]

who said

It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt

[Phaedrus]

It's been attributed to many persons, but seems to have its roots in the Bible:

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt . -- George Eliot
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.-- Abraham Lincoln (also attr. Confucius)
It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.-- Mark Twain (1835-1910)
Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. -- Bible, 'Proverbs' 17:28.

There are no citations for Lincoln or Twain. I have my doubts about Confucius.

[mgm]

I have it listed under Lincoln and also Samuel Johnson. Both are undoubtedly wrong.

This is probably just one of those aphorisms that make their way through the collective consciousness without one definitive source.

An interesting look at how misquotations spread:
http://users.bestweb.net/~notr/engel.html
_________________
Michael Moncur
Owner and maintainer, The Quotations Page

[thenostromo]

Indeed, the Church wanted Galileo to say precisely this, that this was a mere supposition for convenience of calculation (a "hypothesis" in the parlance of the time).
Galileo refused to say this--he thought it was a literal and absolute truth. General relativity says Galileo was wrong. (But it likewise says that it is wrong to say that the sun literally and absolutely goes around the earth).
It was he who once said, "Tis better to be thought the fool and remain silent, than speak and remove all doubt."

[and there is the following]
I remember Benjamin Franklin's quote, "It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.",
"Tis far better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."
Tis better to be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.
It's better to be thought a fool than open your mouth and prove it.
"It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."
"better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and prove it so"
Ama anchata rimaychu, mana upa kayta munspaqa.
No hables mucho, si no quieres hablar tonterias.

The Foolish Monkey by Cam Watkins
Once upon a time, there was a colony of monkeys living in the jungle. One paticular monkey was thought to be a fool, because he never talked. One day, the lion called a meeting of all the beasts of the jungle. The Lion opened the meeting by asking a question. The monkey immediately sat up and stated his opinion, and removed all doubt.
Moral: Better to be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

[Sean Young]

It is better to keep silent than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
I believe that Socrates said it best

[sinik]

I go for Socrates too. In fact when the Oracle was asked who was the wisest man in Athens,she answered that it was Socrates,because he was the only man who said that he knew nothing.
In fact all we know about him is from his student Plato,because he never wrote anything. Why? Because his method of philosophy was simply by asking questions and play the fool,by which he brought out the best thinkers in his students,among them Plato himself ,who considered him his father.
So this quote fits in perfectly with Socrates' character and philosophy.