Quote by Ibn Hazm: “A wise man thinks once before he speaks; a fool thinks never.”

Thoughtfulness before speaking separates those who contribute to understanding from those who just add noise. The habit of pausing to consider whether what you are about to say is true or useful is one of the simplest and most powerful forms of wisdom.

Ibn Hazm wrote during the collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba and the fragmentation of Andalusia into competing taifa kingdoms. Having experienced political exile and the burning of his books, he wrote with particular urgency about the value of careful thought over impulsive speech or action.

Andalusian scholar, philosopher, and poet born in 994 CE in Córdoba, who made major contributions to logic, jurisprudence, and literary theory. His Ring of the Dove is one of the most celebrated medieval treatises on the psychology of love.