Who said “Speech is human, silence is divine, yet also brutish and dead: therefore we must learn…”?

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Thomas Carlyle. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceNotebooks (1830).

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APA

Carlyle, T. (n.d.). Speech is human, silence is divine, yet also brutish and dead: therefore we must learn both arts. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/38546-speech-is-human-silence-is-divine-yet-also/

MLA

Carlyle, Thomas. “Speech is human, silence is divine, yet also brutish and dead: therefore we must learn both arts.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/38546-speech-is-human-silence-is-divine-yet-also/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Carlyle, Thomas. “Speech is human, silence is divine, yet also brutish and dead: therefore we must learn both arts.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/38546-speech-is-human-silence-is-divine-yet-also/.

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