Silence is golden

Meaning: Sometimes it's better to say nothing.

Origin: Thomas Carlyle's Sartor Resartus (1831) quotes a Swiss inscription: Sprechen ist silbern, Schweigen ist golden — speech is silver, silence is golden. The thought is often said to be Arabic or ancient, but Carlyle's is the first clear source for the silver-and-gold pairing.

Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Dutch, and 4 more languages

French: Le silence est d'or (literally: Silence is of gold)
Spanish: El silencio es oro (literally: Silence is gold)
Japanese: 沈黙は金 (Chinmoku wa kin) (literally: Silence is gold)
German: Reden ist Silber, Schweigen ist Gold (literally: Speaking is silver, silence is gold)
Dutch: Spreken is zilver, zwijgen is goud (literally: Speech is silver, silence is gold)
Russian: Слово — серебро, молчание — золото (Slovo — serebro, molchanie — zoloto) (literally: Speech is silver, silence is gold)
Polish: Mowa jest srebrem, a milczenie złotem (literally: Speech is silver and silence is gold)
Arabic: السكوت من ذهب (As-sukūt min dhahab) (literally: Silence is made of gold)
Turkish: Söz gümüşse sükût altındır (literally: If speech is silver, silence is gold)