--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nature hath given men one tongue but two…" description: "\"Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.\" — Epictetus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/epictetus-413_ears_nature-hath-given-men-one-tongue-but-two_1115411.jpg" --- # Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may… ![“Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.” quote by Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/epictetus-413_ears_nature-hath-given-men-one-tongue-but-two_1115411.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/epictetus-413_ears_nature-hath-given-men-one-tongue-but-two_1115411.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/epictetus-413_ears_nature-hath-given-men-one-tongue-but-two_1115411.jpg) > “Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.” [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans have one mouth but two ears, implying we should listen twice as much as we speak. **In simple terms:** Listen more, speak less. Key Takeaway Prioritize listening in conversations. Themes communication humility learning Mood thoughtful calm Type philosophical self‑help When to use this quote - meetings - family discussions - customer service - teaching - conflict mediation Key Concepts stoicism ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can you ensure others are heard? - What habits help you listen actively? A Different Perspective People often dominate conversations, missing valuable input. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears/) [Ears Hear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears-hear-331542/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Hear Twice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hear-twice-1616349/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-tongue-1716282/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tongue/) [Tongue Ears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tongue-ears-1716283/) [Twice Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twice-speak-362263/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [Nature has given to men one tongue, but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/nature-has-given-to-men-one-tongue-but-two-ears-that-we-may-hear-from/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Nature has given man one tongue, but two ears, that we may hear twice as much as we speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/nature-has-given-man-one-tongue-but-two-ears-that-we-may-hear-twice/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could hear twice as much as we speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nature-gave-us-one-tongue-and-two-ears-so-we-could-hear-twice-as-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Now I see that going out into the testing ground of men it is the tongue and not the deed that wins the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/now-i-see-that-going-out-into-the-testing-ground-of-men-it-is-the/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-so-that-we-can-listen-twice-as-much-as/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Tell me you want me inside you. Don't take your tongue off my ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serani/tell-me-you-want-me-inside-you-don-t-take-your-tongue-off-my-ears/) [Serani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serani/) > [“Not everything you meet twice is the truth. Not everything you hear twice is the fact, and not everything you ponder over and over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/not-everything-you-meet-twice-is-the-truth-not-everything-you-hear/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [“The repeat is always the killer. Everything inside you goes into saying the word once, but sorry is the kind of word the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-summers/the-repeat-is-always-the-killer-everything-inside-you-goes-into/) [Courtney Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-summers/) > [God gave us two ears and one mouth, so we can hear twice as much as we say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-gave-us-two-ears-and-one-mouth-so-we-can-hear-twice-as-much-as-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Think before you act; think twice before you speak..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/think-before-you-act-think-twice-before-you-speak/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Think wisely and twice before you speak”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john/think-wisely-and-twice-before-you-speak/) [John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john/) > [I think that the larger and more complex the business gets, I have to listen twice as much as I speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-ahrendts/i-think-that-the-larger-and-more-complex-the-business-gets-i-have-to/) [Angela Ahrendts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-ahrendts/) > [“We have two ears and one mouth, therefore we should listen twice as much as we speak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeno/we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-therefore-we-should-listen-twice-as/) [Zeno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeno/) > [Think twice before you speak - and you'll find everyone talking about something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-rodman/think-twice-before-you-speak-and-you-ll-find-everyone-talking-about/) [Frances Rodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-rodman/) > [Think twice before you speak to a friend in need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/think-twice-before-you-speak-to-a-friend-in-need/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) ## More by Epictetus > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-whoever-wields-authority-over-the-things-we/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/practice-yourself-for-heaven-s-sake-in-little-things-and-then-proceed/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/do-not-laugh-much-or-often-or-unrestrainedly/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-not-disturbed-by-what-happens-to-us-but-by-our-thoughts-about/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/don-t-be-prideful-with-any-excellence-that-is-not-your-own/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For men sell themselves at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/you-know-yourself-what-you-are-worth-in-your-own-eyes-and-at-what/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/crows-pick-out-the-eyes-of-the-dead-when-the-dead-have-no-longer-need/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [As a man, casting off worn out garments taketh new ones, so the dweller in the body, entereth into ones that are new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/as-a-man-casting-off-worn-out-garments-taketh-new-ones-so-the-dweller/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [If you would improve, submit to be considered wihout sense and foolish with respect to externals. Wish to be considered to know nothing; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-you-would-improve-submit-to-be-considered-wihout-sense-and-foolish/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“For it is not death or pain that is to be feared, but the fear of pain or death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/for-it-is-not-death-or-pain-that-is-to-be-feared-but-the-fear-of-pain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [What else can I do, a lame old man, but sing hymns to God? If I were a nightingale, I would do the nightingale's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/what-else-can-i-do-a-lame-old-man-but-sing-hymns-to-god-if-i-were-a/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [People are disturbed not by things, but by the view they take of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them-2/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“Small-minded people blame others. Average people blame themselves. The wise see all blame as foolishness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/small-minded-people-blame-others-average-people-blame-themselves-the/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/all-philosophy-lies-in-two-words-sustain-and-abstain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) [Explore all 577 Epictetus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## More Ears quotes > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Story is about pulling the reader in and a plot is a more externalized mechanism of revelation. A plot is more antic, more performative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/story-is-about-pulling-the-reader-in-and-a-plot-is-a-more/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Somehow the river is louder when you cover your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/somehow-the-river-is-louder-when-you-cover-your-ears/) [Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/well-the-first-time-i-performed-my-mom-was-like-how-she-is-now-when/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [Men trust rather to their eyes than to their ears; the effect of precepts is therefore slow and tedious, whilst that of examples is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/men-trust-rather-to-their-eyes-than-to-their-ears-the-effect-of/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [The more that you act on your intuition fearlessly, the more your intuition will serve you. Intuition is the ear of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-more-that-you-act-on-your-intuition-fearlessly-the-more-your/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [it'll be this kind of deep blue”she said. “The kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes and your ears and all your words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/it-ll-be-this-kind-of-deep-blue-she-said-the-kind-of-color-that/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [Flat muscled and honey coloured. Sea secrets in his eyes. A silver raindrop in his ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flat-muscled-and-honey-coloured-sea-secrets-in-his-eyes-a-silver/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) [Browse all 2,987 Ears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Epictetus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/nature-hath-given-men-one-tongue-but-two-ears-that-we-may-hear-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ears" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/nature-hath-given-men-one-tongue-but-two-ears-that-we-may-hear-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/epictetus-413_ears_nature-hath-given-men-one-tongue-but-two_1115411.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/epictetus-413_ears_nature-hath-given-men-one-tongue-but-two_1115411.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/epictetus-413_ears_nature-hath-given-men-one-tongue-but-two_1115411.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.” — Epictetus", "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": "Epictetus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nature hath given men one tongue...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/nature-hath-given-men-one-tongue-but-two-ears-that-we-may-hear-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/nature-hath-given-men-one-tongue-but-two-ears-that-we-may-hear-from/#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 } } ] } ```