CTG

This dialogue between Plantagenet and Mortimer seemingly comes out of nowhere, and it took me a minute to understand what was going on. The first line below struck me.

MORTIMER

With silence, nephew, be thou politic:
Strong-fixed is the house of Lancaster,
And like a mountain, not to be removed.
But now thy uncle is removing hence:
As princes do their courts, when they are cloy’d
With long continuance in a settled place.

King Henry VI, Act II, Scene 5

This has wide application, and when I reflect on my own experiences silence is almost always the smarter move – silence along with patience. It’s often counterintuitive, but saying less, and often doing less is the harder thing, but brings the greatest reward.