On Silence

Among the sages whom [Ralph Waldo] Emerson sought out on his visit to Europe was the notoriously reticent and difficult Thomas Carlyle. He called on Carlyle one evening and was given a pipe, while his host took one himself. They sat together smoking in perfect silence until bedtime, and on parting shook hands most cordially, congratulation each other on the fruitful time they had enjoyed together. Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes

Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact. George Eliot

Just be quiet and sit down. / The reason is you are drunk, / and this is the edge of the roof. Rumi