Nature smiles at the union of freedom and equality in our utopias. For freedom and equality are sworn and everlasting enemies, and when one prevails the other dies.
Will DurantRead
To say nothing, especially when speaking, is half the art of diplomacy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The ability to remain silent can be a crucial skill in negotiation and diplomacy.
This quote highlights the importance of silence and discretion in communication, particularly in diplomatic contexts where words can have significant consequences. It suggests that knowing when to hold back one's thoughts is as important as knowing what to say, as it allows for a more strategic and thoughtful approach to discussions.
Themes
DiplomacySilenceCommunicationStrategyDiscretion
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about effective negotiation techniques.
More from Will Durant
All quotes βThe greatest question of our time is not communism vs. individualism, not Europe vs. America, not even the East vs. the West; it is whether men can bear to live without God.
Will DurantRead
If we have never been amazed by the very fact that we exist, we are squandering the greatest fact of all.
Will DurantRead
Philosophy is harmonized knowledge making a harmonious life; it is the self-discipline which lifts us to serenity and freedom. Knowledge is power, but only wisdom is liberty.
Will DurantRead
If you wish to be loved, be modest; if you wish to be admired, be proud; if you wish both, combine external modesty with internal pride.
Will DurantRead
When liberty destroys order the hunger for order will destroy liberty.
Will DurantRead
Similar quotes
Wherever there is a man who exercises authority, there is a man who resists authority.
Oscar WildeRead
My advanced age has taught me the resignation of being Borges.
Jorge Luis BorgesRead
What wouldn't I give now for a never-changing map of the ever-constant ineffable? To possess, as it were, an atlas of clouds.
David MitchellRead
All man's troubles come from not knowing how to sit still in one room.
Blaise PascalRead
Victory has a hundred fathers but defeat is an orphan.
Galeazzo CianoRead
I cannot illustrate huge differences between male and female spiritualities except in their starting points, style and fascinations along the way. This is significant, however, and has huge pastoral implications: men must be challenged in the world of doing; women must be challenged in the world of relating.
Richard RohrRead