Karel Čapek

“ This silence is not the silence of a man in solitude, nor the silence of a Pythagorean philosopher, nor silence in the presence of God, nor the silence of death, nor a mute brooding, it is a special silence, a society silence, a refined silence, the silence of a gentleman among gentlemen.
I went into other clubs as well; there are many hundreds of them, various in breed and purpose, but the best ones are all in Piccadilly or thereabouts, and they have old leather arm-chairs, the ritual of silence, flawless waiters, and the ban on women; as you see, these are great advantages. ”

“ Our tradition is not based upon such old, and especially such comfortable arm-chairs. As it has nowhere to sit, it hangs in the air. I thought of that when I was taking my ease in one of those historical arm-chairs; I had a somewhat historical feeling, but was otherwise quite cosy, and I took a peep at the historical personalities, who were partly hanging on the walls, partly sitting in the club chairs and reading Punch or Who’s Who. Nobody spoke, and this produced a truly dignified effect; we in our country ought to have such places where silence is preserved. ”

“ A man from the Continent gives himself an air of importance by talking; an Englishman by holding his tongue. It seemed to me that all who were there were Members of the Royal Academy, the illustrious dead, or ex-Ministers, for none of them spoke ”