--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To open his lips is crime in a plain…" description: "\"To open his lips is crime in a plain citizen.\" — Quintus Ennius" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/quintus-ennius-20214_crime_to-open-his-lips-is-crime-in-a-plain-cit_2671119.png" --- # To open his lips is crime in a plain citizen. ![“To open his lips is crime in a plain citizen.” quote by Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/quintus-ennius-20214_crime_to-open-his-lips-is-crime-in-a-plain-cit_2671119.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/quintus-ennius-20214_crime_to-open-his-lips-is-crime-in-a-plain-cit_2671119.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/quintus-ennius-20214_crime_to-open-his-lips-is-crime-in-a-plain-cit_2671119.png) > “To open his lips is crime in a plain citizen.” [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Speaking plainly can be a crime against societal norms. **In simple terms:** Plain speech may be socially criminal. Key Takeaway Consider audience expectations before speaking. Themes speech social norms conformity Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - political discourse - public speaking - media commentary Key Concepts rhetoric cultural etiquette Questions to Reflect On - When is honesty essential? - How to balance truth and decorum? A Different Perspective Free expression is vital despite norms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Crime Plain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime-plain-2502893/) [Lips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lips/) [Lips Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lips-crime-2502892/) [Open Lips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-lips-1742796/) [Plain Citizen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plain-citizen-2502894/) ## Related quotes > [“Keep my eyes open, my lips sealed. My heart closed, and my ears peeled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-higgins/keep-my-eyes-open-my-lips-sealed-my-heart-closed-and-my-ears-peeled/) [Wendy Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-higgins/) > [Why do you think people close their eyes when they kiss? Think about it. In the real world, if you saw someone an-inch-and-a-half away,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-reiser/why-do-you-think-people-close-their-eyes-when-they-kiss-think-about/) [Paul Reiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-reiser/) > [When I get home, I'm not the boss like I am at work - I slip into a more feminine role. I take everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-kerr/when-i-get-home-i-m-not-the-boss-like-i-am-at-work-i-slip-into-a-more/) [Miranda Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-kerr/) > [I ache for the touch of your lips dear, but much more for the touch of your whips dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-ache-for-the-touch-of-your-lips-dear-but-much-more-for-the-touch-of/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Do not be satisfied with the speech of your lips and the thought in your heart, all the promises and good sayings in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/do-not-be-satisfied-with-the-speech-of-your-lips-and-the-thought-in/) [Menachem Mendel of Kotzk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/) > [Your lips look so lonely. Would they like to meet mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-lips-look-so-lonely-would-they-like-to-meet-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tell her that you love her hair, that you love her skin, her lips, because, in truth, you love them more than you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/tell-her-that-you-love-her-hair-that-you-love-her-skin-her-lips/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Silent lips may avoid problems, but smiling lips may solve many problems...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusra/silent-lips-may-avoid-problems-but-smiling-lips-may-solve-many/) [Yusra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusra/) > [Live with your lips pressed against your fears, kissing your fears, neither pulling back nor aggressively violating them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deida/live-with-your-lips-pressed-against-your-fears-kissing-your-fears/) [David Deida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deida/) > [Nobody can have your psychedelic experience for you; you just have to screw your courage up and raise the cup to your lips or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-mckenna/nobody-can-have-your-psychedelic-experience-for-you-you-just-have-to/) [Dennis McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-mckenna/) > [Shhh.” He put a finger to her lips. “Hear me out. I cannot deny that I would've liked to have made babies with you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/shhh-he-put-a-finger-to-her-lips-hear-me-out-i-cannot-deny-that-i/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I nibbled my lower lip. "If you could see into my past just by touching my back, you'd have a hard time resisting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/i-nibbled-my-lower-lip-if-you-could-see-into-my-past-just-by-touching/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [I'm am an expert at reading lips especially when it's not moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-m-am-an-expert-at-reading-lips-especially-when-it-s-not-moving/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [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/) ## More by Quintus Ennius > [They hate whom they fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/they-hate-whom-they-fear/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [Let no one honour me with tears, or bury me with lamentation. Why? Because I fly hither and thither, living in the mouths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/let-no-one-honour-me-with-tears-or-bury-me-with-lamentation-why/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [To later Romans Ennius was the personification of the spirit of early Rome; by them he was called "The Father of Roman Poetry." We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/to-later-romans-ennius-was-the-personification-of-the-spirit-of-early/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [I never indulge in rhyme or stanza Unless I'm in bed with the influenza.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/i-never-indulge-in-rhyme-or-stanza-unless-i-m-in-bed-with-the/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [A true friend is tested in adversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/a-true-friend-is-tested-in-adversity/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [Don't ask of your friends what you yourself can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/don-t-ask-of-your-friends-what-you-yourself-can-do/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [Whom men fear they hate, and whom they hate, they wish dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/whom-men-fear-they-hate-and-whom-they-hate-they-wish-dead/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [Ennius was the father of Roman poetry, because he first introduced into Latin the Greek manner and in particular the hexameter metre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/ennius-was-the-father-of-roman-poetry-because-he-first-introduced/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [He who has two languages has two souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/he-who-has-two-languages-has-two-souls/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [Here is he laid to whom for daring deed, nor friend nor foe could render worthy meed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/here-is-he-laid-to-whom-for-daring-deed-nor-friend-nor-foe-could/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [The wise man is wise in vain who cannot be wise to his own advantage. \[Lat., Nequicquam sapere sapientem, qui ipse sibi prodesse non…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/the-wise-man-is-wise-in-vain-who-cannot-be-wise-to-his-own-advantage/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [ “Amicu certus in re incerta cernitur' \[A true friend is a friend when in difficulty\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/amicu-certus-in-re-incerta-cernitur-a-true-friend-is-a-friend-when-in/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [A sure friend is known in unsure circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/a-sure-friend-is-known-in-unsure-circumstances/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [He whose wisdom cannot help him, gets no good from being wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/he-whose-wisdom-cannot-help-him-gets-no-good-from-being-wise/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [He who civilly shows the way to one who has missed it, is as one who has lighted another's lamp from his own lamp;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/he-who-civilly-shows-the-way-to-one-who-has-missed-it-is-as-one-who/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) [Explore all 31 Quintus Ennius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) ## More Crime quotes > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“The jailers, the Court, everyone in that building – it wasn’t about justice; it was about obedience and intimidation…about maintaining order. Fear accomplished that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-allan/the-jailers-the-court-everyone-in-that-building-it-wasn-t-about/) [Jay Allan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-allan/) > [Taking notes while watching Forensic Files and Snapped. I don't want to make the same mistakes the criminals do! ;)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/taking-notes-while-watching-forensic-files-and-snapped-i-don-t-want/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. Only when the original invasion, occupation, extermination or usurpation has been safely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/nations-sometimes-flourish-by-denying-the-crimes-that-brought-them/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [“a crime to fell a tree and light it on fire, where coals of hardened shit warmed and stunk up homes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-crime-to-fell-a-tree-and-light-it-on-fire-where-coals-of-hardened/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Too much virtue can be criminal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-racine/too-much-virtue-can-be-criminal/) [Jean Racine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-racine/) > [The federal prison population increased by almost 800 percent between 1980 and 2013, often at a far faster rate than the Bureau of Prisons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-yates/the-federal-prison-population-increased-by-almost-800-percent-between/) [Sally Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-yates/) > [ \[P\]rogress, however, has not sufficiently infiltrated the Interior Ministry, affording protection to those who participated in the Bytyqi murders and other egregious Milosevic-era crimes. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avis-bohlen/p-rogress-however-has-not-sufficiently-infiltrated-the-interior/) [Avis Bohlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avis-bohlen/) [Browse all 8,359 Crime quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To open his lips is crime in a plain citizen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Quintus Ennius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/to-open-his-lips-is-crime-in-a-plain-citizen/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crime" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/to-open-his-lips-is-crime-in-a-plain-citizen/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/quintus-ennius-20214_crime_to-open-his-lips-is-crime-in-a-plain-cit_2671119.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/quintus-ennius-20214_crime_to-open-his-lips-is-crime-in-a-plain-cit_2671119.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/quintus-ennius-20214_crime_to-open-his-lips-is-crime-in-a-plain-cit_2671119.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To open his lips is crime in a plain citizen.” — Quintus Ennius", "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": "Quintus Ennius", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To open his lips is crime...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/to-open-his-lips-is-crime-in-a-plain-citizen/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/to-open-his-lips-is-crime-in-a-plain-citizen/#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 } } ] } ```