--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: SIR P: Sir, calumnies are answer'd best…" description: "\"“SIR P: Sir, calumnies are answer'd best with silence.”\" — Ben Jonson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/ben-jonson-1371_answer_sir-p-sir-calumnies-are-answer-d-best-wi_1974654.png" --- # SIR P: Sir, calumnies are answer'd best with silence. ![“SIR P: Sir, calumnies are answer'd best with silence.” quote by Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/ben-jonson-1371_answer_sir-p-sir-calumnies-are-answer-d-best-wi_1974654.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/ben-jonson-1371_answer_sir-p-sir-calumnies-are-answer-d-best-wi_1974654.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/ben-jonson-1371_answer_sir-p-sir-calumnies-are-answer-d-best-wi_1974654.png) > ““SIR P: Sir, calumnies are answer'd best with silence.”” [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence can be the strongest response to false accusations. **In simple terms:** Quietly ignore lies. Key Takeaway Respond with silence to baseless claims. Themes communication integrity conflict Mood thoughtful strategic Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - legal disputes - online trolling - workplace gossip - personal insults Key Concepts rhetoric ethics Questions to Reflect On - When is silence more powerful than a rebuttal? - What risks come with staying silent? A Different Perspective Silence may be misinterpreted as weakness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answer/) [Best Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-silence-3335727/) [Calumnies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calumnies-2151765/) [Calumnies Answer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calumnies-answer-3335725/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Sir Calumnies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sir-calumnies-3335726/) ## Related quotes > [Calumnies are answered best with silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/calumnies-are-answered-best-with-silence/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [I can write best in the silence and solitude of the night, when everyone has retired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/i-can-write-best-in-the-silence-and-solitude-of-the-night-when/) [Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/) > [The best calumnies are spiced with truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-calumnies-are-spiced-with-truth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Unkind words live best in silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-dickerson/unkind-words-live-best-in-silence/) [Paula Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-dickerson/) > [I never think it necessary to repeat calumnies; they are sparks, which, if you do not blow them, will go out of themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/i-never-think-it-necessary-to-repeat-calumnies-they-are-sparks-which/) [Herman Boerhaave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-boerhaave/) > [My answer is bring 'em on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/my-answer-is-bring-em-on/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“Those are good questions. I recognize good questions, because I can come up with them myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-brust/those-are-good-questions-i-recognize-good-questions-because-i-can/) [Steven Brust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-brust/) > [A wiki works best where you're trying to answer a question that you can't easily pose, where there's not a natural structure that's known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-cunningham/a-wiki-works-best-where-you-re-trying-to-answer-a-question-that-you/) [Ward Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-cunningham/) > [Whenever I'm asked about Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, I always answer: 'Neymar is the best,' not just because of his goals but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-carlos/whenever-i-m-asked-about-cristiano-ronaldo-or-lionel-messi-i-always/) [Roberto Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-carlos/) > [“There is a cure and answer to everything, we just haven't found them yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-halimi/there-is-a-cure-and-answer-to-everything-we-just-haven-t-found-them/) [Eve Halimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-halimi/) > [“And if you can’t say yes, answer anyway. Because I’d rather live with the answer than die with the question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ellis/and-if-you-can-t-say-yes-answer-anyway-because-i-d-rather-live-with/) [Jon Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ellis/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/) [Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/) > [What you are is a question only you can answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/what-you-are-is-a-question-only-you-can-answer/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## More by Ben Jonson > [Soul of the Age! The applause! delight! the wonder of our stage! My Shakespeare, rise; I will not lodge thee by Chaucer, or Spenser,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/soul-of-the-age-the-applause-delight-the-wonder-of-our-stage-my/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Ambition, like a torrent, never looks back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/ambition-like-a-torrent-never-looks-back/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Heaven prepares good men with crosses; but no ill can happen to a good man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/heaven-prepares-good-men-with-crosses-but-no-ill-can-happen-to-a-good/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [The dignity of truth is lost with much protesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/the-dignity-of-truth-is-lost-with-much-protesting/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [True melancholy breeds your perfect fine wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/true-melancholy-breeds-your-perfect-fine-wit/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Leave a kiss but in the cup, and I'll not look for wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/leave-a-kiss-but-in-the-cup-and-i-ll-not-look-for-wine/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [All discourses but my own afflict me; they seem harsh, impertinent, and irksome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/all-discourses-but-my-own-afflict-me-they-seem-harsh-impertinent-and/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [“drink to the cause, and pure vapours”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/drink-to-the-cause-and-pure-vapours/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Spread yourself upon his bosom publicly, whose heart you would eat in private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/spread-yourself-upon-his-bosom-publicly-whose-heart-you-would-eat-in/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [That old bald cheater, Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/that-old-bald-cheater-time/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Rich apparel has strange virtues; it makes him that hath it without means esteemed for an excellent wit; he that enjoys it with means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/rich-apparel-has-strange-virtues-it-makes-him-that-hath-it-without/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Each petty hand Can steer a ship becalm'd; but he that will Govern and carry her to her ends, must know His tides, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/each-petty-hand-can-steer-a-ship-becalm-d-but-he-that-will-govern-and/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [The way to rise is to obey and please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/the-way-to-rise-is-to-obey-and-please/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [The covetous man never has money. The prodigal will have none shortly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/the-covetous-man-never-has-money-the-prodigal-will-have-none-shortly/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Fortune, that favors fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/fortune-that-favors-fools/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) [Explore all 249 Ben Jonson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) ## More Answer quotes > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [What you are is a question only you can answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/what-you-are-is-a-question-only-you-can-answer/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/) [Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [“And if you can’t say yes, answer anyway. Because I’d rather live with the answer than die with the question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ellis/and-if-you-can-t-say-yes-answer-anyway-because-i-d-rather-live-with/) [Jon Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ellis/) > [“There is a cure and answer to everything, we just haven't found them yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-halimi/there-is-a-cure-and-answer-to-everything-we-just-haven-t-found-them/) [Eve Halimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-halimi/) > [Whenever I'm asked about Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, I always answer: 'Neymar is the best,' not just because of his goals but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-carlos/whenever-i-m-asked-about-cristiano-ronaldo-or-lionel-messi-i-always/) [Roberto Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-carlos/) > [A wiki works best where you're trying to answer a question that you can't easily pose, where there's not a natural structure that's known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-cunningham/a-wiki-works-best-where-you-re-trying-to-answer-a-question-that-you/) [Ward Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-cunningham/) > [“Those are good questions. I recognize good questions, because I can come up with them myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-brust/those-are-good-questions-i-recognize-good-questions-because-i-can/) [Steven Brust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-brust/) > [My answer is bring 'em on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/my-answer-is-bring-em-on/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I'll answer anything... I'm brutally honest, actually, which gets me in trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/i-ll-answer-anything-i-m-brutally-honest-actually-which-gets-me-in/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) > [“...I guess I can put two and two together." "Sometimes the answer's four," I said, "and sometimes it's twenty-two...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/i-guess-i-can-put-two-and-two-together-sometimes-the-answer-s-four-i/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [Jumping someone is never the answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/jumping-someone-is-never-the-answer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I play along myself, even though I can't help the player. So I can't say what I think the answer might be. But I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-mcguinness/i-play-along-myself-even-though-i-can-t-help-the-player-so-i-can-t/) [Paddy McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-mcguinness/) > [Sometimes the question is complicated, but the answers are simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-suess/sometimes-the-question-is-complicated-but-the-answers-are-simple/) [Dr Suess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-suess/) [Browse all 2,090 Answer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“SIR P: Sir, calumnies are answer'd best with silence.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Jonson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/sir-p-sir-calumnies-are-answer-d-best-with-silence/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Answer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/sir-p-sir-calumnies-are-answer-d-best-with-silence/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/ben-jonson-1371_answer_sir-p-sir-calumnies-are-answer-d-best-wi_1974654.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/ben-jonson-1371_answer_sir-p-sir-calumnies-are-answer-d-best-wi_1974654.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/ben-jonson-1371_answer_sir-p-sir-calumnies-are-answer-d-best-wi_1974654.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“SIR P: Sir, calumnies are answer'd best with silence.” — Ben Jonson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ben Jonson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“SIR P: Sir, calumnies are answer'd...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/sir-p-sir-calumnies-are-answer-d-best-with-silence/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/sir-p-sir-calumnies-are-answer-d-best-with-silence/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```