Abraham Lincoln? Biblical Proverb? Maurice Switzer? Samuel Johnson?
Dear Quote Investigator: I always thought that the following quote was from Abraham Lincoln, but a friend claims it is in the Bible. It does not sound very Biblical to me. Can you resolve this dispute?
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.
Quote Investigator: Yes, QI can help resolve this disagreement. There is a biblical proverb that expresses a similar idea, namely Proverbs 17:28. Here is the New International Version followed by the King James Version of this verse [PROV]:
Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.
Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
The quotation that the questioner gave is phrased somewhat differently and is certainly more humorous. In the biblical version one is thought wise if one remains silent, but in the questioner’s version the word “wise” is not used. Remaining silent simply allows one to avoid the fate of being thought a fool. This saying is often attributed to Abraham Lincoln and sometimes to Samuel Johnson.
The wonderful Yale Book of Quotations (YBQ) investigated the saying and presents the earliest known attribution to Lincoln in Golden Book magazine in 1931. Since Lincoln died in 1865 this is a suspiciously late date. Further, YBQ shows that the phrase was in use years earlier.
The earliest known appearance of the saying discovered by QI occurs in a book titled “Mrs. Goose, Her Book” by Maurice Switzer. The publication date is 1907 and the copyright notice is 1906. The book is primarily filled with clever nonsense verse, and the phrasing in this early version is slightly different [MSW]:
It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.
Most of the humorous content of the volume appears to be original, and it is possible that the saying was crafted by Maurice Switzer. So the saying is associated with Abraham Lincoln and with the Bible but QI believes that the strongest attribution is to Maurice Switzer.
The choice of Switzer’s book title is illuminated by the fact that another book, “Father Goose, His Book”, was a popular sensation in 1899. The author of that book, L. Frank Baum, went on to write an even bigger hit “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (Thanks to John Baker for pointing this out.)
There are many proverbs older than 1906 that extol silence such as “Silence is wisdom when speaking is folly” and “Silence is the virtue of a fool”. But QI has been unable to find a close match to the comical phrase under investigation before 1906.
[PROV] Proverbs 17:28 has many translations. Here is a link to a webpage with several. link
[MSW] 1907, “Mrs. Goose, Her Book” by Maurice Switzer, Page 29, Moffat, Yard & Company, New York. (Google Books full view) link
Tags: Abraham Lincoln