Silence And Action

Ἄμεινόν ἐστιν σιωπᾷν καὶ εἶναι, ἤ λαλοῦντα μὴ εἶναι. Καλὸν τὸ διδάσκειν, εἄν ὁ λέγων ποιῇ. Εἶς οὖν διδάσκαλος, ὄς εἶπεν, καὶ ἐγένετο· καὶ ἄ σιγῶν δὲ πεποίηκεν, ἄξια τοῦ Πατρός ἐστιν. Ὅ λόγον Ἰησου κεκτημένος ἀληθῶς δύναται καὶ τῆς ἡσυχίας αὐτοῦ ἀκούειν, ἵνα τέλειος ᾗ, ἵνα δι' ὦν λαλεῖ πράσσῃ, καὶ δι' ὦν σιγᾷ γινωσκητα. Οὐδὲν λανθάνει τὸν Κύριον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ κρυπτὰ ἥμῶν ἐγγὺς αὐτῷ ἐστιν. Πάντα οὐν ποιῶμεν, ὡς αὐτοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν κατοικοῦντος, ἵνα ὦμωεν αὐτοῦ ναοὶ, καὶ αὐτὸς ᾖ ἐν ἡμῖν Θεὸς ἡμῶν· ὅπερ καὶ ἔστιν καὶ φανήσεται πρὸ προσώπου ἡμῶν· ἐξ ὦν δικαίως ἀγαπῶμεν αὐτόν. Ἅγιος Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιοχείας, Ἐπιστολή Προς Ἐφεσιους

Better it is to be silent and be than to speak and not be. Beautiful it is to teach if one acts as one speaks. One the teacher, then: 'He who spoke and it was,' and what He did being silent is worthy of the Father. He who is truly able to grasp the word of Jesus and hear his silence, thus being perfect, that which he speaks he does and by his silence is knowledge. Nothing is hidden from the Lord but even the hidden things of ours are present to him, so whatever it is that we do, let it be as He were dwelling in us, we being His temples, and indeed He shall be manifest to our eyes insofar as we rightly love Him. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians