Precept of Silence, The. By Johnson, Lionel Pigot. I know you: solitary griefs, Desolate passions, aching hours! I know you: tremulous beliefs, Agonized hopes, and ashen flowers! The winds are sometimes sad to me; The starry spaces, full of fear: Mine is the sorrow of the sea, And mine the sigh of places drear. Some players upon plaintive strings Publish their wistfulness abroad: I have not spoken of these things, Save to one man, and unto God.