Spintharus, speaking in commendation of Epaminondas, says he scarce ever met with any man who knew more and spoke less.

The remark appears in Plutarch’s biographical writing on the Theban general Epaminondas, where Plutarch gathers testimonies from contemporaries and later admirers to illustrate Epaminondas’s character. Spintharus (a figure cited as an eyewitness or near-contemporary) is introduced as offering praise that highlights a classical ideal: the union of deep knowledge with restraint in speech. In the moralizing mode typical of Plutarch’s Lives, such anecdotes function as character evidence, contrasting Epaminondas’s disciplined, thoughtful demeanor with the loquacity and self-advertisement often associated with lesser statesmen and soldiers.

The line contrasts knowledge with verbosity: true understanding, it implies, does not require constant display. Epaminondas’ virtue is not only that he “knew more” but that he “spoke less,” suggesting self-command, modesty, and a preference for action and judgment over self-advertisement. In Plutarch’s moral framework, measured speech is a sign of inner order: the wise person listens, deliberates, and speaks only when speech serves a purpose. The praise also hints at political prudence—leaders who talk too much risk vanity, faction, or indiscretion—whereas restrained speech can signal reliability and depth.