' The Great Mystery '...

"The first American mingled with his pride a singular humility. Spiritual arrogance was foreign to his nature and teaching. He never claimed that the power of articulate speech was proof of superiority over the dumb creation; on the other hand, it is to him a perilous gift.

He believes profoundly in silence -- the sign of a perfect equilibrium. Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind, and spirit. The man who preserves his selfhood ever calm and unshaken by the storms of existence — not a leaf, as it were, astir on the tree; not a ripple upon the surface of shining pool — his, in the mind of the unlettered sage, is the ideal attitude and conduct of life.

"If you ask him: 'What is silence?' he will answer: "\'It is the Great Mystery! The holy silence is His voice!/ If you ask: 'What are the fruits of silence?' he will say: 'They are self-control, true courage or endurance, patience, dignity, and reverence. Silence is the cornerstone of character.'"



-Ohiyesa (Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman)
The Soul of the Indian (1911)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/eassoul.htm