--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most men make little use of their speech…" description: "\"Most men make little use of their speech than to give evidence against their own understanding.\" — George Savile" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/george-savile-23418_communication_most-men-make-little-use-of-their-speech_2410594.jpg" --- # Most men make little use of their speech than to give… ![“Most men make little use of their speech than to give evidence against their own understanding.” quote by George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/george-savile-23418_communication_most-men-make-little-use-of-their-speech_2410594.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/george-savile-23418_communication_most-men-make-little-use-of-their-speech_2410594.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/george-savile-23418_communication_most-men-make-little-use-of-their-speech_2410594.jpg) > “Most men make little use of their speech than to give evidence against their own understanding.” [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often speak more to expose their own ignorance than to convey knowledge. **In simple terms:** Speech reveals lack of understanding. Key Takeaway Listen before speaking. Themes communication self-awareness humility Mood contemplative critical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - debates - teaching - personal reflection Key Concepts epistemology self-deception Questions to Reflect On - Do you often speak to prove a point? - How can silence improve understanding? A Different Perspective Words can be misinterpreted without careful thought. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [If nobody spoke unless he had something to say, the human race would very soon lose the use of speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-nobody-spoke-unless-he-had-something-to-say-the-human-race-would/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Most of us do not use speech to express thought. We use it to express feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-stone/most-of-us-do-not-use-speech-to-express-thought-we-use-it-to-express/) [Jennifer Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-stone/) > [The true use of speech is not so much to express our wants as to conceal them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-true-use-of-speech-is-not-so-much-to-express-our-wants-as-to/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Some men make money not for the sake of living, but ache In the blindness of greed and live just for their fortune's sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/some-men-make-money-not-for-the-sake-of-living-but-ache-in-the/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Parisian men make love all day and have no time to work; American men work all day and have no time for love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zsa-zsa-gabor/parisian-men-make-love-all-day-and-have-no-time-to-work-american-men/) [Zsa Zsa Gabor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zsa-zsa-gabor/) > [A hundred men may make an encampment, but it takes a woman to make a home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-hundred-men-may-make-an-encampment-but-it-takes-a-woman-to-make-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some of the wildest men make the best pets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/some-of-the-wildest-men-make-the-best-pets/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [“Behind every successful woman are several confused men who give her something to make fun of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-miller/behind-every-successful-woman-are-several-confused-men-who-give-her/) [Sarah Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-miller/) > [Many laws as certainly make men bad, as bad men make many laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/many-laws-as-certainly-make-men-bad-as-bad-men-make-many-laws/) [Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/) > [Men make their own happiness, and a man may be respected even though only a slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-a-henty/men-make-their-own-happiness-and-a-man-may-be-respected-even-though/) [G.A. Henty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-a-henty/) > [Most men when they make up their faces, the makeup stands forward, and their faces are behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/most-men-when-they-make-up-their-faces-the-makeup-stands-forward-and/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [I love men who make me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nastassja-kinski/i-love-men-who-make-me-laugh/) [Nastassja Kinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nastassja-kinski/) > [Men can do nothing without the make-believe of a beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/men-can-do-nothing-without-the-make-believe-of-a-beginning/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Wise men make more opportunities than they find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wise-men-make-more-opportunities-than-they-find/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## More by George Savile > [Most men's anger about religion is as if two men should quarrel for a lady that neither of them care for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/most-men-s-anger-about-religion-is-as-if-two-men-should-quarrel-for-a/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [Many men swallow the being cheated, but no man can ever endure to chew it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/many-men-swallow-the-being-cheated-but-no-man-can-ever-endure-to-chew/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [Our nature hardly allows us to have enough of anything without having too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/our-nature-hardly-allows-us-to-have-enough-of-anything-without-having/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [Popularity is a crime from the moment it is sought; it is only a virtue where men have it whether they will or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/popularity-is-a-crime-from-the-moment-it-is-sought-it-is-only-a/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [Love is a passion that hath friends in the garrison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/love-is-a-passion-that-hath-friends-in-the-garrison/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [Some men's memory is like a box where a man should mingle his jewels with his old shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/some-men-s-memory-is-like-a-box-where-a-man-should-mingle-his-jewels/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [In this Age, when it is said of a man, He knows how to live, it may be implied he is not very honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/in-this-age-when-it-is-said-of-a-man-he-knows-how-to-live-it-may-be/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [There is reason to think the most celebrated philosophers would have been bunglers at business; but the reason is because they despised it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/there-is-reason-to-think-the-most-celebrated-philosophers-would-have/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [A man who is a master of patience is master of everything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/a-man-who-is-a-master-of-patience-is-master-of-everything-else/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [Malice is of a low stature, but it hath very long arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/malice-is-of-a-low-stature-but-it-hath-very-long-arms/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [Laws are generally not understood by three sorts of persons, viz, by those who make them, by those who execute them, and by those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/laws-are-generally-not-understood-by-three-sorts-of-persons-viz-by/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [Hope is generally a wrong guide, though it is good company along the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/hope-is-generally-a-wrong-guide-though-it-is-good-company-along-the/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [The people are never so perfectly backed, but that they will kick and fling if not stroked at seasonable times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/the-people-are-never-so-perfectly-backed-but-that-they-will-kick-and/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [The best way to suppose what may come, is to remember what is past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/the-best-way-to-suppose-what-may-come-is-to-remember-what-is-past/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [They who are of the opinion that Money will do everything, may very well be suspected to do everything for Money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/they-who-are-of-the-opinion-that-money-will-do-everything-may-very/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) [Explore all 25 George Savile quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) [Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most men make little use of their speech than to give evidence against their own understanding.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Savile" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/most-men-make-little-use-of-their-speech-than-to-give-evidence/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/most-men-make-little-use-of-their-speech-than-to-give-evidence/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/george-savile-23418_communication_most-men-make-little-use-of-their-speech_2410594.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/george-savile-23418_communication_most-men-make-little-use-of-their-speech_2410594.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/george-savile-23418_communication_most-men-make-little-use-of-their-speech_2410594.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Most men make little use of their speech than to give evidence against their own understanding.” — George Savile", "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": "George Savile", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Most men make little use of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/most-men-make-little-use-of-their-speech-than-to-give-evidence/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/most-men-make-little-use-of-their-speech-than-to-give-evidence/#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 } } ] } ```