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.”
“Either be silent or say something better than silence.”
Maxim 960
Sentences, The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave
“Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech.”
“It is better wither to be silent, or to say things of more value than silence.”
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.
“Let thy speech of God be renewed day by day, aye, rather than thy meat and drink.”
Fragment xxi.
Golden Sayings of Epictetus, Fragments
“If what one has to say is not better than silence, then one should keep silent.”
1830s, Sir Walter Scott (1838)
“Silence is most powerful. Speech is always less powerful than silence.”
Abide as the Self
