--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Silas knew words could have power behind…" description: "\"“Silas knew words could have power behind them. Usually it was just a sort of bad luck. He also knew, very early on, that you could never tell when tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/341/ari-berk-10468_bad-luck_silas-knew-words-could-have-power-behind_3149692.png" --- # Silas knew words could have power behind them. Usually it… ![“Silas knew words could have power behind them. Usually it was just a sort of bad luck. He also knew, very early on, that you could never tell when that bad luck would jump up to claim its due, so it was best to be careful. Quiet was safer. He wished his parents had been quieter when they were…” quote by Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/341/ari-berk-10468_bad-luck_silas-knew-words-could-have-power-behind_3149692.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/341/ari-berk-10468_bad-luck_silas-knew-words-could-have-power-behind_3149692.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/341/ari-berk-10468_bad-luck_silas-knew-words-could-have-power-behind_3149692.png) > ““Silas knew words could have power behind them. Usually it was just a sort of bad luck. He also knew, very early on, that you could never tell when that bad luck would jump up to claim its due, so it was best to be careful. Quiet was safer. He wished his parents had been quieter when they were together. Who knew what might happen when you said something awful to someone else? It was hard to take some words back. Some words stuck and you couldn’t shake them off. Silence was better than those kinds of words. Silas had learned that lesson the hard way.”” [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Words can cause unintended harm; silence often avoids damage. **In simple terms:** Words can hurt; silence is safer. Key Takeaway Choose silence when words may cause harm. Themes communication responsibility consequences Mood cautious reflective Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - online interactions - conflict resolution Key Concepts ethical speech social impact Questions to Reflect On - When should you speak versus stay silent? - How do you repair words that cannot be taken back? A Different Perspective Silence may also prevent necessary truth‑telling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-luck/) [Hard way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-way/) [Knew Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-words-552808/) [Quieter Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quieter-knew-5649797/) [Silas Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silas-knew-5574281/) [Silas Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silas-learned-659601/) [Words Silas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-silas-1607577/) ## Related quotes > [“Uncle seemed to take pleasure from knowing things other people didn’t. Silas did not like thinking this about the man who’d given them a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/uncle-seemed-to-take-pleasure-from-knowing-things-other-people-didn-t/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“Silas knew the stakes were incalculable, and yet what the Teacher was now commanding seemed impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/silas-knew-the-stakes-were-incalculable-and-yet-what-the-teacher-was/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“Gabriel did not become Silas all at once. He learned him in fragments— voice, gait, silence, appetite. He learned where to pause before answering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valon-g/gabriel-did-not-become-silas-all-at-once-he-learned-him-in-fragments/) [Valon G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valon-g/) > [“I knew my words were harsh, as I enunciated each syllable slowly, but I felt like I had to be clear with him. We’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-alexander/i-knew-my-words-were-harsh-as-i-enunciated-each-syllable-slowly-but-i/) [Monica Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-alexander/) > [If I knew words enough, I could write the longest love letter in the world and never get tired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/if-i-knew-words-enough-i-could-write-the-longest-love-letter-in-the/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The night I laid my eyes on you, felt everything around me move, got nervous when you looked my way but you knew all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-ali/the-night-i-laid-my-eyes-on-you-felt-everything-around-me-move-got/) [Nadia Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-ali/) > [“As his widow, she knew who she was and what she had inherited. She had loved him in her way and sometimes missed him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/as-his-widow-she-knew-who-she-was-and-what-she-had-inherited-she-had/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [“Let’s all do it,” said Mr. Watts. “Close your eyes and silently recite your name.” The sound of my name took me to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-jones/let-s-all-do-it-said-mr-watts-close-your-eyes-and-silently-recite/) [Lloyd Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-jones/) > [“Derek wished he had more of the right words to offer. But both he and Sloane knew those words didn't exist. So he gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-kane/derek-wished-he-had-more-of-the-right-words-to-offer-but-both-he-and/) [Andrea Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-kane/) > [Wo ai ni, Tessa,” he whispered. “Wo bu xiang shi qu ni.” She knew, without knowing how she knew, what the words meant. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/wo-ai-ni-tessa-he-whispered-wo-bu-xiang-shi-qu-ni-she-knew-without/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [She knew few words and believed in none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/she-knew-few-words-and-believed-in-none/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“It was as if she knew the very words his soul needed to hear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-tagg/it-was-as-if-she-knew-the-very-words-his-soul-needed-to-hear/) [Melissa Tagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-tagg/) > [I think deep down, we always knew that words are magic and some words have more power than others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-green/i-think-deep-down-we-always-knew-that-words-are-magic-and-some-words/) [Hank Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-green/) > [“I wasn’t sure whether he was a grad student, poet, actor, stripper, or brilliant combination of all those things. But the man knew Lord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-neill/i-wasn-t-sure-whether-he-was-a-grad-student-poet-actor-stripper-or/) [Chloe Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-neill/) > [“I always knew that words are suitcases with false bottoms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-always-knew-that-words-are-suitcases-with-false-bottoms/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ari Berk > [“When we change the shape of the Land, we alter the contents and contexts of our collective, familial, and personal memories. Yet, stories can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/when-we-change-the-shape-of-the-land-we-alter-the-contents-and/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“Here were love letters, the youth knew. Secret love letters. Unfound, still waiting somewhere beyond the mist. 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He wished his parents had been quieter when they were together. Who knew what might happen when you said something awful to someone else? It was hard to take some words back. Some words stuck and you couldn’t shake them off. Silence was better than those kinds of words. 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