“Either be silent or say something better than silence.”
Publilio Siro Latin writer
Maxim 960
Sentences, The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave
“Pythagoras said, that it was requisite either to be silent, or to say something better than silence.”
— Stobaeus
36
Pythagorean Ethical Sentences
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Ancient Greek anthologistRelated quotes
“It is better wither to be silent, or to say things of more value than silence.”
Pythagoras (-585–-495 BC) ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher
As quoted in A Dictionary of Thoughts: Being a Cyclopedia of Laconic Quotations from the Best Authors of the World, both Ancient and Modern (1908) by Tyron Edwards, p. 525
Context: It is better wither to be silent, or to say things of more value than silence. Sooner throw a pearl at hazard than an idle or useless word; and do not say a little in many words, but a great deal in a few.
“If what one has to say is not better than silence, then one should keep silent.”
Confucius (-551–-479 BC) Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher
“Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.”
Dionysius I of Syracuse (-430–-367 BC) Sicilian tyrant
Frag. 6, as quoted in Handy-book of Literary Curiosities (1892) by William Shepard Walsh, p. 1009.
“Be silent or let thy words be worth more than silence.”
Pythagoras (-585–-495 BC) ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher
“Silence is better than unmeaning words.”
Pythagoras (-585–-495 BC) ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher
As quoted in Encyclopaedia Americana (1832) Vol. X, p. 445 edited by Francis Lieber, E. Wigglesworth, and Thomas Gamaliel Bradford
“Go to where the silence is and say something.”
Amy Goodman (1957) American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter and author
“My father said that a silent person is trying to hide something.”
Patricia Briggs (1965) American writer
Source: Raven's Shadow
“… but I guess it's better for people to shut up rather than rather than say something nasty.”
Chetan Bhagat (1974) Indian author, born 1974
ONE NIGHT @ THE CALL CENTER Chapter 1 page 22
“When you have something to say, silence is a lie.”
Jordan Peterson (1962) Canadian clinical psychologist, cultural critic, and professor of psychology