Not being heard is no reason for silence.
[N’être pas écouté, ce n’est pas une raison pour se taire.]
Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer
Les Misérables, Part 2 “Cosette,” Book 8 “Cemeteries Take What is Given Them,” ch. 1 (2.8.1) (1862) [tr. Wilbour (1862)]
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(Source (French)). Alternate translations:Not to be heard is no reason why a man should hold his tongue.
[tr. Wraxall (1862)]That one is not listened to is no reason for preserving silence.
[tr. Hapgood (1887)]Not being heard is no reason for silence.
[tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]Not being listened to is no reason to stop talking.
[tr. Donougher (2013)]
Quotations about:
hearing
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
We hear only half of what is said to us, understand only half of that, believe only half of that, and remember only half of that.
Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 5 (1963)
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To be kind is more important than to be right. Many times, what people need is not a brilliant mind that speaks but a special heart that listens.
Equally clear is the right to hear. To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker. It is just as criminal to rob a man of his right to speak and hear as it would be to rob him of his money.
Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) American abolitionist, orator, writer
“A Plea for Freedom of Speech in Boston” (9 Dec 1880)
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