Philosophy might seem so deep and confusing to dig into, but Stoicism is a school of philosophy that is rather fascinating and influenced a lot of the field as we know it today. Plus, a lot of Stoic ideas are still taught today, just not in the exact same way. And we can thank one person for creating it, and that’s Zeno of Citium. He was a Hellenistic thinker, as Britannica reported, and his work and ideas “influenced the development of philosophical and ethical thought in Hellenistic and Roman times.” Our quote of the day features one of the many recorded things he said to those around him, and it touches on why listening can be more powerful than speaking.
He was born around 335 BCE in Citium, Cyprus (hence his name), and died in 263 BCE in Athens, Greece. According to the Daily Stoic, Zeno was on a ship that sank along with all its cargo (including his belongings). This fateful event is actually what led him to discover philosophy, because he wound up at a bookstore in Athens and found philosophical work by Socrates and Crates, an Athenian philosopher. After attending lectures by Crates and others, Zeno then came up with his own philosophical ideas, and he taught them in the Stoa Poikile, which means “Painted Colonnade” and is what influenced the name “Stoicism,” per Britannica.
This school of thought continued evolving and developing after Zeno’s initial teachings into what we know as Stoicism today—that what will be will be and we cannot control most things outside of ourselves—but his original ideas weren’t too different. According to Britannica, he taught that you can find happiness once you “conform” your own will to that of the universe, or “divine reason.”
But of course, as the Daily Stoic reported, bending to whatever fate and the universe have out for you is just part of it. He also believed that having peace of mind came from living in harmony with logic and with nature, which we can really see in today’s quote.
Related: Quote of the Day: Stoic Philosopher Cato the Younger on When To Use Discretion and Self-Restraint
Quote of the Day by Zeno of Citium
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“The reason why we have two ears and only one mouth is that we may listen the more and talk the less.”
This quote originated in Lives of the Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius, from the chapter about Zeno. Some translations also call this book The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers.
Not much is known about Laërtius and his life, but he “flourished” in the 3rd century CE, per Britannica. He wrote this work, which is “the most important existing secondary source of knowledge in the field” of Greek philosophy, and it’s a compilation of excerpts from famous philosophers’ lives, their teachings and recountings of their lives (much like the title suggests).
This chapter describes Zeno being “sour and of a frowning countenance,” and in the paragraph that Laërtius writes this quote, he gives many examples of Zeno’s quips and “lessons” to those around him. The philosopher preached that there was “nothing so fatal as conceit” when it came to mastering the sciences, and once said, “The reason why we have two ears and only one mouth is that we may listen the more and talk the less.”
Related: Quote of the Day: Stoic Philosopher Epictetus on Embracing the Unknown and Letting Go of Control
Deeper Meaning of Zeno of Citium’s Quote—Listen More, Speak Less
Similar to the concept of thinking before you speak, so that you don’t say something off the cuff that you might regret because you didn’t ponder the consequences, Zeno is saying that you should take a beat more often. Instead of immediately responding to something, or having no filter and just word-vomiting, it’s better to sit with your emotions—whether they be strong and negative, or passionate and happy—and then respond.
He’s also saying that if we’re too eager to verbally respond to someone, we might miss what they’re actually saying. A lot of times we “listen” to respond to a person rather than actually hearing what they’re telling us. So if we’re conscious of the fact that we should listen more and speak less, we might understand others better, resulting in fewer conflicts—or, at the very least, we might have greater grace and empathy for them.
Related: Quote of the Day: Franz Kafka on the Connection Between Happiness and Childlike Wonder
More Quotes from Zeno of Citium
“Happiness is a good flow of life.” “All the good are friends of one another.” “No evil is honorable; but death is honorable; therefore death is not evil.” “The goal of life is living in agreement with nature.” “A bad feeling is a commotion of the mind repugnant to reason, and against nature.” “The end may be defined as life in accordance with nature or, in other words, in accordance with our own human nature as well as that of the universe.” “That which exercises reason is more excellent than that which does not exercise reason; there is nothing more excellent than the universe, therefore the universe exercises reason.”Up Next:
Related: Quote of the Day: Roman Poet Ovid on the Power of Determination and Perseverance in Life
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