Today I was inspired by the Paracelsus quote in James Hillman's book "The Thought of The Heart And The Soul of The World" (Spring Publications 1992):

Speech is not of the tongue, but of the heart. 
The tongue is merely the instrument with which one speaks. 
He who is dumb is dumb in his heart, not in his tongue...
As you speak, so is your heart.

Paracelsus (1493-1541) 

 

I'll be honest, although I like this quote I have trouble with the word "dumb" -- it's just not the best word for our modern age. And what about the pronoun "he?" Are only "he's" dumb? I would like to replace dumb with the word "mindless" instead. And "he" with "those."

So my revisions will read like this:

Speech is not of the tongue, but of the heart. 
The tongue is merely the instrument with which one speaks. 
Those who are mindless are mindless in their hearts, not in their tongues...
As one speaks, so is one's heart.

Paracelsus (1493-1541) 

 

Marie Bortolotto Art 2026