The Fathers urge man to get accustomed with the virtue of silence. Miraculously, Abba Isaiah teaches: ‘Wisdom lies not in the fact of not speaking, but in that of knowing when to talk. In the science of knowing to be silent and to speak! Ponder before speaking and respond as it should be! Be like an ignorant in your science to put cast the multitude of temptations! Do not boast with your knowledge, because nobody knows anything. And your crown is the self reprove, to make yourself smaller than your neighbour and put your trust in God.’

Any word must have an end, a great one! Speaking in vain deviates us from the great goals designed for the human language.

(Translated from Arhimandrit Serafim Alexiev, Tâlcuire la Rugăciunea Sfântului Efrem Sirul, traducere din limba bulgară de Gheorghiță Ciocioi, Editura Sophia, București, 2011, p. 53)