"We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say."
— Zeno of Citium
We Have Two Ears And One
We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say.
About this quote
This saying is attributed to Zeno of Citium in Diogenes Laertius's Lives of the Eminent Philosophers (Book VII). An almost identical version (quote 529 in this collection) is also attributed to Zeno with a slightly different phrasing, suggesting the remark circulated in multiple forms in antiquity. The Stoic valuation of careful listening over impulsive speech reflects the broader doctrine that the wise person speaks only when they have something worth saying and that precipitate speech is a form of poor judgment. Epictetus urged his students similarly: "We have two ears and one tongue."
Source
Attributed, from Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, Book VII
