Skip to content

A Message to Twitterers from the Middle Ages

2008 April 23
by Lyndon Antcliff

“Keep silent unless what you are going to say is more important than silence”

Rosa Salvator

It’s a self portrait of Rosa Salvator from the 17th century. Its unusual for it’s age as the quote is actually in the painting. This is one of my favourite paintings in the National.

If the quote is familiar it is because it has been paraphrased by Lisa Simpson and Abraham Lincoln.

14 Responses leave one →
  1. April 23, 2008

    Oh, may I borrow this from you without giving you credit. This is great and I wish there was the same type thing in Latin about email.

    “Don’t send me email unless what you are going to say is more important than the electrons required to send it”

    (remember to forward to 10,000 or Bill Gates will buy Nigeria! and give you 10% once the check clears)

  2. Lyndoman permalink*
    April 23, 2008

    Go for it, I’m sure that karma will reward you ;)

    I think the same quote can be applied to email or any form of communication. As John Lennon once said, “Everyone is talking, but no one is saying a thing”.

  3. April 23, 2008

    Looks like that has put paid to 99% of blogs – including mine LOL :) Superb painting too Its great to be introduced to new stuf

    regards
    RR

  4. April 23, 2008

    Once given the existential determination of thought, who is there to judge among the babel of competing voices?

  5. Lyndoman permalink*
    April 23, 2008

    @supaswag, who indeed?

  6. April 23, 2008

    Judge Twitt? Although I doubt that he prefers silence to noise. Anyway.. here’s what you need >> http://www.termight.co.uk/2000adonline.php

    Good Luck

  7. April 24, 2008

    very rightly said…many just blog about…when they have nothing important to say…time to think

  8. April 27, 2008

    Geat quote, and as Richard says, so applicable in the high communication world we live in today..
    :)
    Matt Garrett

  9. April 29, 2008

    Hmmm…..that has now killed all of my Twittering and blogging. I shall need to think hard about what to say from now on.
    But I love it. I have just send the picture with the quote around the office and I think a few people have stopped sending me emails already.
    Bliss

  10. May 5, 2008

    Go for it, I’m sure you’ll be rewarded.

    I think the same quote can be applied to email or any form of communication. As John Lennon once said, “Everyone is talking, but no one is saying a thing”.

    -Jeff

  11. May 11, 2008

    You also took William Strunk to heart: “Omit needless words!”

  12. May 13, 2008

    well theres also the famous army slogan, KISS, keep it simple, stupid. thats kinda the most effective way of doing anything on the internet.

  13. June 9, 2009

    never heard of that army slogan before…and i was in it

Trackbacks and Pingbacks

  1. Ryan M. Healy

Leave a Reply

Note: You can use basic XHTML in your comments. Your email address will never be published.

Subscribe to this comment feed via RSS

Get Adobe Flash player