Keep the Mystery Alive
“’Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.[1]”
—Maurice Switzer
[1]
Update 2026-03-29: I’d originally attributed this quote to Abraham Lincoln, but the article Quote Origin: Better to Remain Silent and Be Thought a Fool than to Speak and Remove All Doubt (Quote Investigator) writes,
↩“The earliest known appearance of the adage discovered by QI occurred in a book titled “Mrs. Goose, Her Book” by Maurice Switzer. The publication date was 1907 and the copyright notice was 1906. The book was primarily filled with clever nonsense verse, and the phrasing in this early version was slightly different:5
“It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.
“Most of the humorous content of “Mrs. Goose, Her Book” has the imprint of originality, and based on currently available data QI believes that Maurice Switzer is the leading candidate for originator of the expression.”