Ch 08 On Rules For Conduct In Life - Maxim 58
Who interrupts the conversation of others that they may know his excellence, they will become acquainted only with the degree of his folly.
An intelligent man will not give a reply
Unless he be asked a question.
Because though his words may be based on truth,
His claim to veracity may be deemed impossible.
Related quotes
Self Explanatory
Once a learned young man named John
asked a serious question, an earnest question,
with no attempt at humour, or to string me along.
And the questions were?
‘How do you write like that?
How do you find the titles? ’
The reply. ‘I think like that.’
His reply. ‘No one thinks like that.’
An answer beyond his belief system.
An answer he could not reconcile accept.
Easier to believe own belief systems
than search mind expand limited horizons.
Really was this reply
in truth so hard to accept?
‘If I do not think like that
how could I write like that? ’
Self Explanatory!
No Further Comment Required!
poem by Terence George Craddock
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
His Answer To My Question Was A Question
His answer to my question
Was a question
My answer to his reply
Was returned
With another question
The game of
Answering and asking
Questions
Did not end
Till I questioned
The very motive
Of our conversation
We came to the conclusion
How to pass time?
Was the biggest question
Asking questions
And creating confusion
Was the answer
So we passed our time
Asking and answering questions
The question now is
Whether we did right or wrong?
The answer is
Why ask a useless question?
poem by Nirantar Dr.Rajendra Tela
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Think About It
Think about it.
Is it really fair,
That anyone declared intelligent...
Should assume those not given that designation,
Are amongst those ignorant?
And should at all cost,
Be avoided?
And...
To that,
Your response would be?
Are you giving the question I asked,
More time to ponder?
Comeon.
Why are you looking at me,
Suspiciously?
Why are you backing away from me?
It's just a simple question.
Hey?
Hey?
You don't have to run away.
It's not my survey.
What is it you hide,
And try to protect?
HEY?
Some people today,
Get highly defensive...
By anyone attempting to communicate.
It's not like I asked anything to offend,
Intentionally.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Physics Of A Rose
an intelligent photon
once dropped in
for an intelligent conversation
on the head of a pin
but the photon was fooled
by the question it posed.
a....... b
are they connected?
linearly?
or is it relatively
possible
a vertical
axis is present?
the axis mundi
of consciousness?
fair questions
i felt to pose
on the physics
of a rose
poem by Doug Bentley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
To Amuse At The Expense Of Wasted Time
Would these be betting odds,
That an asking of someone...
Who has done something in their life,
For more than 'sixty years'.
And approached to be questioned,
What they have been doing...
Since they were last seen ten years ago?
And that question has been asked,
By that same person rerpeatedly.
And the response is known.
What would be the likely odds,
That the person asked the question...
Would 'not' be doing,
What has become an obvious love...
For what that person does.
Should the one asking that same question,
Take a gamble and ask another question...
That would initiate a conversation,
Expressing a real interest?
And not just say the same thing to re-tread.
I maybe wrong about this,
But...
Leaving the person feeling a sense of being appreciated,
Would probably reveal a human being existing.
Instead of a novelty to amuse at the expense of wasted time.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Question
I don't have the answer
So why ask me, why?
Why do you ask me a question
When there is no reply?
As though the answer was this?
Did you know all along?
That so much space
Is weighed down in white silence
Who told you these things?
These imagined replies?
To the unanswered question
The question why?
There is no reply
But bad weather
Rough roads
There is no reply
Leave the rain alone
There is no reply
No reply
No answer to why
Leave the question alone
No face in the sky
No key to the door
No there is nothing, but nothing
So leave nothing alone
And turn round and go home
Watch the sea from your window
The waves rise and fall
Nothing but madness
And nothing at all! !
The moon's silver crescent
No time to recall
What is left
What is deaf
What is blind
To ritual?
To sign?
There's no pattern no season
No face in the wall
No reason too reasonable
To make no sense at all!
There is no reply
To pain
Love lost
To prayer
Why ask me these questions?
When there's no answer there?
yvette m smith july 09
poem by Yvette Smith
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
No Clue What Keeps Them Established
A chemistry felt,
Is not communicated in words.
Nor does obtaining a degree,
Automatically certifies one intelligent...
With common sense.
Comprehension develops with experience.
Ask anyone with a degree who still feels ignorant.
And those who have gone through several relationships...
Have no clue what keeps them established.
Many people are seeking ways to impress...themselves!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Truth, The Whole Truth, And Nothing But The Truth
Witnesses in trials in the US are asked to swear
to 'tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth'.
It is impossible to tell the whole truth. Only God is omniscient.
It is impossible to tell the truth. Human beings, like church stained
glass with the sun, always filter the truth, We can only project what
we are, the particular rung of frequency on which we are perched.
*********
Defense attorneys exaggerate and select because their first duty
is to their clients. Prosecutors withhold exculpatory evidence
and send innocents to jail because scalps on the belts are good
for their careers.
In our political system, the higher one goes, the greater the number
of corrupt judges. Those who have honored the truth the least
ask others to abide by higher standards than the judiciary.
poem by O. Anna Niemus
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Finding words
Finding words
~
My heart was talking awkward
Perhaps I did not say
That I had thought to have said
Words so often I claim to understand
Often leave me at a loss
That I could not find the right words to say
Leave me replaying our conversation
I sear I said you were beautiful
And maybe how I wanted to be with you
Could I have said that with any clarity
That you understood fully my heart
Would I now be questioning my words
I am unable to say except in truth
Those are the words I wish to say
My feelings towards you
Though my heart rambles awkward
Saying plenty without saying much
Perhaps I never actually say
That I have thought to say
poem by Matthew Holloway
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Dead Man Walkin'
Ooh
Lemme tell ya story
Outside of Macon
Off a country road
Justice was forsaken
When they let the wrong man go
Johnny law was shady
First one on the scene
They called it murder in the first degree
Dead man walkin'
Walkin' down the hall
Judge says guilty but still he's walkin' tall
Dead man walkin' they say he broke the law
Taken the life of another man
Who done his daughter wrong
Light 'em up
Lay 'em down
Take 'em out
But there's more of us around
Wrong is right when right is wrong
But there's a dead man walkin' tonight
Walk on
Walk on
Walk on
But there's a dead man walkin' tonight
If I asked you a question
Could you tell the truth
Would you pull the trigger
If you were standin' in his shoes
Dead man walkin'
I know what I'd do
If someone hurt my baby I'd be walkin' too
Light 'em up
Lay 'em down
Take 'em out
But there's more of us around
When right is wrong and wrong is right
Oh there's a dead man walkin' tonight
Walk on
You gotta walk on baby
Walk on
Walk on
Walk on
So if I asked you that question
Would you tell the truth?
song performed by by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Ch 04 On The Advantages Of Silence Story 03
An intelligent youth possessed an abundant share of accomplishments and discreet behaviour so that he was allowed to sit in assemblies of learned men but he refrained from conversing with them. His father once asked him why he did not likewise speak on subjects he was acquainted with. He replied: ‘I fear I may be asked what I do not know and be put to shame.’
Hast thou heard how a Sufi drove
A few nails under his sandals
And an officer taking him by the sleeve
Said to him: ‘Come and shoe my horse.’
For what thou hast not said no one will trouble thee
But when thou hast spoken bring the proof.
I Told Myself
I told myself
You do love me
Is it really true?
She asked me
I told myself
You care for me
Are you really sure?
She asked me
I told myself
You do miss me
As often as you?
She asked me
I told myself
You need me too
Are you guessing?
She asked me
I told myself
You never tell me
Why on Earth?
She asked me
I told myself
You hide a lot…
Is that friendship?
She asked me
I told myself
You think too much
Does he not feel?
She asked me
Tell me, my love
What shall I say?
To all those queries
That she asked me...
How should I answer?
What should I ponder?
Tell me the truth
For she still asks me...
You For Me
And Me For You
Is it the Future?
One last Question
She did ask me.
I don’t have the answers
Yet she keeps asking me…
May be, she knows,
One day, one moment
You’ll let her know
How you feel for me...
poem by Aparna Chatterjee
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Excuse me Miss
Sam asked a question of his teacher,
He asked it for the stern Miss Meacher,
You wouldn't punish me would you?
For something i that i did not do,
Of course not boy, answered Miss,
Spitting the reply out with a Hiss,
Thats a relief he began to explain,
As i didn't do my homework again.
poem by Natalie Bebbington
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
You never see animals going through the absurd and often horrible fooleries of magic and religion. Only man behaves with such gratuitous folly. It is the price he has to pay for being intelligent but now, as yet, intelligent enough.
quote by Aldous Huxley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Quest and question
To ask a question beyond answering
may seem to some to be a waste of mind..
and yet it may advance some reasoning,
thus, other questions, real answers find:
for instance: if a soul remains itself
and yet is re-embodied many times
until it is returned to perfect health,
no longer grimy with our human crimes –
how can we guess, in this life’s noble aim,
what hideous past so slowly drags ‘our’ feet?
And – if we knew – would then some devilish claim,
the aim, to free our self, somehow defeat?
No answer comes; the question hangs in air;
but now it has been asked, truth may appear.
poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Change
The other day I walked accross the street
i couldnt believe what I appeared to see...
as I looked at a poor boy who came to me
I asked him his name and he didnt know
he just asked me for change.
I asked where is your mum?
he just asked me for change
I asked where is your dad?
he just asked me for change
I asked will someone come?
he just asked me for change
I asked why are you sad?
with no response to my question there was a pause...
but then once again he asked me for change
see, as i watched him dissapear with his pain
I realised that he actualy asked me...
for a change.
poem by Daniel McCann
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
My Delirious Veracity
I look right and see nothing left,
I look left and see nothing right,
Behold, my delirious veracity
Look beyond the mountains,
Do you see the clouds i see,
A storm is approaching,
Should we fight for survival?
Or shall we face death head on?
My delirious veracity
I see a flood, can you?
I see the waves coming,
There is nowhere to run,
For the place of refuge you destroyed,
This prison was a shelter
Face your fate almost lover
My delirious veracity
I built a tower of strength,
A spirit level in my right hand,
A hammer in your left hand,
You invited demise,
The fashion of your own hands
My delirious veracity
I trust you but you dont trust yourself
You destroyed our future,
The art of our destiny,
Behold, im delirium
Loving you was veracity,
My delirious veracity
poem by Gaylord Munemo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Whosoever interrupts the conversation of others to make a display of his own wisdom, certainly betrays his ignorance.
Saadi in Gulistan (The Rose Garden) (1258), translated by Francis Gladwin
Submitted by Dan Costinaş
Vote! | Copy! | In Spanish | In Romanian
The honest liar
1. I have to tell you that
In the last conversation we had
All I told you were lies
And with all honesty now
I am telling you
That I am a liar.
2. When you asked me
Whether I am dying
I told you I am not
But I have only
A month to live
That is the truth
But look
I am not responsible for you
I am the one
That is dying here.
It is not you.
3. When we speak
I do not demand that
You tell me the truth
We are talking
Because we are here
What you say to me
Is none of my business
To require that you tell
Me the truth
Is in fact, an overburden
Our agreement is
Simple enough
That we just talk
It is nothing more
But a contract of presence
a conversation.
4. In fact what you say
Is the bonus
And it does not matter
Truth or falsehood
We just talk
For a while
While I am here
I am going somewhere
I am leaving
You will be left
And you still have
All the time to contrive
The choice is yours
I have none anymore
5. so that is it
Keep on talking
As I pretend I am listening
I keep on talking too
But my mind
Forgive me
Is somewhere else
You may not understand
It at first
But you will soon
Understand
This world is not simply meant
For one, for one like me.
Or for us.
6. at this stage
Truth and falsehood
Are irrelevant,
Out there
Is beyond truth and falsehood
It is our place.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
I'd Lie For You
I'd never tell you one lie.
I'd never let you down.
I'd never leave i'd be the one who'd always be around.
Baby give me a chance.
I'd pull the sun down from the sky.
To light your darkest night.
I'd never let one drop of rain fall down into your life.
Put your heart in my hands.
Baby believe me, i could never do you wrong.
And i would never paint your world blue.
And if sometimes it seems i must lost my mind.
I might be crazy, but i'm crazy about you.
I'd lie for you and that's the truth.
Do anything you asked me to.
I'd even sell my soul for you.
I'd do it all for you.
If you'd just believe in me.
Just take a look in my eyes.
You'd see a love that's blind.
Just take a hold of my hand.
I'll take you to paradise.
Ain't a star that's too far.
Every wish will be a wish.
That i will make come true.
And if you want the moon.
I swear i'll bring it down to you.
Let me into your heart.
Believe me baby.
Got your name carved on my soul.
'cause your the only one that i'll give it too.
Go let'em say that i'm fool to act this way.
'cause if i'm crazy, i'm just crazy 'bout you.
I'd lie for you and that's the truth.
Do anything you asked me to.
I'd even sell my soul for you.
I'd do it all for you.
If you'd just believe in me.
I'd lie for you and that's the truth.
Do anything you asked me to.
I'd even sell my soul for you.
I'd do it all for you.
If you'd just believe in me.
I'd lie for you and that's the truth.
Move mountains if you want me to.
I'd walk across the fire for you.
I'd walk across the wild for you.
If you'd just believe in me.
And you will never see a day.
I'll ever break your heart.
You'll see the sky fall down.
Before it ever gets that far.
I'll show you heaven.
Every second that your in my arms.
Baby, i'm crazy, but i'm crazy 'bout you.
I'd lie for you and that's the truth.
Do anything you asked me to.
I'd even sell my soul for you.
I'd do it all for you.
If you'd just believe in me.
I'd lie for you and that's the truth.
Do anything you asked me to.
I'd even sell my soul for you.
I'd do it all for you.
If you'd just believe in me.
I'd lie for you and that's the truth.
Move mountains if you want me to.
I'd walk across the fire for you.
I'd walk across the wild for you.
If you'd just believe in me.
I'd lie for you and that's the truth.
Do anything you asked me to.
I'd even sell my soul for you.
I'd do it all for you.
If you'd just believe in me.
I'd lie for you and that's the truth.
Do anything you asked me to.
I'd even sell my soul for you.
I'd do it all for you.
If you'd just believe in me.
I'd lie for you and that's the truth.
Move mountains if you want me to.
I'd walk across the fire for you.
I'd walk across the wild for you.
If you'd just believe in me.
song performed by by Meat Loaf
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!