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Who really said it

There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing

Not Aristotle — actually Elbert Hubbard Elbert Hubbard 1856–1915 · American writer, publisher & founder of the Roycroft community
Disputed Free to reuse

There is no evidence Aristotle ever wrote this. Quote Investigator ↗ traces the saying to American aphorist Elbert Hubbard, who used it in several forms from his 1898 “Little Journeys” onward. The polished one-sentence version circulating today is a later paraphrase of Hubbard, not a line from any Aristotle text.

Last verified 8 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

For presentations

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Disputed credit — copy with the correction

“There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing” Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915), from his writings, c. 1898–1922 — often misattributed to Aristotle.

The slide-ready mistake: crediting this to Aristotle. Use the credit shown above instead.

Can you use it?

Free to use, including in commercial and paid presentations — no permission or licence needed.

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In context

Evoking the world of Elbert Hubbard — American writer, publisher & founder of the Roycroft community. Theme: "There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Minimalist

Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

The source

Real author
Elbert Hubbard
Representative work
“John North Willys,” in Elbert Hubbard’s Selected Writings, Part 2 (1922)
Earliest form
“Little Journeys to the Homes of American Statesmen” (1898)
Falsely credited to
Aristotle (no supporting source)

Do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing, and you’ll never be criticized.

The wording as printed in Hubbard’s “John North Willys” (collected 1922). The circulating “There is only one way to avoid criticism…” sentence is a streamlined paraphrase of Hubbard’s several versions, not a verbatim quotation.

Quote Investigator: To Avoid Criticism, Say Nothing, Do Nothing, Be Nothing

How we verified this

  • The earliest strong match is Hubbard’s 1898 “Little Journeys to the Homes of American Statesmen”: “do nothing, say nothing, be nothing—court obscurity,” per Quote Investigator ↗.
  • By 1908–1909 the compressed form “To escape criticism: Do nothing, say nothing, be nothing” circulated crediting Hubbard’s magazine The Philistine, again per Quote Investigator ↗.
  • Wikiquote ↗ lists the line in its sourced Hubbard quotes: “Do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing, and you’ll never be criticized,” from “John North Willys” (Selected Writings, Part 2, 1922).
  • Quote Investigator found “no substantive evidence” for any Aristotle ascription.
Public domain

The saying originates in Elbert Hubbard’s works published between 1898 and 1922 — all before 1931 and, with Hubbard’s death in 1915, long in the public domain in the United States. The tidy modern one-sentence wording is an anonymous later paraphrase and carries no separate protection.

Fact-check

Often misattributed

The line is endlessly shared as ancient wisdom from Aristotle, but no Aristotelian text contains it — and the specialists who investigated it point to a modern American writer.

Aristotle No source

Quote Investigator ↗ found “no substantive evidence” for an Aristotle ascription; the wording and idiom are modern, not from the Greek corpus.

Elbert Hubbard 1898–1922

Hubbard used the saying in several forms — from “Little Journeys” (1898) to “John North Willys” (collected 1922) — and Wikiquote ↗ lists it in his sourced quotes.

Later paraphrasers Paraphrase

The clean “There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing” sentence does not match any single Hubbard printing verbatim; it is a streamlined composite of his versions.

The thought is Elbert Hubbard’s, first printed in 1898 — not Aristotle’s — per Quote Investigator ↗.

Context

Why it mattered

Elbert Hubbard was a machine for aphorisms, and this one mutated as it traveled. His 1898 version was grim and elaborate — “If you would escape moral and physical assassination, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing…” — before newspaper filler columns and his own magazines compressed it into the punchy “To escape criticism: Do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.”

Somewhere in the twentieth century the saying was re-dressed as “Aristotle,” a common fate for tidy maxims that sound timeless. The dignity of an ancient name lends borrowed authority — but the paper trail runs to East Aurora, New York, not ancient Athens.

The paper trail runs to East Aurora, New York — not ancient Athens.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Courage Failure

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Quote Investigator — full investigationquoteinvestigator.com

Traces the saying to Elbert Hubbard (1898 onward) and finds no evidence for Aristotle.
Wikiquote — Elbert Hubbarden.wikiquote.org

Lists the line among sourced Hubbard quotes, citing “John North Willys” (1922).
Little Journeys to the Homes of American Statesmen (1898)archive.org

Hubbard’s essay series where the earliest form of the saying appears.
Goodreads — attributed to Elbert Hubbardgoodreads.com

Popular collection crediting the one-sentence form to Hubbard, not Aristotle.
BrainyQuote — Elbert Hubbardbrainyquote.com

Records the compressed “To avoid criticism, do nothing…” form under Hubbard.

The author

About Elbert Hubbard

Elbert Hubbard

1856–1915 · American writer, publisher & founder of the Roycroft community

Elbert Hubbard was an American writer, epigrammist and publisher best known for the essay “A Message to Garcia” and for founding the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York. Through his magazines The Philistine and The Fra and his “Little Journeys” biographical series, he coined and popularized hundreds of pithy aphorisms. He died aboard the Lusitania in 1915.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source

Elbert Hubbard, “John North Willys,” in Elbert Hubbard’s Selected Writings, Part 2 (East Aurora, NY: Roycrofters, 1922), 335; earliest form in Little Journeys to the Homes of American Statesmen (1898). See Quote Investigator, “To Avoid Criticism, Say Nothing, Do Nothing, Be Nothing” (Jan. 9, 2015).

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing’?” Last verified 8 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/there-is-only-one-way-to-avoid-criticism-do-nothing-say

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