Deafness

"Alcmaeon was, says [J.] Wachtler, the first who attempted to explain the phenomenon of sound and our perception of it by reference to the structure of the ear itself. Empedocles to some extent follows or agrees with him. ...Empedocles teaches that hearing is caused by the impact of the air-wave against the cartilage which is suspended within the ear, oscillating as it is struck, like a gong."

"He ne'er presumed to make an error clearer;— In short, there never was a better hearer."

"Your people are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.’ My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice."

"Little pitchers have wide ears."

"Who is so deaf as he that will not hear?"

"Where more is meant than meets the ear."

"I was all ear, And took in strains that might create a soul Under the ribs of death."

"Such an exploit have I in hand, Ligarius, Had you a healthful ear to hear of it."

"Hear me for my cause, and be silent, that you may hear."

"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears."

"All lies and jest, still, a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."

"One eare it heard, at the other out it went."

"Within a bony labyrinthean cave, Reached by the pulse of the aërial wave, This sibyl, sweet, and Mystic Sense is found, Muse, that presides o'er all the Powers of Sound."

"None so deaf as those that will not hear."

"Went in at the one eare and out at the other."

"Hear ye not the hum Of mighty workings?"

"Where did you get that pearly ear? God spoke and it came out to hear."

"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."

"They never would hear, But turn the deaf ear, As a matter they had no concern in."

"He that has ears to hear, let him stuff them with cotton."

"Strike, but hear me."

"Father Mulcahy: Dear Lord I know there must be a reason for this. But what is it? I answered the call to do your work. I've devoted my life to it, and now how am I supposed to do it? Lord, what good am I now? What good is a deaf priest? I've prayed to you to help me and every day I get worse. Are you deaf too?"

"Pozzo: [suddenly furious] Have you not done tormenting me with your accursed time! It's abominable! When! When! One day, is that not enough for you, one day he went dumb, one day I went blind, one day we'll go deaf, one day we were born, one day we shall die, the same day, the same second, is that not enough for you? [calmer] They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it's night once more."

"Like the majority of deaf people, I don't like blind people much."

"When the imagination sleeps, words are emptied of their meaning: a deaf population absent-mindedly registers the condemnation of a man. … there is no other solution but to speak out and show the obscenity hidden under the verbal cloak."

"I figured I could get a job at a filling station somewhere, putting gas and oil in people's cars. I didn't care what kind of job it was, though. Just so people didn't know me and I didn't know anybody. I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes. That way I wouldn't have to have any goddamn stupid useless conversations with anybody. If anybody wanted to tell me something, they'd have to write it on a piece of paper and shove it over to me. They'd get bored as hell doing that after a while, and then I'd be through with having conversations for the rest of my life. Everybody'd think I was just a poor deaf-mute bastard and they'd leave me alone."

"Il ne voit que la nuit, n'entend que le silence."

"Now, as a cadet, your training barely covered the importance of how to interact with America's one million Deaf citizens."

"American Sign Language is naturally big and expressive. But some officers mistake it as wild or aggressive."

"Many Deaf people can't read or write English fluently because of 'language deprivation."

"Deaf people reading lips is an impossibility. There's no way. It's something hearing people dreamt up. It's too easily misunderstood."

"None so deaf as those that will not hear."

"Who is so deaf as he that will not hear?"

"God: Moses, this is the Lord, thy God, commanding you to obey my law. Do you hear me? Moses: Yes, I hear you, I hear you...a deaf man could hear you! God: What?! Moses: Nothing, forget about it, Oh Lord! Why have you chosen me? What would you have me do for you?"

"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert."

"The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex, if not more important, than those of blindness. Deafness is a much worse misfortune. For it means the loss of the most vital stimulus — the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir and keeps us in the intellectual company of man."

"He cannot hear the skylark sing, The music of the wild bee’s wing; The murmur of the plaining bough ; A gentle whisper fairy low; The noise of falling waters near— All these have left his mournful ear."

"After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means "Be opened!"). At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.""

"Cha vel fer erbee cha bouyr, as eshyn nagh jean clashtyn."

"In rage, deaf as the sea, hasty as fire."

"Pleasure and revenge Have ears more deaf than adders to the voice Of any true decision."

"O, that men's ears should be To counsel deaf, but not to flattery!"

"They never would hear, But turn the deaf ear, As a matter they had no concern in."

"Deaf and blind and dumb and born to follow What you need is someone strong to guide you"

"It's important to abolish the unconscious dogmatism that makes people think their way of looking at reality is the only sane way of viewing the world. My goal is to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone, but agnosticism about everything. If one can only see things according to one's own belief system, one is destined to become virtually deaf, dumb, and blind."

"I will be strong! then let the billows roll Far o'er my head--they cannot hurt my soul; Deeper the swell, the higher soars the crest-- I reach my haven on its boundless breast."

"The landscape, like a painted picture shone, Lined as an atlas in the window frame,In form, in character, for aye the same, But many moods writ each its tale thereon."

"We ask Thee not for quietness and rest, But for the ecstasy of endless quest; That Chief Adventure, questing for the truth, That radiant wholesomeness, immortal youth."

"Foolish, foolish Edith Sitwell sang a solo of her auntie, her rich auntie and her trumpet, such a trumpet as old ladies give to stranger- folk to blow in."

"During periods of creative work she lived in another world."