Who said your silence gives consent

Nothing; this is silence pure and simple. But let us take another case. Suppose I were to take a dagger from my sleeve and make to kill the prisoner with it; and my lordships there, instead of crying out for me to stop, maintained their silence.

That would betoken! It would betoken a willingness that I should do it, and under the law, they will be guilty with me. So silence can, according to the circumstances, speak! Let us consider now the circumstances of the prisoner's silence. The oath was put to loyal subjects up and down the country, and they all declared His Grace's title to be just and good. But when it came to the prisoner, he refused!

He calls this silence. Yet is there a man in this court - is there a man in this country! Cromwell: Yet how can this be? Because this silence betokened, nay, this silence was, not silence at all, but most eloquent denial!

Sir Thomas More: Not so. Not so, Master Secretary. The maxim is "Qui tacet consentiret": the maxim of the law is "Silence gives consent". If therefore you wish to construe what my silence betokened, you must construe that I consented, not that I denied.

Cromwell: Is that in fact what the world construes from it? Do you pretend that is what you wish the world to construe from it? View all related items in Oxford Reference ». Search for: 'silence' in Oxford Reference ».

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The general rule is that silence cannot amount to acceptance. The rationale behind this is based on the idea that acceptance must take some form of objective manifestation of the intention of the offeree i. If you do not voice your objection to something, then it is assumed that you support it. Silence means yes when the other person has confirmed that it means yes.

And maybe not then if they are being coerced to give an answer. Silence means no when the other person has confirmed that it means no. Latin, meaning He who is silent appears to consent. Consent is when one person agrees to or gives permission to another person to do something.