“Silence is more eloquent than words.”
Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher
As quoted in Encyclopaedia Americana (1832) Vol. X, p. 445 edited by Francis Lieber, E. Wigglesworth, and Thomas Gamaliel Bradford
“Silence is more eloquent than words.”
Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher
“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.
“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
“Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech.”
Plutarch (46–127) ancient Greek historian and philosopher
“Be silent or let thy words be worth more than silence.”
Pythagoras (-585–-495 BC) ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher
“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.
“Keep your secrets
Keep your silence
It is a better gift than truth”
Anne Rice book The Queen of the Damned
Source: The Queen of the Damned
Stobaeus Ancient Greek anthologist
36
Pythagorean Ethical Sentences
“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