Quote of the day by Zeno: 'We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say'

Zeno of Citium was an ancient Greek philosopher who founded Stoicism around 300 BC in Athens. A young man sits in a crowded meeting, listening carefully while others rush to interrupt one another. Every participant wants to make a point, push an agenda, or prove their intelligence. The young man says almost nothing until the end, when he offers one observation that changes the way everyone sees the discussion.By choosing to observe before speaking, he avoids the trap that catches most speakers: reacting before understanding.“We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say.”This simple observation about the human body carries a clear message. We have twice as many organs for taking in information as we have for sending it out. The quote suggests that listening is not simply waiting for your turn to speak. It is a deliberate habit that should guide how we interact with others.The idea still matters because speaking is fast and easy, while listening requires patience, humility, and self-control.From a Phoenician Shipwreck to the Stoa PoikileThe saying is recorded in Book VII of Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, written by Diogenes Laërtius in the third c...