ABSTRACT
Some people practise reticence or silence so habitually that they become known as “the silent type”. They are, to use an unusual and even archaic word, “silentious”. Some people keep silent because they have nothing to say, while others keep silent because they know when to speak. The wise remain silent until the right moment but a boasting fool misses the right moment. Silent people themselves can irritate others by their very silence. William Hazlitt thought that at least some of those who pride themselves on their restraint are merely manifesting a national characteristic rather than a moral one. Different types of silence: wise or virtuous, modest, cunning or calculating, eloquent, dumbfounded, culpable, strong, weak, ceremonial, satisfied, idle, and dead. The chapter describes the process of silencing the weak or socially inferior. People fall silent because they are physically content.
