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Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.

Attributed to Plato; not in his works

Philosophy

The story behind the card

The line appears nowhere in Plato's dialogues, and its neat play on 'something to say' and 'say something' only works in English. A 1903 anthology printed it as anonymous; the earliest known credit to Plato is Tryon Edwards's collection A Dictionary of Thoughts, in 1908. It may descend from Richard Whately's Elements of Rhetoric (1828), which contrasts a writer who has something to say with one who wants to say something. The contrast does suit Plato, whose Socrates often mocks speakers more eager to impress than to find the truth.

Türkçe oku
Bilgeler söyleyecek bir şeyleri olduğu için konuşur; aptallarsa bir şey söylemek zorunda oldukları için.
Platon'a atfedilir; eserlerinde geçmez

Bu söz Platon'un hiçbir diyaloğunda geçmez; “söyleyecek bir şeyi olmak” ile “bir şey söylemek zorunda olmak” arasındaki kelime oyunu da ancak İngilizcede işler. 1903'te basılan bir derleme sözü anonim olarak verir; onu Platon'a bağlayan bilinen ilk kaynak, Tryon Edwards'ın 1908 tarihli Amerikan derlemesi A Dictionary of Thoughts'tur. Kökü, Richard Whately'nin 1828 tarihli Elements of Rhetoric kitabındaki bir karşıtlık olabilir: Söyleyecek bir şeyi olduğu için yazanla, bir şey söylemek istediği için yazan. Karşıtlık yine de Platon'a yakışır; onun Sokrates'i, gerçeği bulmaktan çok etki bırakmaya çalışan konuşmacılarla sık sık alay eder.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Plato
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