IN PRAISE OF WORDS

There's no need to say: Oh, the beautiful word!

We don't realize how important the spoken word is, and so I'm going to try and show the value of this seemingly insignificant word.
If we're the least bit religious, we'll accept that God created everything through words, so every word uttered by any person has a huge impact, even if it's an insignificant comment.

 

We remember when we were young that our parents warned us that if we gave our word to someone, we had to respect that duty.

At the time, we didn't know Napoleon Bonaparte, who said that "the best way to keep your word is never to give it".

If we analyze what has happened in world history, we come across the words, the words spoken by all those overlords, ministers, kings and presidents who have left their mark on our humanity. It's incredible how much this little mouth of ours has been able to cause both good and evil over the centuries.

Speech is so important that everyone talks about it. In fact, in my research, I discovered several proverbs that speak of it. For example, if the word you're about to say isn't more beautiful than silence, don't say it. This comes from a Sufi proverb.
Speaking of silence, the Spanish proverb tells us that "speech sometimes loses what silence has gained".

The Turkish proverb reminds us that "Nature has given us one organ for speech, but two for hearing, so that we learn to listen more than to speak". Sorry, but speech is second. The same Turk adds you can get rid of a friend with a single word, but to acquire one, a thousand words are not enough". Even the Talmud finds that "speech is silver, silence is gold". I'm sorry to say, here too, words are second rather than first.

What can we say about the Portuguese proverb: "A good word puts out more fire than a bucket of water".

The Tunisian proverb is more original: "Listen to the word that makes you cry, don't listen to the one that makes you laugh". Two Berber proverbs: "The wound digs but heals, the hurtful word never stops digging". "What is in the word is in the silence".
I could end with a passage from the Koran: "A kind word and forgiveness are better than alms followed by wrong".

I realize I'm talking about everyone but myself.  The reason is simple: they all have more to say than I do. I confess that, as I write, I can't remember any particular
 moment. On the other hand, as someone who loves writing so much, I've just been beaten to the punch by none other than Renè Descartes, because for him, "La parole a beaucoup plus de force que l'écriture". “The word has more strength than writing”.
 I'm not happy about this, even though he confirms the value of the spoken word.

As for great men, Charles De Gaule reminds us: "As a politician never believes what he says, he is astonished when he is taken at his word. He added, however: "The word belongs to the people. The word of the people is the word of the sovereign. Pablo Neruda said: "The word is a wing of silence".

A rather terrible word by Paulo Coelho challenges my intention in relation to this subject. He wrote: "Of all the weapons of destruction invented by man, the most terrible (and the most powerful) was speech".  However, one fact is certain: man is not aware of the damage he can cause with words. Human problems, be they conflicts or misunderstandings, often originate in speech. Someone says something they don't like, and bingo, all hell breaks loose. And who's at fault? It's the word. And from here comes Michel de Montaigne with his comment: "Speech is half for the speaker, half for the listener".

I'd rather believe that if grief can bring us down, a good word should cheer us up.  It is indeed the Koran that said that "a good word is like a good tree whose root is strong and whose branches reach to heaven. It bears fruit in every season".

At the end of the day, aren't we the lucky ones to have this freedom of speech? What could be more precious? Speech, in fact, is the expression of each and every one of us.  Our language becomes this treasure that never ceases to lavish speech in any language.

And I'll end with the most beautiful quote on speech: " Kindness in speech brings trust, kindness in thought brings depth and kindness in giving brings love". These are not my words, but those of Lao Tzu.