It is better to be silent and appear foolish than to speak and remove all doubt - Quote Investigator® (2023)

Abraham Lincoln? Mark Twain? Biblical proverb? Maurice Switzer? Arthur Burns? John Maynard Keynes? Confucius?Anonymous?

Dear Dating Researcher:Here are two versions of an amusing saying that is usually attributed to Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain:

It is better to remain silent and be considered a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.

The wording is different, but I think these two statements express the same thought. When I mentioned this adage to a friend, he claimed it was in the Bible, but it doesn't sound very biblical to me. Can you resolve this dispute?

Dating Researcher:There is a biblical proverb that expresses a similar idea, Proverbs 17:28. Here is the New International Version followed by the King James Version of this verse:[1]Proverbs 17:28 has many translations. Here is a link to a web page with various Biblos.com Online Parallel Bible Projects. (Consulted Bible.cc on October 24, 2012)link

Even a fool is considered wise if he is silent, and discerning if he bites his tongue.

Even the fool, when he is silent, is considered wise; and he who closes his lips is considered an understanding man.

The quotes the questioner listed use a distinctive formulation that is certainly more humorous. In the Biblical version, one is thought to be wise if he remains silent, but the questioner's statements do not use the word "wise." Remaining silent simply allows one to avoid the fate of being considered foolish or stupid. This maxim has many different forms and is often attributed to Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain. However, there is no substantive evidence that any of these famous individuals used the maxim.

The wonderful Yale Book of Quotations (YBQ)[2]2006, The Yale Book of Quotations by Fred R. Shapiro, Section: Abraham Lincoln, page 466, Yale University Press, New Haven. (Verified on paper)researched the saying and presented the first known attribution to Lincoln in Golden Book magazine in November 1931:[3]1931 November, Golden Book Magazine, Volume 14, Citation Page 306, Published by The Review of Reviews Corporation, Albert Shaw, New York. (Verified on paper)

It is better to remain silent and be considered a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
- ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

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Since Lincoln died in 1865, this is a suspiciously late example and provides very weak evidence. Furthermore, YBQ indicated that the phrase was in use years before this date without attachment to Lincoln. The attribution of the saying to Mark Twain is also doubtful.

When Ken Burns filmed a documentary on Mark Twain in 2001, a companion book was published that included the following version of the quote in a section titled "What Twain Didn't Say":[4]2001, Mark Twain by Dayton Duncan and Geoffrey C. Ward, based on a documentary by Ken Burns, section: What Twain Didn't Say, page 189, Alfred A. Knopf, New York. (Verified on paper)

It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.

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The first known occurrence of the adage discovered byQIoccurred in a book titled “Mrs. Goose, her book ”by Maurice Switzer. The publication date was 1907 and the copyright notice was 1906. The book was mostly full of witty nonsense verse, and the wording of this early version was slightly different:[5]1907, “Mrs. Goose, Her Book” by Maurice Switzer, page 29, Moffat, Yard & Company, New York. (Google Books full view)link

It is better to remain silent at the risk of being taken for a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt about it.

Most of the humorous content of “Mrs. Goose, Her Book” bears the stamp of originality and is based on currently available dataQIbelieves that Maurice Switzer is the leading candidate for the expression's author. This 1906 quote was also included in "The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs," a new indispensable reference work from Yale University Press.[6]2012, The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs, edited by Charles Clay Doyle, Wolfgang Mieder, and Fred R. Shapiro, page 83, Yale University Press, New Haven. (Verified on paper)

Additional selected citations are presented below in chronological order.

There are many proverbs that exalt silence. Several examples from an 1887 collection called "Proverbs, Maxims, and Phrases of All Time" recall the Biblical proverb:[7]1887, Proverbs, Maxims, and Phrases of All Ages, compiled by Robert Christy, page 268, The Knickerbocker Press, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. (Google Books full view)link

Silence is the virtue of those who are not wise
Silence is wisdom and makes a man friends
Silence is wisdom when talking is madness

In 1893, a New York newspaper published a column titled "Gems of Thought" that included an alternative maxim that presented a different reason for the silence:[8]1893 August 8, Stamford Mirror, Jewels of Thought, page 1, column 3, Stamford, New York. (Old Fulton)

It is better to remain silent than to speak the truth in a bad mood and spoil an excellent dish by covering it with bad sauce.—St. Francis de Sales.

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In 1907 a version of the maxim appeared in “Mrs. Goose, Her Book” by Maurice Switzer as noted earlier in this article:

It is better to remain silent at the risk of being taken for a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt about it.

Switzer's choice of 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, wrote an even bigger hit." The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (Thanks to John Baker for pointing this out.)

In 1922, the saying was printed as a banner on the front page of the Society section of a Minnesota newspaper. The words were credited to a person or entity called Empeco. The phrase “keep silent” was used instead of “remain silent”:[9]1922 December 17, Duluth Sunday News-Tribune, (Headline at top of page below newspaper name and date), Section: Society, Page 1, Duluth, Minnesota. (Genealogy Bank)

It is better to remain silent and be considered a fool than to speak and dispel all doubt.—Empeco

In 1923, the adage was published in the newspaper of Evansville College (now University) in Indiana. The word "thought" was spelled "thot":[10]1923 June 19, The Crescent (Evansville Crescent), (one citation in a set of three independent citations), citation page 3, column 1, Evansville, Indiana. (Newspaper Archive)

It is better to keep quiet and be so stupid than to speak and remove all doubt.

In 1924, an example of the saying was attributed to a person named Arthur Burns:[11]1924 June 10, Seattle Daily Times, Section: Sports, Bob's Sportitorials, Citation Page 1, Column 1, Seattle, Washington. (Genealogy Bank)

"It is better to shut up and pass for a fool." says Dr. Arthur Burns, "to talk and clear all doubts."

In March 1931, a humorist with the nickname 'Doc' Rockwell introduced a version of the maxim with the phrase "keep your mouth shut" instead of "remain silent", "keep quiet", or "keep quiet":[12]1931 March 22, Omaha World Herald, Rockwell tells how to behave like a human being by 'Doc' Rockwell, quote page 8, column 5, Omaha, Nebraska. (Genealogy Bank)

A great man once made a famous comment about something I will never forget. I can't remember it right now, but it was to the effect that it's better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you're a fool than to keep it open and leave no doubt about it.

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In May 1931, a columnist published a version with "silly" instead of "silly". No attribution given:[13]1931 May 25, Albany Evening News, As I Think of It by Tony Wons, Quote Page 9, Column 2, Albany New York. (Old Fulton)

Listen to this: "It is better to be silent and appear dumb than to speak and remove all doubt!"

In October 1931, the Northwestern University student newspaper published a letter to the editor defending gangster Al Capone that contained another example of the adage "keep your mouth shut":[14]1931, October 16, Daily Northwestern, Our Public, (Letter to the editor of “Not so swell”), quote, page 2, column 2, Evanston, Illinois. (Genealogy Bank)

But when trying to dictate what to do to others, remember this: it's better to keep your mouth shut and look like a fool than to open it and remove all doubt!

In November 1931, the saying was assigned to Abraham Lincoln in Golden Book magazine, as noted above. This is the oldest known attribution to the famous president:

It is better to remain silent and be considered a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
- ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

In 1936, the maxim was printed in a Nebraska newspaper, where it was rephrased as a question and an Asian was suggested:[15]1936 July 13, Omaha World Herald, You Answer It, (independent brief article), quote page 4, column 2, Omaha, Nebraska. (Genealogy Bank)

YOU ANSWER.
(Ancient Chinese proverb.)
Is it better to keep your mouth shut and look like a fool, or to open your mouth and remove all doubt?

In 1938, the words of the aphorism were attributed to Confucius, but the intention was humorous:[sixteen]1938 June 1, The Evening Independent, Free Speeches by Lee Morris, page 4, column 3, St. Petersburg, Florida. (Google news archive)

The following joke was written by Confucius, unless you're confusing him with someone else:
"It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear foolish than to open it and remove all doubt."

In 1953, a Saskatoon, Canada, newspaper columnist assigned the expression to Mark Twain. Currently, this is the oldest known connection to Twain.QI:[17]1953 May 29, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, always the same response from Jane Gale, page 13, column 3, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. (Google news archive)

Perhaps Mark Twain had something in mind when he said, "It is better to keep your mouth shut and play the fool than to open your mouth and show it," and many times, in these cases, it is the informant who feels foolish.

In 1958, the New York Times published a profile of famed economist John Maynard Keynes, and the article noted that a version of the maxim had been attributed to Keynes:[18]1958 April 20, New York Times, Keynes Reexamined: The Man, The Theory of Henry C. Wallich, Home Page SM13, Citation Page SM13, Column 2, New York. (ProQuest)

"It is better to remain silent and appear ignorant," he reportedly advised an American dignitary, "than to speak up and dispel all doubt."

The aphorism appeared in the 1961 collection "Mark Twain: Wit and Wisecracks" edited by Doris Benardete. No citation of Twain's work was provided:[19]1961, Mark Twain: Wit and Wisecracks, edited by Doris Benardete, citation page 18, Peter Pauper Press, White Plains, New York. (Verified with scans)

It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.

The ascription to Abraham Lincoln has been common for decades. In 1962, a South Carolina newspaper published this:[20]1962 March 21, Aiken Standard and Review, Phraseologies, quote page 2, column 6, Aiken, South Carolina. (Newspaper Archive)

AbeLincoln said:
It is better to remain silent and be considered a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt.

Mark Twain has sometimes been assigned the version of the maxim using the phrase "remain silent." For example, in 1980 a newspaper in Ottawa, Canada, published the following:[21]1980 December 26, The Citizen, Roger Appleton's Line of Action, Subsection: Calm, Best Reasonable Approach, Citation Page 49, Column 1, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Google news archive)

Mark Twain put it well... "it is better to be silent and play a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

In conclusion, there is no substantial evidence that this popular adage was coined or employed by Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain. The first attributions to these famous figures appeared many years after his death.QIthinks that Maurice Switzer is currently the best choice to coin the expression, although future data may reveal alternative claimants.

Update History: On February 5, 2013, the article was rewritten to include more information about Mark Twain affiliations.