A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
All Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3:7 Go To Ecclesiastes 3
Bede
AD 735
Let anyone who loves wisdom, therefore, first beg this from God, then let the humble hearer seek out a teacher of truth, and all the while let him not only most carefully restrain his tongue from idle conversations but also hold back from preaching the very truth which he has recently learned. Hence Solomon, writing about differences of times, says, “There is a time for keeping silence and a time for speaking.” Hence the Pythagoreans, who were endowed with the capacity to teach natural knowledge, order their listeners to keep silence for five years and thus at last they allow them to preach. The truth is more safely heard than preached, for when it is heard humility is safeguarded, but when it is preached it is difficult for the preacher to escape some minimal boasting.
