the cover of silence....

स्वायत्तमेकान्तगुणम् विधात्रा विनिर्मितम् छादनमज्ञतायाः।

विशेषतः सर्वविदाम् समाजे विभूषणम् मौनमपण्डितानाम्॥

भर्तृहरेः नीतिशतकात्॥

svāyattamekāntaguṇam vidhātrā vinirmitam chādanamajñatāyāḥ |

viśeṣataḥ sarvavidām samāje vibhūṣaṇam maunamapaṇḍitānām||

bhartṛhareḥ nītiśatakāt||

a down to earth declaration by the Philosopher King Bhartruhari in his Neetishatakam

Silence which is so natural to some people appears to be created by God with a very special design and it acts as an effective cover for ignorance..

This silence is an attractive ornament for ignorant fellows 

( especially those who pretend to be knowledgeable too)

 in the assembly of the learned persons..

Idiots can always be better off if they keep their mouths shut.

मौनं silence स्वायत्तं well earned and natural एकान्तगुणम् with great benefits in the final analysis विधात्रा विनिर्मितं specially made by Brahma the creator अज्ञाताया of ignorance छादनं effective cover च भवति.becomes 

एतद मौनं this silence विशेषतः especially सर्वविदां समाजे in an assembly of respected scholars अपण्डितानं for those who do not have much knowledge विभूषणं भवति च becomes an ornament too..

Our ignorance is kept at bay till we open our mouths.. 

Of course we can open our mouth if it is for eating and not speaking..

This rule applies to our fingers too especially in social media..