
“Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.”
Frag. 6, as quoted in Handy-book of Literary Curiosities (1892) by William Shepard Walsh, p. 1009.
The Blackfoot Physics (2006)
“Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.”
Frag. 6, as quoted in Handy-book of Literary Curiosities (1892) by William Shepard Walsh, p. 1009.
“Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech.”
Before the U. S. Senate Committee on Patents (29 January 1886)
“It is better to ask some of the questions than to know all the answers.”
"The Scotty Who Knew Too Much", The New Yorker (18 February 1939)
From Fables for Our Time and Further Fables for Our Time
“Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.”
Of Discretion.
Proverbial Philosophy (1838-1849)
Source: 2010s, Nomad: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations (2010), Chapter 9, “America” (p. 113)
pp 79 - 80.
Letter to his daughter (1978)
Context: Life is a love affair. There is a romance with every beauty of nature. I have no hesitation in saving that my most passionate love affair, my most thrilling romance has been with the people. There is an indissoluble marriage between politics and the people. That is why "Man is a political animal" and the state a political theatre. I have been on this stage of the masters for over twenty tumultuous years. I believe I still have a role to play. I believe the people still want me on this stage, but if I have to bow out, I give you the gift of my feelings. You will fight the fight better than me. Your speeches will be more eloquent than my speeches. Your commitment equally total. There will be more youth and vitality in your struggle. Your deeds ill be more daring. I transmit to you the blessing to the most blessed mission. This is the only present I can give you on your birthdays.
Other
“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.