---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not one sound fears the silence that…"
description: "\"Not one sound fears the silence that extinguishes it. And no silence exists that is not pregnant with sound.\" — John Cage"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f7/john-cage-2094_fear_not-one-sound-fears-the-silence-that-ext_254277.png"
---

#  Not one sound fears the silence that extinguishes it. And…

![“Not one sound fears the silence that extinguishes it. And no silence exists that is not pregnant with sound.” quote by John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f7/john-cage-2094_fear_not-one-sound-fears-the-silence-that-ext_254277.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f7/john-cage-2094_fear_not-one-sound-fears-the-silence-that-ext_254277.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f7/john-cage-2094_fear_not-one-sound-fears-the-silence-that-ext_254277.png)

> “Not one sound fears the silence that extinguishes it. And no silence exists that is not pregnant with sound.”

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Silence is never empty; it is filled with potential sound, and fear of silence is a fear of the unheard.

**In simple terms:** Silence holds hidden sounds.

Key Takeaway

Listen to the unspoken.

Themes

philosophy perception sound theory

Mood

contemplative inquisitive

Type

philosophical artistic

When to use this quote

- meditation
- creative composition
- audio engineering
- psychology

Key Concepts

acoustics existentialism mindfulness

Questions to Reflect On

- What does silence reveal to you?
- How can you use silence creatively?

A Different Perspective

Silence can be uncomfortable for some listeners.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Pregnant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pregnant/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/)

## Related quotes

> [But ordinarily you think otherwise: you think if you are silent you will be sad. Ordinarily you think, how can you avoid sadness if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/but-ordinarily-you-think-otherwise-you-think-if-you-are-silent-you/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [God, despite his casual silence, still exists. Of that I havent a single doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-williams-jr/god-despite-his-casual-silence-still-exists-of-that-i-havent-a-single/)

[Don Williams Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-williams-jr/)

> [“The wall of silence that exists between us is as long as the Great Wall of China. And though it’s the same length, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-wall-of-silence-that-exists-between-us-is-as-long-as-the-great/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [Your silence exists as does my self gathering. But so does the almost absolute silence of the world's dawning. In such suspension, before every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luce-irigaray/your-silence-exists-as-does-my-self-gathering-but-so-does-the-almost/)

[Luce Irigaray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luce-irigaray/)

> [God, despite his casual silence, still exists. Of that I haven't a single doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-despite-his-casual-silence-still-exists-of-that-i-haven-t-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“If I could record them and transmit them to the present age, they would constitute nothing more, nowadays, than dead sounds. They would be,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-de-villiers-de-l-isle-adam/if-i-could-record-them-and-transmit-them-to-the-present-age-they/)

[Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-de-villiers-de-l-isle-adam/)

> [Being pregnant is stressful; it wears your body down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sexyy-red/being-pregnant-is-stressful-it-wears-your-body-down/)

[Sexyy Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sexyy-red/)

> [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/)

[Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/)

> [Truthfully, being pregnant is changing me as a person. Each day is part of this amazing journey that has completely shifted the focus of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-madison/truthfully-being-pregnant-is-changing-me-as-a-person-each-day-is-part/)

[Holly Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-madison/)

> [When I was pregnant, I felt filled with life, and I felt really happy. I ate well, and I slept well. I felt much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/when-i-was-pregnant-i-felt-filled-with-life-and-i-felt-really-happy-i/)

[Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/)

> [The concept of growing up is so hard to quantify. What have you learned and how have you changed and how have you stayed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-byrne/the-concept-of-growing-up-is-so-hard-to-quantify-what-have-you/)

[Rose Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-byrne/)

> [My mother got pregnant with me at the age of fifteen. This was '64, and unheard of at that time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-dre/my-mother-got-pregnant-with-me-at-the-age-of-fifteen-this-was-64-and/)

[Dr. Dre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-dre/)

> [I got Mary pregnant and man that's all she wrote. And for my 19th birthday, I got a union card and a factory coat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-got-mary-pregnant-and-man-that-s-all-she-wrote-and-for-my-19th/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [The mother of the imbecile is always pregnant,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincenzo-nibali/the-mother-of-the-imbecile-is-always-pregnant/)

Vincenzo Nibali

> [In many ways, being pregnant and working were more difficult than motherhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethenny-frankel/in-many-ways-being-pregnant-and-working-were-more-difficult-than/)

[Bethenny Frankel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethenny-frankel/)

## More by John Cage

> [If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/if-something-is-boring-after-two-minutes-try-it-for-four-if-still/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [ It was at Harvard not quite forty years ago that I went into an anechoic \[totally silent\] chamber not expecting in that silent room… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/it-was-at-harvard-not-quite-forty-years-ago-that-i-went-into-an/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [So somebody has talent? So what? Dime a dozen. And we're overpopulated. Actually we have more food than we have people and more art.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/so-somebody-has-talent-so-what-dime-a-dozen-and-we-re-overpopulated/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [“...the important questions are answered by not liking only but disliking and accepting equally what one likes and dislikes. Otherwise there is no access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-important-questions-are-answered-by-not-liking-only-but-disliking/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [The material of music is sound and silence. Integrating these is composing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-material-of-music-is-sound-and-silence-integrating-these-is/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [There is poetry as soon as we realize that we possess nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/there-is-poetry-as-soon-as-we-realize-that-we-possess-nothing/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [To see, one must go beyond the imiagination and for that one must stand absolutely still as though at the center of a leap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/to-see-one-must-go-beyond-the-imiagination-and-for-that-one-must/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [Value judgments are destructive to our proper business, which is curiosity and awareness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/value-judgments-are-destructive-to-our-proper-business-which-is/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [Our intention is to affirm this life, not to bring order out of chaos, nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/our-intention-is-to-affirm-this-life-not-to-bring-order-out-of-chaos/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [There are some good people in it, but the orchestra as a whole is equivalent to a gang bent on destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/there-are-some-good-people-in-it-but-the-orchestra-as-a-whole-is/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [Art's purpose is to sober and quiet the mind so that it is in accord with what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/art-s-purpose-is-to-sober-and-quiet-the-mind-so-that-it-is-in-accord/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [People who aren't artists often feel that artists are inspired. But if you work at your art you don't have time to be inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/people-who-aren-t-artists-often-feel-that-artists-are-inspired-but-if/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [“Farting, don't think, just fart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/farting-don-t-think-just-fart/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [My work became an exploration of non-intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/my-work-became-an-exploration-of-non-intention/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [As McLuhan says, everything happens at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/as-mcluhan-says-everything-happens-at-once/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

[Explore all 186 John Cage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

## More Fear quotes

> [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/)

[Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/)

> [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/)

[Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/)

> [“...Often that which most we fear births the resolve that spurs us on to altitudes we could not have achieved, had we continued walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/often-that-which-most-we-fear-births-the-resolve-that-spurs-us-on-to/)

[M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/)

> [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/)

[Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/)

> [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/)

Nagisa Tatsumi

> [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/)

[Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [“Snip off the little worries and expressions of worry” like little branches atop a tall tree.28 If you are truly worried, sharing your concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/snip-off-the-little-worries-and-expressions-of-worry-like-little/)

[Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/)

> [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/)

[Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/)

> [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/)

[Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/)

> [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/)

[Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

[Browse all 35,569 Fear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Not one sound fears the silence that extinguishes it. And no silence exists that is not pregnant with sound.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Cage"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/not-one-sound-fears-the-silence-that-extinguishes-it-and-no-silence/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Fear"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/not-one-sound-fears-the-silence-that-extinguishes-it-and-no-silence/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f7/john-cage-2094_fear_not-one-sound-fears-the-silence-that-ext_254277.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f7/john-cage-2094_fear_not-one-sound-fears-the-silence-that-ext_254277.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f7/john-cage-2094_fear_not-one-sound-fears-the-silence-that-ext_254277.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Not one sound fears the silence that extinguishes it. And no silence exists that is not pregnant with sound.” — John Cage",
                "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": "John Cage",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Not one sound fears the silence...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/not-one-sound-fears-the-silence-that-extinguishes-it-and-no-silence/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/not-one-sound-fears-the-silence-that-extinguishes-it-and-no-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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
