They that govern most make the least noise.

John Selden (1584–1654), a leading English jurist, scholar, and Member of Parliament, became known for his learned interventions in the constitutional and religious controversies of early Stuart England and the Civil War period. The remark is commonly attributed to him through the posthumous collection of his table-talk—sayings recorded from conversation rather than formal treatises. In that milieu, Selden often contrasted effective authority with ostentatious display, reflecting a political culture in which power could be exercised quietly through law, precedent, and institutional leverage rather than public bluster. The aphorism fits Selden’s reputation for pragmatic, legally grounded statecraft and skepticism toward rhetorical posturing.

The sentence suggests that the most effective governors or leaders are typically the least clamorous: real control is exercised through steady judgment, competence, and institutional command, not through loud proclamations. It implies an inverse relationship between noise and power—those who must advertise their authority may lack it, while those who truly “govern” can afford restraint. As a moral observation, it also commends temperance and self-possession in leadership, warning against vanity and performative politics. In modern terms, it distinguishes substantive governance (policy, administration, law) from mere signaling, implying that quiet efficacy often outlasts conspicuous agitation.