A History of Silence (by A.Corbin)

I will be taking a look...although silence is a virtue I possess very little of. Although familiar with Thoreau, Whitman and Emerson, not at all the others.

Cheers @KinkyOne . Rilke is by far my most favourite poet.


With Proust I will start when retired.

Will buy it tomorrow (Norw. version (original), of course). Wasn't aware of this book. The author is a famous (in Norway atleast; We've always been explorers, since Viking age... ) explorer, and is now a publisher (successful). Good guy. Thank you for the useful tip @KinkyOne

And maybe this one is also interesting for us pilgrims?

Thank you so much for these titles @KinkyOne . I will seek them out. In these last months of my complete work shut-down, I've had the time and space to cultivate and savour silence. It's been one of the positive things and a great lesson during this pandemic time.

In my neck of the woods we speak of 'Noble Silence.' Using words to explain the gift of silence is an oxymoron.in action, but this book looks worth reading...thanks, K1!

And Proust? Hmmm. Too many words.
I prefer Neruda:

Keeping Quiet
Pablo Neruda

Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still
for once on the face of the earth,
let’s not speak in any language;
let’s stop for a second,
and not move our arms so much.

It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines;
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.

Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would not look at his hurt hands.

Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victories with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.

What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.

If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.
Perhaps the earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.

Now I’ll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.