excerpts from the "Philosophy of silence"

"Ascetic"
It is derived from the Greek word meaning the training of an athlete. The necessity of physical training for an athlete, or of vocational training for a profession, is obvious to the Western mind. When we consider fields other than the physical and the social, we are confronted with the same need for training.When voluntarily assumed discipline is directed toward spiritual goals, aspirants become spiritual athletes-ascetics in the real sense.
pg 59.

but the misuse of any practice cannot destroy the genuine meaning.
pg 60.

The basic purpose of the discipline of silence id to conserve the constructive energies of the individual and keep them from being dissipated on fleeting pleasures.
pg 61.

Pythagoras
In the work of Pythagoras, silence was not only a device to keep out the unworthy, but it was also bound up with the central purpose of the order....He recognized that more than the desire for inner growth was needed, namely the capacity to undergo the concomitant disciples.
...Those who commited themselves to the guidance of P's doctrines were instructed to take their morning walks alone, and in places conducive to solitude and quiet. They were not to break the silence until they "had rendered their own soul sedate and had co-harmonized the reasoning power, for they apprehended it to be a thing of a turbulent nature to mingle in a crowd as soon as they rose from bed."
pg 62&63.