Irish Proverbs – Of Saying Little

Beagan agus a ra go maith – “Say little but say it well”

It is amazing how much wasted air and energy is expended when we talk. As human beings we say a great amount of words and express many ideas, but how much is it really worth? How many trees are felled and ink spilt on worthless ideas and worthless communication? How many keystrokes and pixels simply take up energy because the ideas expressed are simply not worth the time and effort? We are people who love sharing ideas and spreading information. But what is it all really good for?

Abraham Lincoln once said “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” It is truly amazing what can be learned by not talking. It is even more amazing how easy it is to become a fool simply by saying too many words.

Sometimes though, saying little is not enough. If you are going to say little, at least put effort into it. The one who does not say much will perhaps be thought of as less a fool than the idiot loud-mouth, but the person who says little yet says little well; that person will have respect.