--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Slowly we became silent, and silence…" description: "\"Slowly we became silent, and silence itself if an enemy to friendship.\" — Norman Maclean" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/norman-maclean-10625_enemy_slowly-we-became-silent-and-silence-itse_1776828.jpg" --- # Slowly we became silent, and silence itself if an enemy to… ![“Slowly we became silent, and silence itself if an enemy to friendship.” quote by Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/norman-maclean-10625_enemy_slowly-we-became-silent-and-silence-itse_1776828.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/norman-maclean-10625_enemy_slowly-we-became-silent-and-silence-itse_1776828.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/norman-maclean-10625_enemy_slowly-we-became-silent-and-silence-itse_1776828.jpg) > “Slowly we became silent, and silence itself if an enemy to friendship.” [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence erodes friendships, turning unspoken issues into barriers that damage relationships. **In simple terms:** Not talking hurts friendships. Key Takeaway Speak up before silence harms. Themes communication friendship silence conflict trust Mood thoughtful melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - team meetings - conflict resolution workshops Key Concepts interpersonal dynamics psychology social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - When is silence constructive? - How to balance speaking up and listening? A Different Perspective Silence can also be a healthy pause in some contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ## Related quotes > [The city itself swung slowly toward us silent as a dream. No sign of life but puffs of steam from skyscraper chimneys, the motion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/the-city-itself-swung-slowly-toward-us-silent-as-a-dream-no-sign-of/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [It is not easy to keep silent when silence is a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-is-not-easy-to-keep-silent-when-silence-is-a-lie/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [If you feel blocked, do not turn to others, but look inside, in silence, for the enemy of your progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-buckley/if-you-feel-blocked-do-not-turn-to-others-but-look-inside-in-silence/) [Jeff Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-buckley/) > [So scream your heart out you are the chosen you gotta show them silence is the enemy scream it out loud we are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/papa-roach/so-scream-your-heart-out-you-are-the-chosen-you-gotta-show-them/) [Papa Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/papa-roach/) > [Silence is our enemy, and sound is our weapon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/silence-is-our-enemy-and-sound-is-our-weapon/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Silence is my enemy, But I hate the constant noise, So no matter how much I hurt, I have to keep my poise...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stasja-fawn/silence-is-my-enemy-but-i-hate-the-constant-noise-so-no-matter-how/) [Stasja Fawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stasja-fawn/) > [“She did not rise at their entrance, nor make any sign that she had noticed them at all. But perhaps she did not hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/she-did-not-rise-at-their-entrance-nor-make-any-sign-that-she-had/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [“This can happen again. This is happening in other parts of the world now. And you have to speak out. You can’t remain silent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/this-can-happen-again-this-is-happening-in-other-parts-of-the-world/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“He fell silent, a silence with edges like broken glass that scraped across her heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sondra-allan-carr/he-fell-silent-a-silence-with-edges-like-broken-glass-that-scraped/) [Sondra Allan Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sondra-allan-carr/) > [“She hesitated, wiping her hands off on her apron. “I’m not sure if I’ll be here when you get back. This place is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/she-hesitated-wiping-her-hands-off-on-her-apron-i-m-not-sure-if-i-ll/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [“The most dangerous silence is the one where the impending danger is more silent than the silence there!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-most-dangerous-silence-is-the-one-where-the-impending-danger-is/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“When you're silent, your silence condones it. Thus, whatever you believe in goes down the drain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-tindugan-adoviso/when-you-re-silent-your-silence-condones-it-thus-whatever-you-believe/) Jennifer Tindugan-Adoviso > [“Why does the writer love the depths of the night? Because there, he doesn't have to tell anything or anyone to be silent, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/why-does-the-writer-love-the-depths-of-the-night-because-there-he/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Um…you’re four blocks away. Why can’t you walk?” “I’m naked.” Sometimes the truth was like a band-aid in need of removal; one had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-thornton/um-you-re-four-blocks-away-why-can-t-you-walk-i-m-naked-sometimes-the/) [Marshall Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-thornton/) > [It is not so easy to keep silent when the silence is a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-is-not-so-easy-to-keep-silent-when-the-silence-is-a-lie/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More by Norman Maclean > [At the time I did not know that stories of life are often more like rivers than books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/at-the-time-i-did-not-know-that-stories-of-life-are-often-more-like/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“In this story of the outside world and the inside world with a fire between, the outside world of little screwups recedes now for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/in-this-story-of-the-outside-world-and-the-inside-world-with-a-fire/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“I hope there are others also who don't mind trees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/i-hope-there-are-others-also-who-don-t-mind-trees/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [Probably most catastrophes end this way without an ending, the dead not even knowing how they died...,those who loved them forever questioning "this unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/probably-most-catastrophes-end-this-way-without-an-ending-the-dead/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [If our father had had his way, nobody who did not know how to fish would be allowed to disgrace a fish by catching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/if-our-father-had-had-his-way-nobody-who-did-not-know-how-to-fish/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [I knew that, when needed, mountains would move for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/i-knew-that-when-needed-mountains-would-move-for-me/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“I sat there and forgot and forgot, until what remained was the river that went by and I who watched... Eventually the watcher joined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/i-sat-there-and-forgot-and-forgot-until-what-remained-was-the-river/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/it-is-those-we-live-with-and-love-and-should-know-who-elude-us/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [Unless we are willing to escape into sentimentality or fantasy, often the best we can do with catastrophes, even our own, is to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/unless-we-are-willing-to-escape-into-sentimentality-or-fantasy-often/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [As for my father, I never knew whether he believed God was a mathematician but he certainly believed God could count and that only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/as-for-my-father-i-never-knew-whether-he-believed-god-was-a/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [At sunrise everything is luminous but not clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/at-sunrise-everything-is-luminous-but-not-clear/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“On the Big Blackfoot River above the mouth of Belmont Creek the banks are fringed by large Ponderosa pines. In the slanting sun of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/on-the-big-blackfoot-river-above-the-mouth-of-belmont-creek-the-banks/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [Of course, now I am too old to be much of a fisherman, and now of course I usually fish the big waters alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/of-course-now-i-am-too-old-to-be-much-of-a-fisherman-and-now-of/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“...it is not fly fishing if you are not looking for answers to questions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/it-is-not-fly-fishing-if-you-are-not-looking-for-answers-to-questions/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/eventually-all-things-merge-into-one-and-a-river-runs-through-it-the/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) [Explore all 64 Norman Maclean quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) ## More Enemy quotes > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/it-is-the-rule-in-war-if-our-forces-are-ten-to-the-enemy-s-one-to/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Fear is a man's worst enemy, but love is a man's most powerful weapon against anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-is-a-man-s-worst-enemy-but-love-is-a-man-s-most-powerful-weapon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [“Never let your Enemies become your Advocates.” by A. K. Hasan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-hasan/never-let-your-enemies-become-your-advocates-by-a-k-hasan/) A.K. Hasan > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't see why we and the Chinese should have to be enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-see-why-we-and-the-chinese-should-have-to-be-enemies/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [In this business, you find the enemy, then go after and destroy him. Everything else is rubbish!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rickenbacker/in-this-business-you-find-the-enemy-then-go-after-and-destroy-him/) [Eddie Rickenbacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rickenbacker/) > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) [Browse all 7,981 Enemy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Slowly we became silent, and silence itself if an enemy to friendship.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman Maclean" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/slowly-we-became-silent-and-silence-itself-if-an-enemy-to-friendship/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/slowly-we-became-silent-and-silence-itself-if-an-enemy-to-friendship/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/norman-maclean-10625_enemy_slowly-we-became-silent-and-silence-itse_1776828.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/norman-maclean-10625_enemy_slowly-we-became-silent-and-silence-itse_1776828.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/norman-maclean-10625_enemy_slowly-we-became-silent-and-silence-itse_1776828.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Slowly we became silent, and silence itself if an enemy to friendship.” — Norman Maclean", "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": "Norman Maclean", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Slowly we became silent, and silence...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/slowly-we-became-silent-and-silence-itself-if-an-enemy-to-friendship/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/slowly-we-became-silent-and-silence-itself-if-an-enemy-to-friendship/#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 } } ] } ```