And the scholar said, Speak of Talking,
And he answered, saying:
You talk when you cease to be at peace
with your thoughts;
And when you can no longer dwell in the
solitude of your heart you live in your lips,
and sound is a diversion and a pastime.
And in much or your talking, thinking
is half murdered.
For thought is a bird of space, that in a
cage of words may indeed unfold its wings
but cannot fly.
there are those among you who seek
the talkative through fear of being alone.
The silence of aloneness reveals to
their eyes their naked selves and they would es-
cape
And there are those who talk, and with-
out knowledge or forethought reveal a truth
which they themselves do not understand.
And there are those who have the truth
within them, but they tell it not in words.
In the bosom of such as these the spirit
dwells in rhythmic silence.
When you meet your friend on the road-
side or in the market place, let the spirit in
you move your lips and direct your tongue.
Let the voice withing your voice speak to
the ear of his ear;
For his soul will keep the truth of your
heart as the taste of the wine is remembered
When the colour is forgotten and the
vessel is no more
From The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
