---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is tact that is golden, not silence."
description: "\"It is tact that is golden, not silence.\" — Samuel Butler"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/samuel-butler-823_golden_it-is-tact-that-is-golden-not-silence-10_1043290.jpg"
---

#  It is tact that is golden, not silence.

![“It is tact that is golden, not silence.” quote by Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/samuel-butler-823_golden_it-is-tact-that-is-golden-not-silence-10_1043290.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/samuel-butler-823_golden_it-is-tact-that-is-golden-not-silence-10_1043290.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/samuel-butler-823_golden_it-is-tact-that-is-golden-not-silence-10_1043290.jpg)

> “It is tact that is golden, not silence.”

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

## About This Quote

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

Tact is more valuable than silence.

**In simple terms:** Being tactful is more precious than staying silent.

Key Takeaway

Practice tact to communicate wisely.

Themes

communication wisdom social skill

Mood

practical thoughtful

Type

advice social

When to use this quote

- negotiations
- team meetings
- conflict resolution
- public speaking

Key Concepts

ethics interpersonal dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- When is silence better than tact?
- How can you improve your tact?

A Different Perspective

Silence can sometimes be necessary.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Tact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tact/)

## Related quotes

> [Silence is not always tact, and it is tact that is golden - not silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/silence-is-not-always-tact-and-it-is-tact-that-is-golden-not-silence/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [Modern civilization has taught us to convert night into day and golden silence into brazen din and noise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/modern-civilization-has-taught-us-to-convert-night-into-day-and/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Silence is golden but if silence is wrapped under guilt it will be culminate into dissatisfaction,fear &amp; pains of discomfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/silence-is-golden-but-if-silence-is-wrapped-under-guilt-it-will-be/)

[DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/)

> [“Mute in that golden silence hung with green, Come down from heaven and bring me in your eyes Remembrance of all beauty that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/mute-in-that-golden-silence-hung-with-green-come-down-from-heaven-and/)

[Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/)

> [Silence and tact may or may not be the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/silence-and-tact-may-or-may-not-be-the-same-thing/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [Filled with rapture, his soul yearned for freedom, space, vastness. Over him the heavenly dome, full of quiet, shining stars, hung boundlessly. From the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/filled-with-rapture-his-soul-yearned-for-freedom-space-vastness-over/)

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

> [Silently, God opens his golden eyes over the place of skulls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-trakl/silently-god-opens-his-golden-eyes-over-the-place-of-skulls/)

[Georg Trakl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-trakl/)

> [“My silence is golden and can never be misquoted." ~Elissa Gabrielle”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elissa-gabrielle/my-silence-is-golden-and-can-never-be-misquoted-elissa-gabrielle/)

[Elissa Gabrielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elissa-gabrielle/)

> [It is well, when in difficulties, to say never a word, neither black nor white. Speech is silver but silence is golden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/it-is-well-when-in-difficulties-to-say-never-a-word-neither-black-nor/)

[Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/)

> [As the Swiss inscription says: Sprechen ist silbern, Schweigen ist golden,- "Speech is silvern, Silence is golden;" or, as I might rather express it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-the-swiss-inscription-says-sprechen-ist-silbern-schweigen-ist/)

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

> [A Positive Mental Attitude is the right mental attitude. What is the right mental attitude? It is most often comprised of the "plus" characteristics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-positive-mental-attitude-is-the-right-mental-attitude-what-is-the/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

> [“A schoolmate of Matt Chandler's with the locker next to his: "I need to tell you about Jesus. When do you want to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/a-schoolmate-of-matt-chandler-s-with-the-locker-next-to-his-i-need-to/)

[Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/)

> [Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tact-is-the-ability-to-describe-others-as-they-see-themselves/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [... the majority of colored men do not yet think it worth while that women aspire to higher education… The three R's, a littlemusic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/the-majority-of-colored-men-do-not-yet-think-it-worth-while-that/)

[Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/)

> [If you use tact you can say anything, then make it funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/if-you-use-tact-you-can-say-anything-then-make-it-funny/)

[Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/)

## More by Samuel Butler

> [Is life worth living? This is a question for an embryo not for a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/is-life-worth-living-this-is-a-question-for-an-embryo-not-for-a-man/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. If I cannot, and I know I cannot, get the literary and scientific bigwigs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/i-am-the-enfant-terrible-of-literature-and-science-if-i-cannot-and-i/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [If you follow reason far enough it always leads to conclusions that are contrary to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-you-follow-reason-far-enough-it-always-leads-to-conclusions-that/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/all-animals-except-man-know-that-the-principal-business-of-life-is-to/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [The advantage of doing one's praising for oneself is that one can lay it on so thick and exactly in the right places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-advantage-of-doing-one-s-praising-for-oneself-is-that-one-can-lay/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [Spare the rod and spoil the child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [Opinions have vested interests just as men have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/opinions-have-vested-interests-just-as-men-have/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [“we must judge men not so much by what they, as by what they make us feel that they have it in them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/we-must-judge-men-not-so-much-by-what-they-as-by-what-they-make-us/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [If I die prematurely I shall be saved from being bored to death at my own success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-i-die-prematurely-i-shall-be-saved-from-being-bored-to-death-at-my/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [Vaccination is the medical sacrament corresponding to baptism. Whether it is or is not more efficacious I do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/vaccination-is-the-medical-sacrament-corresponding-to-baptism-whether/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [“Having, then, once introduced an element of inconsistency into his system, he was far too consistent not to be inconsistent consistently, and he lapsed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/having-then-once-introduced-an-element-of-inconsistency-into-his/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [Brigands demand your money or your life; women require both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/brigands-demand-your-money-or-your-life-women-require-both/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [It is not sufficiently considered in the hour of exultation, that all human excellence is comparative; that no man performs much but in proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-is-not-sufficiently-considered-in-the-hour-of-exultation-that-all/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

> [“The oldest books are still only just out to those who have not read them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-oldest-books-are-still-only-just-out-to-those-who-have-not-read/)

[Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

[Explore all 355 Samuel Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/)

## More Golden quotes

> [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/)

[Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/)

> [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [O Word of God incarnate . . . It is the golden casket Where gems of truth are stored; It is the heaven-drawn picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walsham-how/o-word-of-god-incarnate-it-is-the-golden-casket-where-gems-of-truth/)

Walsham How

> [Just because the Americans are so good at rattling out accessible and cheap junk food, nobody looks twice when it comes to their food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-oliver/just-because-the-americans-are-so-good-at-rattling-out-accessible-and/)

[Jamie Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-oliver/)

> [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/yes-when-i-get-big-and-have-my-own-home-no-plush-chairs-and-lace/)

[Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/)

> [Most people put money in their piggy bank. I buy a goose that lays golden eggs over and over again. That's what an asset…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/most-people-put-money-in-their-piggy-bank-i-buy-a-goose-that-lays/)

[Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/)

> [My featherbed is deep and soft, and there I’ll lay you down, I’ll dress you all in yellow silk and on your head a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-featherbed-is-deep-and-soft-and-there-i-ll-lay-you-down-i-ll-dress/)

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

> [Your name is a golden bell hung in my heart. I would break my body to pieces to call you once by your name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-s-beagle/your-name-is-a-golden-bell-hung-in-my-heart-i-would-break-my-body-to/)

[Peter S. Beagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-s-beagle/)

> [We're in a golden age for television. TV 25 years ago was slow, plodding , boring. The production values were not great. Today it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-dunbar/we-re-in-a-golden-age-for-television-tv-25-years-ago-was-slow/)

[Adrian Dunbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-dunbar/)

> [You are quite, quite wrong if you think that ... I find your happiness painful. What matters is that happiness - the golden day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/you-are-quite-quite-wrong-if-you-think-that-i-find-your-happiness/)

[Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/)

> [We dance, we dance. You hold the thread of my soul. You spin, you spin. And you unravel the part from the whole. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/we-dance-we-dance-you-hold-the-thread-of-my-soul-you-spin-you-spin/)

[Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/)

> [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Let everyone regulate his conduct... by the golden rule of doing to others as in similar circumstances we would have them do to us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wilberforce/let-everyone-regulate-his-conduct-by-the-golden-rule-of-doing-to/)

[William Wilberforce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wilberforce/)

> [For years, I had a top secret clearance and never left Russia. Just once did I go to Bulgaria with my wife for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-kalashnikov/for-years-i-had-a-top-secret-clearance-and-never-left-russia-just/)

[Mikhail Kalashnikov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-kalashnikov/)

> [By sowing frugality we reap liberty, a golden harvest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agesilaus-ii/by-sowing-frugality-we-reap-liberty-a-golden-harvest/)

[Agesilaus II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agesilaus-ii/)

Browse all 2,034 Golden quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It is tact that is golden, not silence.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Samuel Butler"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-is-tact-that-is-golden-not-silence/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Golden"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-is-tact-that-is-golden-not-silence/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/samuel-butler-823_golden_it-is-tact-that-is-golden-not-silence-10_1043290.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/samuel-butler-823_golden_it-is-tact-that-is-golden-not-silence-10_1043290.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/samuel-butler-823_golden_it-is-tact-that-is-golden-not-silence-10_1043290.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is tact that is golden, not silence.” — Samuel Butler",
                "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": "Samuel Butler",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It is tact that is golden,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-is-tact-that-is-golden-not-silence/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-is-tact-that-is-golden-not-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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
