“When you have nothing to say, say nothing; a weak defense strengthens your opponent, and silence is less injurious than a bad reply.”

“Say nothing good of yourself, you will be distrusted; say nothing bad of yourself, you will be taken at your word.”

Joseph Roux (1834–1905) French poet

“When a woman who has much to say says nothing, her silence can be deafening.”

Margaret Landon (1903–1993) writer, missionary

“Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.”

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Renaissance polymath

“When your rage is choking you, it is best to say nothing.”

Octavia E. Butler Fledgling

“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say, and say it hot.”

D.H. Lawrence (1885–1930) English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter

“Timely silence, then, is precious, for it is nothing less than the mother of the wisest thoughts.”

Diadochos of Photiki (400–486) Byzantine saint

“But when she tried to say something, the words always seemed trite and inadequate. Nothing measured up. When any moment might be their last, there was nothing she could ever imagine saying that had the necessary dignity to fill that instant. Silence was better. Silence had its own dignity.”

Alastair Reynolds book Century Rain

“Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say.”

Edward Snowden (1983) American whistleblower and former National Security Agency contractor

“When you have something to say, silence is a lie.”

Jordan Peterson (1962) Canadian clinical psychologist, cultural critic, and professor of psychology